Week 6 Lantz

Week 6

Chapters 9 & 10

                Chapter nine focused on early adulthood and chapter ten focused on middle. These chapters, like the rest still focused on the changes humans go through mentally and physically. It discusses other things as well as drug usage, initiations into adult hood, jobs, careers, marriage, identity, and the ideas of gender. It continues on with physical  development and aging.

                The discussion on gender in lifesmart on pages 215 to 218 really surprised me because of the typical lack there usually is in teaching and discussing this idea in classes usually. It spoke of the ideas of gender orientations and other ways of dealing and labeling gender for the world today. Including even a picture of Lady Gaga and avid supporter of the Community that identities with a different gender. I identify as an ally but my best friends are gay and bisexual. The school we had attended together prior did not even discuss any such matters in the psyche classes or sociology classes. The books states what gender role orientation or expectation is and gives a definition of what androgyny is which most in college couldn’t even figure out what the word meant. This is definitely interesting for a text book and something I can get behind as it will make talking to young children easier. My cousin is Trans and trying to explain to my little sister what that means is difficult. Cassie gets the name change and the want to be different but I question how much she really understands.

Chapter ten focuses on middle adult hood and discussed age, and physical change and how that can effect a personals cognitive abilities. On page 241, there is a section that starts with, “the Role of Creativity.” It opens with, “a key factor in the ability to continue to be productive well into the later years is creativity.” I think this is true especially because of the rising use of art therapies and hobbyists., (definitely for the ages the hobby market markets to! Example: knitting and crocheting are currently marketed to this age area.) These are used to get the middle aged involved in something other than the typical career, family, orientated aspects of their life.  The chapter lists aspects that creativity studies found in highly creative adults as;

1) like planning and making own decisions

2) do not like to work with others and prefer own judgement

3) take hopeful outlook

4) have the most ideas when a chance to express individual opinion is presented

5) are most likely to stand their ground in criticism

6) most resourceful

7) are not necessarily the “smartest” or “best” in competition

I can totally see this but I disagree that it is simply in adults. I have been described as one or more of these since I started the pursuit of art in grade school. I think it is more a matter of allowing creativity to flourish at a young age rather than waiting until adult hood. I am curious to know what you guys think!




Edit: 7/19
I watched the videos needed and  I'd like to talk about the second on from Karen McGonigal. This was an eye opener because of how I dealt with things in college. During college I was told my mood, and frequent illnesses were simply because of stress and my workload.  Even after college I was told I did not like change and it was simply causing me stress. Aftere watching this video the oxytocin made sense to me. It was telling the body to find support. Well the only common thing that happened throughout my time away from home was I worked on all my assignments with someone close to me in the same room. We did not have to talk, they could be playing video games, or reading. They just had to be present. I would accomplish all my tasks, and feel at ease, tired, but at ease. 

week 5 - Lantz

Week 5 chapter 8

                Talking about adolescence is tricky to discuss its stated as “a time of life marked by transitions” (pg.186).  This chapter discuses all the types of changes an adolescent goes through; the physical changes to the mental.  It also brings up the struggles they face with each of these changes.

                This chapter is all about change. “Adolescence is a complex process of growth and change. Because biological and social changes are often the focus of attention, changes in the young adolescents ability to think may go unnoticed.( LifeSmart pf 191.) This rings true because of everything they deal with. .  The students are developing physically via puberty and these new changes make them feel emotionally different because it makes them feel like they are always on center stage with everyone judging those around them.  I remember in one of my classes in Wisconsin the professor had stated this is the roughest time to teach the students because they have no idea what they are doing, or what they actually want, or what they are doing, because of so many things going on for them. I did not really understand until I simply just sat with the students and talked with them working on the same projects they were.

