Psychology of Childhood and Adolescence in an Urban Context

There are many shortcomings in problems in education these days. Both at home and in the school environment, there are aspects that should be improved in order to provide better educations for children. Both parents and teachers do not fully take on their responsibility for each individual child. Schooling does not just take place in a school, nor does a class depend on a textbook. There are several things and learning tactics that can perhaps help improve the education for today’s children.

Many parents depend on their children’s teachers to teach them everything – from learning to read to science. These days we see more and more students doing poorly in school because they do not practice what they learn in school at home, nor are they being challenge and motivated to learn beyond a school curriculum at home. Parents wait until their child enters school to teach them to read, when it is really something that should have started from home. When their children start doing poorly, they blame the teacher but it also requires participation from the parent as well.

However in school we also se that children are not getting individual help as well. When a child is slower to understand something they are usually put in remedial classes, when really the teaching tactics could have been different and made the difference for the student. What then happens is that the child excels in remedial classes, but falls behind because they are not being taught at the level they should be taught at. It’s not the child’s fault, but the teachers for not using a different method instead of general ones. The student’s potential is not fully met.

Students also need to be more hands on in certain classes. For example, students seem to do better in science or math when they are hands on. Having lab time in science class where the student can see how things work first hand can help there understanding of that material that needs to be taught. Young children also seem to do better when they are touching and using their hands for math problems. Making math tangible instead of just using equations on a blackboard helps children learn the material that needs to be taught. Smaller classroom sizes would also better learning. The bigger the classroom, the easier it is for a child to fade into the group. However, with small class sizes, a student’s questions and needs can be met with more facility. There is more interaction.

A middle ground needs to be met both at home and at school. Parents need to get more involved in their child’s learning outside of the school environment. Students need to be challenged even at home. At school, smaller classrooms and more hands on learning could improve the way students learn.