Early Childhood Development by Haley

Early Childhood Development by Haley - June 2018 Scholarship Essay

An elective I took that I think should be required is early childhood development. As someone who is aspiring to be an elementary teacher, this class was extremely helpful. It helped me to understand children better, but I think it goes even deeper than that. I know when I was a teenager thinking about my future, I always saw myself having kids of my own someday and I think that’s something a lot of people can relate to. This class can help you understand your future children and it outlines some important things about the development of children.
One of the key points of this class was socialization. It teaches us that an important thing for children is building relationships with not only their family, but with other children. This class taught me that the earlier we expose children to the social world, the easier it is for them to overcome their shyness.
Another point this course outlined was teaching children the concept of cooperation. Things like sharing, taking turns and cooperating are important to a child’s learning. This point is important because it is more difficult for a child to make friends when they are unwilling to share or take turns with other children and not listening to others can hurt their ability to learn.
One last learning factor from this course that I am going to point out is teaching children respect. Not only towards other human beings, but respect for their belongings and environment as well. This is important for the future of children. It makes children appreciate more and respect is a value that can be carried for the rest of one’s life.
Overall, I think this class helped me to understand children as whole. Deeper than that, while taking this course, it made me reflect on my childhood. I learned all these things as a young child, but this course made me realize how important all these things were. I think this elective should be required because it provides one with a better understanding of children which is detrimental to the future generations.