The chapter discuses each thing that is going on in their lives that they would discuss. Their lives, identities, and even things they or their peers were dealing with.  It was honestly one of the most exhausting experiences.  It was exhausting because of the sheer amount of work they were given but also the different things they were dealing with outside of their education.  This was part of a study I read in that class stating that a teacher wanted to experience a student’s week and see what went on in the life of a student I did it for significantly less than the professor did. I also did it at about a quarter of their age and was mentally and physically exhausted by the end of the day.  The students have a lot to deal with and it’s a big stressor with their physical changes going on. 

week 4- Lantz

Chapters 6 &7

The next stages for development are Early Child hood and middle childhood. Early childhood started with the development of physical and motor skill and then discussed the neural connections to the brain.  Piaget's pre-operational theory and conservation task were discussed.

The paragraph about the entire community that built an education system for preschoolers snatched my attention. The Reggio Emilia, Italy embody an approach to early childhood education as bringing everything surrounding the student together. "In the Reggio Emilia schools, the classroom and school environment are considered another teacher, which means that beauty, nature,  and transparency ( to foster communication between individuals) are explicitly demonstrated in many ways…" (pg139) It is the embodiment of holistic learning grabbing the attention of a student that fits he or she's specific needs. Art Education tries to bring that idea into class rooms by adding art alongside other subjects to think about a subject from different perspectives. The Reggio Emilia community brought this idea back to their children at the time.

 

The children's art work section stated that "learning to draw is like learning a language: Children acquire increasingly complex and effective drawing rules, which is one of the major achievements of the human mind." (pg. 150) I can agree with this statement as it stands, because its true art is a form of communication and in schools it was once placed in the communication category. The work of Rhoda Kellogg is an argument that four stages are the forms of art commonly used. They are; 

1: placement

2: shape

3: design:

4: Pictorial

I have never heard of Kellogg but I am curious about her work and if it is similar to the study I read in my under grad. It was a study about children from around the world and what they would do when given a pen.  If it is their first time they would almost immediately jam the tip into the paper. It is called a BAM mark. As they gained more motor skills it would move into line and shape, etc. The only thing that was different between the cultures was the colors.

EDIT:Change a few weeks after I wrote the above and continuing below after watching the videos!: I have heard of Kellogg She is definitely the same one who discussed the BAM mark. 


For the bullying video It was rough watching what those kids have gone through, especially after I am the one who usually would stand up for those kids during school. (fact: I have gotten into a lot of trouble solely because I stood up for someone...(including getting into trouble with the school.) I think though the media has gotten pretty good at referencing bullying. In fact one of the most recent Disney movies has bullying in it and what has changed. I am talking about Zootopia.  The main character is Judy, she is a rabbit who wants to be a police officer but not many believe in her. Especially her hometown bully who is a Fox.  Here is the video of the moment she gets bullied as a kid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9IqrTRbHDA

The movie continues and she does get her dream but only halfway. She becomes a police officer sworn to ticket duty until she befriends a client to get a case before she is kicked off the force. Before I say too much and spoil it for anyone she goes back home downtrodden and ends up meeting the bully again. Here is that video: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB021VKnVvE

He apologizes and says why he did what he did which is important for both parties.

week 3- Lantz

Week 3: Ch 3, 4, & 5

This large chunk of chapters went through the beginning of conception to infancy. That is the cells and how they form all the way until the birth of the newborn. There is information about the disorders that can develop from genes, stress, and substances taken in during the pregnancy that can harm the fetus. The last chapter discusses the development physically and mentally of the infant.

The entire start of the reading was basically my biology and health class but what peaked my interest was the paragraph on the Postpartum Adjustment. It talked about depression usually because of the hormonal changes during and after having the baby. It also talked about bonding, single parenting, and family dynamics. These last ones I have never heard of but in general I have rarely heard this or read of post-partum adjustment anywhere. It coming up in the text book surprised me. I knew it existed I just was not expecting it to come up, especially because a friend of mine's mother had gone through the depressive stage with her son and had some pretty intense thoughts. Stating that she felt upset, lost, and shameful, and had ideas of leaving baby to the cold to quietly sleep…The idea of it sends shivers down my spine but it is not necessarily talked about as often as SIDs, (sudden infant death syndrome.) (note: do not worry her and the baby (my friend) are fine!) I am curious to know if it affects the infants after birth too though.  My friend was fine but what about others?