Rudolf Steinerâ’s ideas for the care and education of young children are inappropriate for preparing them for life in the twenty-first century. Do you agree?

I do not agree to Rudolf Steinerâ’s ideas for the care and education of young children is inappropriate for preparing them for life in the twenty-first century.  Currently, there are numerous arguments regarding curriculum and teaching methods, but it discovered more than the socio-cultural and political experiments of teaching physical education (Mawer: 2001). Children may learn as much from the methods or mode of transmitting knowledge based on the contents of the curriculum. Students learn from the pedagogical mode as well as or even instead of the content that teachers intend or want them to receive. In essence, there is no such thing as a content-only curriculum. In the act of teaching, teachers socialize students as they skill them. Indeed, there would hardly be the heated debates surrounding the nature of teaching methods in schools. Pedagogic discourse is a ‘rule which embeds two discourses’; a ‘discourse of skills of various kinds and their relation to each other’, which he refers to as ‘instructional discourse’, and a discourse of social order, which he calls ‘regulative discourse’ (Mawer:2002).  The Instructional discourse is always embedded in regulative discourse, and the regulative discourse is the dominant discourse. Thus there can be no transmission of skills without the transmission of values.

 

 

According to Sayre and Gallagher ( 2000 ) physical and psychological health and safety are very important to children’s educations.  The young child sensible knowledge and skills to enhance positive attitudes in children and early childhood professionals by stressing the role of family and culture in child development and their learning environment should help them expands on the underpinning of developmentally suitable physical activity, movement development, physical fitness, nutrition, safety in the early childhood learning environment, and the responsibility of parents and communities in developing healthy attitudes and lifestyles for the young. They also believed that early childhood educators should investigate the range of factors that affect the progress of a physically and psychologically healthy and safe lifestyle for infants, toddlers, and young children.”

Studies prove that the quality of child care have a great impact to the growth and development of the child. Infants have diverse personalities and temperaments, they develop at different rates. Their self-esteem is an important aspect of their development, that is why parents and caregivers should give them constant praise and encouragement. The following points should be consider in order to help boost the development of a child (Mawer:2001):

 

* Communicate to your offspring what needs to be done at that moment.

* Redirect his or her attention or activity by using neutral or positive language.

* Say no while maintaining love.

* Explain the reason for your rule.

* Give limited tasks and be specific in your request.

* Acknowledge children’s feelings, but set limits.

* Help them understand how their actions affect others.

* Help kids use words to communicate their frustrations.

* Acknowledge positive behavior.

 References

Mawer, Mick. (2001). Learning and Teaching in Physical Education. London: Falmer Press.

 

Mawer. Mick. (2002) Mentoring in Physical Education: Issues and Insights. London: Falmer Press.

 

Penney, Dawn. (2002). Gender and Physical Education: Contemporary Issues and Future Directions. London: Routledge.

 

Sage, George. (2003). The Future of Physical Education: Building a New Pedagogy. New York: Routledge.

 

Sayre, Nancy and Gallagher, Jere. (2000)Young Child and the Environment, The: Issues Related to Health, Nutrition, Safety, and Physical Activity. Allyn & Bacon.

 

 

Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com