Moral & Social Development Learning Log

What?

In this chapter we discovered the roles of relationships and the emotional needs of students within the educational field. The primary point that we discussed were Erikson's Psychosocial Stages of Development. Erikson’s model of psychosocial development: Erik presented 8 different stages of psychosocial development in the span of a lifetime. The first stage is Trust versus Mistrust (infancy) which is an infant learns whether or not they can trust their caregiver for food, comfort, and affection. (Like when some babies don’t like strangers holding them?) The 2^nd stage is Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt (toddler years) which children can either develop a sense of accomplishment when they can finally feed themselves and go to the bathroom alone, but if parents are too demanding of their children doing things alone, the kid may feel doubt. The 3^rd stage is Initiative versus Guilt (preschool years) which is children begin to try to make plans for themselves and gain that independence, but if parents allow students to over do it and plan things that disrupt or are unattainable, the child may feel guilty. The 4^th stage is Industry versus Inferiority (elementary school years) is when students develop self confidence. Parents and teachers can make or break a child’s confidence. The 5^th stage is Identity versus Role Confusion (adolescence) is when they try to find their identity and place in the world. The 6^th stage is Intimacy versus Isolation (young adulthood) is after people have their identity but are looking for long term commitments or marriage. The 7^th stage is Generativity versus Stagnation (middle age) is having a sense of contribution to a family or society. The 8^th stage is Integrity versus Despair (retirement years) is the final developmental task. Seniors look back on their life with happiness that they did a lot and were successful, or they look back sad and wish they had done more. The other theorist that we talked about was Kohlberg's stages of Moral Development. His ideas included 3 moral levels and 6 stages within those morals. The stages are as follows, Stage 1: Punishment-avoidance and obedience, Stage 2: Exchange of Favors, Stage 3: Good Boy/Girl, Stage 4: Law and Order, Stage 5: Social Contract, and Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principle. Overall, in chapter 3 we learned why students get their insecurities and why they behave as they do during different stages of development.

So What?

This information is important for teachers to know so that we can be prepared. Understanding that Erikson's stages are not set in stone in regards to the age of which we experiences these stages, but to know that these stages to exist and that we need to be aware of them and looking for them in our students. As students begin to search for their true identity by figuring out their sense of self, we need to be a helping hand and give them a sense of direction when needed. As a future teacher, understanding that cliques and gangs are in my classroom, I can do the things necessary to create a community in my classroom.

Now What?

As a future teacher, this information will come in handy to better understand my students. Like I mentioned before, I want to create a community in my classroom and but doing that I need to be able to split up the cliques and gang members so that everyone can work together and maybe someday be able to understand one another. I can do this by creating a lot of group work in my class and separate the three girls in the back of the class who are always together and the 2 football players that hang out all afternoon. Doing this may create larger friendships and maybe allow students to learn about one another. As a grow as a teacher, I will be able to learn from fellow co-workers and possibly workshops that will help me learn more about reaching all different types of students and learners.