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Allison Heine
Dr. Ginott once said, “Children are like wet cement, whatever falls on them makes an
impression” (Nig, 2009, p. xxiii). I believe that this is a great metaphor for society’s view of
children today. Majority of society today views children as extremely impressionable, and feel
the need to somewhat monitor what they are exposed to through books, music, media, and
people. Censorship has become a large part of school systems today because of this desire to
monitor what our children are exposed to.
According to Mary Renck Jalongo and Anne Drolett-Creany (1991) many children’s
book are being rewritten or censored because of specific content that many deem unfit for child
readers. An example they provide is the story Hansel and Gretel, where instead of the witch
being stuffed in the oven, she merely just runs away in the rewrite. I believe this is an example of
educators, parents, or communities not knowing where to draw the line in the sand when it
comes to exposing children to graphic material. While we acknowledge that children are
incredibly smart and we are beginning to structure curriculum and activities to challenge them
more than ever before, society as a whole seems to have come to the conclusion that children
cannot figure right from wrong on their own.
Amy Mulin (2014) states that autonomy can be learned through children listening to their
parents respond and process other’s beliefs and perspectives, without dismissing the information.
Society’s idea of viewing children as impressionable is reasonable, but misguided in terms of
what is making the impression. Instead of worrying about censoring books, movies, and ideas, as
a whole we must educate parents and teachers that children learn through watching the actions of
those around them, and what their moral autonomy has become as they have grown older.

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Society’s view, specifically those in the field of education, has evolved greatly not only in
the last handful of decades, but couple of centuries. John Amos Comenius (1592-1670), also
known as the “Father of Modern Education,” believed that children learned through materials
and which should be designed around the child and their ability to utilize them. He was the first
to incorporate the idea of learning through play, which is now incorporated in classrooms
through dramatic play. He also believed the education system should be split into levels;
preschool, grade school, high school, and post-secondary school, and was one of the first to
believe in education for all ages, genders, and social status (Comenius, 2013).
Following Comenius came John Locke (1632-1704), who served as an early advocate for
play as a tool for learning, a shared belief with Comenius. He believed that children learn best
through experience and guidance, rather than punishment. He also advocated for a curriculum
structured around a child’s individuality, believing that all children learn differently (Baldwin,
1913). Proceeding Locke was Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), who believed that children
need to learn naturally at their own pace, and not to be pushed into acting and thinking like
adults too early. He also believed that children learned in different stages throughout their lives,
based on the ages of infancy, nature, pre-adolescence, puberty, and adulthood. This learning
could only take place through education from man or materials, and nature (Platz, 2011).
Johann Pestalozzi (1746 1827) based many of his beliefs on the studies and theories of
Rousseau, most notably the idea of children learning at a natural pace. However, he believed that
instead of being educated with man as the instructor, children learned best through discovery and
experiences. He believed that teachers should focus their curriculum around intellect, physicality,
and moral religion (Platz, 2011). Many followed in his footsteps, expanding on the idea of
discovery provided through the environment.

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Friedrich Froebel (1782- 1852) is known for his development of curriculum utilized in the
kindergarten classroom. This was centered around both fine and gross motor skills, as well as
staged play, where children can development socially, emotionally, and cognitively through
interacting with their peers in imaginative play (Platz, 2011). Theorist Maria Montessori (1870-
1952) also agreed that children need peer involvement to have appropriate development. She
believed that learning worked best in groups of different ages. She expanded her theory by
stating that younger children learn best from children older than themselves, and the older
children learn through teaching concepts they have already learned to the younger children. She
also developed a curriculum of free choice, where children have a multitude of learning activities
throughout the classroom. There, they can chose what to participate in, while receiving guidance
from the teacher (American Montessori Society, 2016).
A more recent theorist, Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), developed theories and research that
paved the way for many personality theories after him. Something he is most noted for is his
theory of psychosexual development. This theory focuses on areas of the body that are easily
stimulated at certain ages and how that pertains to key milestones of development and education;
oral from birth to one year, anal from one to three years, phallic from three to six years, latency
from six to twelve years, and genital during adulthood (Staub, n.d.). Erik Erikson’s (1902-1994)
work expanded on Freud’s theory of stages of development and learning throughout a lifespan.
He believed there were eight stages of development; trust versus mistrust, autonomy versus
shame and doubt, initiative versus guilt, industry versus inferiority, identity versus role
confusion, intimacy versus isolation, generativity versus stagnation, and integrity versus despair
(Fleming, 2004).

