Reflection #9: Chapters 20 and 21

 1. What information surprised you or was new to you in this chapter? Hows does this information connect to info in the main course text?

2. What information do you agree with and why? What info do you disagree with and why?

3. Describe an experience you have had that relates to the information in this reading.

4. How can you use this information in your personal or work/school life?

5. Rate this chapter on a scale of 1 to 5 and explain your rating (1 = low and 5 = high).

Chapter 20

While I did not find the information in this chapter particularly surprising, the story of President Reagan’s thoughtless comment to the silver medalist about having lost was something I had not heard before (Pica, 2015, pp. 95-96). I was a very small child during his administration. That story did irritate me quite a bit. The overall concept of pitting children at this age against each other in such a way brings to mind Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development. During middle childhood, Erikson contends that children grapple with the issue of industry vs. inferiority (Paris, Ricardo, & Rymond, 2019, p. 25). Children begin to compare themselves to one another, and if they become discouraged, they may develop a feeling of inferiority rather than learning to overcome setbacks. 

I agree that too much pressure is put on children to compete and win at too young an age. Competition can be a healthy motivator, but care should be taken not to emphasize “winning” or “being the best” at the cost of teaching children to overcome setbacks. Children should be encouraged to keep moving forward and improving throughout life rather than just doing enough to “win.” 

I remember being very discouraged when learning to play the flute. I struggled through practices, barely keeping up with the other students in advanced band. Nobody pushed me to be the best player; my parents were just glad I was learning something new and unique to our family. They greatly emphasized being creative and “doing your own thing.” I knew all necessary notes, had a decent tone, but stumbled over the rhythms. One difficult piece in particular was tripping up our entire band. Our instructor was ready to scrap the piece altogether as nobody in the class could nail the rhythm. I do not know what inspired me, but I was determined to learn that tune. I spent hours at home breaking down the rhythms, subdividing the notes, and playing them at about a tenth of the tempo. Eventually, I figured out the entire piece. Then, one practice, our instructor had us attempt it once more. It was a mess. He waved for us to stop; however, something was different. He peered around at us with a quizzical expression. 

“Let’s just hear the woodwinds,” he said. 

Chaos. We were told to stop playing. 

“Just the flutes this time,” he said, trying to pinpoint what he heard.

A cacophony of breathy whistles responded. 

Narrowing his eyes, he said, “I only want you to play if you think you’re playing it correctly.” 

Terrified, I raised my flute to my lips. I was the only one. I played. 

“Beautiful.” 

I suddenly found music much, much easier and went on to play semi-professionally as an adult. My failures and resilience unlocked a source of great pride for me. This is one of my happiest memories. 

Knowing this, I have always done my best to encourage my own children and students to do their best and to learn from errors. I love to quote Bob Ross’s famous catchphrase, “There are no mistakes, just happy little accidents.” I explain from the beginning of new tasks that we should expect to try several times before achieving success. I try to emphasize “failure” as a normal part of the process. 

I rate this chapter a 5. I think it is very important that people calm down regarding being competitive about their children. We have to fall many, many times and learn to pick ourselves back up before we can ever learn to run. 

Chapter 21

The debate about including or removing handwriting from school curriculum is not new to me. I have had this very debate myself, most often with my husband, who stands opposed to me on this issue alongside his sloppy pencraft. As someone who loves the written word, the feel of writing in ink, the smell of fresh ink on paper, and includes calligraphy amongst her hobbies, I am an advocate of maintaining some semblance of handwriting. 

I agree with the author that this goes beyond being traditional or old-fashioned; writing provides many cognitive benefits and develops motor skills in ways that are not reproduced by technology (Pica, 2015, pp. 100-101). Just because you have a drill in your toolbox does not mean you toss out your handheld screwdriver; there are appropriate contexts in which to use both. 

I have found that the act of writing something greatly enhances my ability to remember it. Taking handwritten notes has always helped me remember class lectures best. When earning my undergrad degree, I had a tiny netbook that I took notes on. I would often not recall the content I had typed. I remedied this by typing them in class (I typed much faster than I could write) but then handwriting all answers on our study guide for midterms and finals after locating them in my typed notes. 

I have already used this in my own life. My children both learned handwriting in third grade, but they were never asked to use it in school again after this initial introduction. To ensure that they retain their handwriting skills, I include a handwriting practice book in their summer bridge assignments. Every summer, I purchase them each a bridge booklet to cover the gap between their school years. They are to complete a lesson each weekday, which only takes about 20 minutes, before touching video games. They also do one practice handwriting page. With just 30 minutes of work a say, my children generally avoid the typical “summer brain drain” and return to school each fall without having to struggle to recall the previous year’s contents. I do this not to give them a competitive edge but to decrease their anxiety, which runs in both sides of our family. 

I would rate this chapter a 3.  While I agree wholeheartedly that children should continue to read and write cursive, I do not think it is as important as the author seems to. I think it is a good tool to equip children with, and it may prove useful as they age, particularly since older generations still use handwriting a great deal, but I also think there are more important issues to expend energy on. 

References

Paris, J. Ricardo, A., & Rymond, D. (2019). Understanding the whole child: Prenatal development through adolescence. Open Educational Resource Publication by College of the Canyons. 

Pica, R. (2015). What if everybody understood child development? Corwin.