To educate a child well, we must first understand the very nature of the child, and realize that every child is a unique individual.
We must be careful to not group our children into categories; e.g., terrible-two’s, awkward tweens, oppositional teenagers, etc. I encourage parents and caregivers to take a unique approach with each child they are with. In order to do this, we need to see each child as an individual with innate and unique characteristics influenced by his or her developmental capacities in combination with the context in which he or she lives.
The key is for any of us to understand how the child sees the world and to acknowledge and balance the two main influences on who the child is: the child’s age of development with its needs and characteristics and the environmental influences (family, school, clubs and sports). I have seen amazing trust develop when we can relate to the child in this way.
Since the child’s consciousness develops in relationship with others, we need to take great care to learn about the child’s development. Consciousness shows up primarily in changes in perception, which determines behavior, identity construction, ego development, relationship, knowledge formation, and emotional connection. To really look at and see the child is a form of respect for the child and, I dare say, for life. This requires understanding how the child’s worldview is directly related to development.
- Knowledge of child development is crucial to parents because family relationships are an essential contributor to the patterns that influence the child’s emotional development and social interactions for a lifetime.
- Knowledge of child development is crucial to educators because it can help educators understand the optimal age for appropriate communication strategies, for relationship, and for environments that provide the best needed support for developing the child’s innate capacities.
It is also important to know who we are in our own development (and resulting consciousness) because this strongly affects our students and our children and is the underpinning of all that we do with them. In essence, who we are is what we teach.
I discuss the importance of taking the time to understand how our children perceive the world at each age of development. This excerpt is an example:
…it is time that education supports each child in a web of relationships with educators and parents who share in the primary responsibility of guiding that child’s development. In this view, the boundary between adult and child does not exist. Our relationship with the children in our care, whether personal or professional, is of critical importance to well-being in the child’s consciousness. During each age of childhood, connection, understanding, and appreciation of child development are required.
Children learn competence in their developmental capacities in informal interactions with educators and in the family environment during everyday activities. To make those interactions the best they can be, it is important to understand how the child sees the world, a seeing that is governed by the organizing principle, and to nurture that child’s developmental needs. Every aspect of a human being is continually adapting to relationships, interpersonal communication, and educational experiences. With knowledge of child development and attention to attuned relationships with the child’s consciousness, we can co-create educational environments [and home environments] with supportive relationships that match the child’s developmental capacities. Well-being will flourish in both child and adult… The benefits of right relationships with children nourish children, adults, families, and society as a whole.
“It’s not about performance—it’s always about relationship.”
Please join me as I continue to look at how adult and child grow together. I look forward to your comments as the conversation develops.
Article referenced:
Luvmour, J. (2011). Education and the Consciousness of the Developing Child. Encounter: Education for Meaning and Social Justice, 24(4), 15-23.
The author with her husband, Ba Luvmour.