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In keeping with stages of development, Jean Piaget (1896-1980) is most known for his stages
of cognitive development, based on his constructivist view that children learn through discovery
and interest. In infancy, you are considered to be in the sensorimotor stage, toddlers are pre-
operational, early adolescents are concrete operational, and adolescence and above are formal
operational (Huitt & Hummel, 2003).
Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences best describes what I believe to be how
children learn. Gardner theorized that instead of intelligence and non-intelligence, intelligence
can be divided into a subset of categories. These categories consisted of linguistic, logical-
mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist
(Ekinci, 2004). Each of these intelligences represents some type of learning process, for
example, someone who is a bodily-kinesthetic learner finds it easier to grasp concepts when they
can use their body or motor skills during their experience.
Curriculum should take into account with whom the type of learners the lessons are
implemented. If an educator has a classroom that mainly consists of children who score highly in
the linguistic intelligence, then that educator should structure the curriculum around writing and
reading lessons. For a classroom with mixed intelligences, an educator should provide a
multitude of activities that appeal to a variety of intelligences, rather than just one. This, I
believe, will allow each of the children a fair opportunity to grasp, manipulate, and understand
the material to whatever intelligence they find comes easiest to them.
This manipulation of material suggests that children are very creative when forming
resolutions or processes in their minds. Not to say that adults are not creative, but in a sense they
experience fewer opportunities to use their creative processes. This is because as we grow, we
are educated on the workings of the world and the processes around us. Children have yet to be

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exposed to these ideas or materials. An example, provided by the 4 & 5 afternoon lab, would be
a block set. Given to an adult, they would tell you it is used to build things, but given to a child,
they see “light-sabers,” forms of money, slices of bread, in addition to the idea of building
things. I believe adults have become conditioned to think practically, and with reason through
their education and experiences, which makes it harder to access their imaginative and creative
thought processing, especially when they are given objects that they already know the intended
use for.
My image of a child influences my teaching methods and how a build relationships with my
children immeasurably. I believe that children should always be given the opportunity to
discover and investigate, especially subjects that interest them. I believe that guidance, rather
than instruction, is what will benefit children the most. As stated before, many well-noted
theorists, such as Piaget, Montessori, and Locke, believed the discovery, guidance, and self-
directed experiences were the best tools for learning in early childhood. I addition, I consider
having positive relationships with my children very important to both their development and
learning experience.
The article written by Bergin & Bergin (2009) confirms my belief stating that attachment
serves two main purposes in the classroom. The first providing a sense of security, which enable
children to make inferences and explore without the feeling of being judged, and the second
copycatting adults behaviors and interactions in a positive light, aiding to their social-emotional
development. Because I will strive to develop secure attachment, which is exemplified through
open communication, positive guidance, and synchronicity between the child and myself, and
positive relationships with my children, this will help me accomplish both the sense of security
and trust that is necessary to their development.

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The information that I have presented has only strengthened my image of the child. My
image of a child is largely based on discovery and guidance in the classroom. Both of these
concepts have been regarded as some of the most noted theories from early childhood
researchers, most of which have been listed above. Researching these theories and seeing them
implemented in classrooms, both in research documents and through personal experience, I feel
more strongly about self-discovery, peer-guided and teacher guided learning, and learning moral
autonomy will be best learnt through guidance, rather than instruction, from the children’s
educators.

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References
American Montessori Society. (2016). Montessori Educaation. Retrieved from Introduction to
Montessori Method: http://amshq.org/Montessori-Education/Introduction-to-Montessori
Baldwin, B. T. (1913). John Locke's contributions to education. The Sewanee Review, 21(2),
184–187. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27532614
Bergin, C., & Bergin, D. (2009). Attachment in the classroom. Educational Psychology Review,
21(2), 141-170. doi:10.1007/s10648-009-9104-0
Comenius. (2013, June 7). New World Encyclopedia,. Retrieved 19:32, March 14, 2016 from
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Comenius&oldid=969888
Ekinci, B. (2014). The relationships among sternberg's triarchic abilities, gardner's multiple
intelligences, and academic achievement. Social Behavior & Personality: An
International Journal, 42(4), 625-633. doi:10.2224/sbp.2014.42.4.625
Fleming, J. S. (2004). Erikson's psychosocial developmental stages. in J. S. fleming,
Psychological Perspectives on Human Development (pp. 4-18). Southwest Psychometrics
Psychology Resources. Retrieved from http://swppr.org/textbook/ch%209%20erikson.pdf
Jalongo, M. R., & Creany, A. D. (1991). Censorship in children's literature, What Every
Educator Should Know. Childhood Education, 143. Retrieved from
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00094056.1991.10521598?journalCode=uc
ed20#.VuhuN6crI2w
Huitt, W., & Hummel, J. (2003). Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Educational
Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved March 3,
2016 from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cognition/piaget.html

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Mullin, A. (2014). Children, paternalism and the development of autonomy. Ethical Theory &
Moral Practice, 17(3), 413-426. doi:10.1007/s10677-013-9453-0
Nig, J. (2009). Dim Sum for the Family - Tips for Couples and Parents. Singapore: Armour
Publishing Pte Ltd.
Platz, D., & Arellano, J. (2011). time tested early childhood theories and practices. Education,
132(1), 54-63
Staub, J. (n.d.). Sigmund Freud, an Introduction. Retrieved from University of Maryland,
College Park:
http://www.physics.umd.edu/~einstein/HONR228K/Sigmund%20Freud_%20a%20lesson
%20plan...pdf