Looking at children holistically, I believe there are two areas that should be assessed. The first area is the child’s well being. This includes yearly health exams. Children should be checked to see if they need glasses, need speech help, or have some kind of disability. These are just to name a few. Learning cannot happen if the child cannot see, or hear the teacher. I often think of the kid who comes to school hungry and cannot focus. His hierarchy of needs has not been met, so learning cannot take place just yet. The second area is of course assessing their learning through testing. I think testing shouldn’t just be pencil and paper. I believe it should vary from group projects, oral presentations, book reports, and verbal testing with the teacher. Today, we have all kinds of learning styles, and it is important to reach all our students. Incorporating social learning into our assessment is an important tool I believe.
I decided to look into China because I taught 2nd grade there one summer. Education is very important. I read an article entitled, “China’s Children too busy for playtime.” The children go to school Monday through Friday for nine hours a day. Their parents only work eight hours. Most children spend their weekends studying and doing extracurricular activities. They lack in play, and are missing out in socialization. The children are assessed through testing like here in the states, but these children strive for perfection. In one study mentioned in this article, only four out of ten children said they had friends to play with when they were allowed to play. This could contribute to why the children are so unhappy. A 16 year old even committed suicide because she failed an entrance exam to high school. I think this says it all. Children in China are simply assessed in one area only and that is their grades. These children are missing out on childhood and playtime which allows them to develop in other areas.
All around the world, we are assessing our children. In some countries, success means nothing less than perfect. In other countries, as long as you try, you have succeeded. Every child is unique and has something to offer. It is our job as early childhood professions to help our students be the best they can be. If it really is a calling for us, we will bend over backwards to make sure everyone is learning. In some classrooms today, you will find teachers just using worksheets after worksheets. This shouldn’t be us. I do believe if we give our children more opportunities to collaborate with their peers and have time to just be kids that we will see assessment scores rise. I feel that if school is all work and no play then students will be no longer interested in school by second grade. Assessment should comes in many forms.
Reference:
“China’s Children too busy for playtime.” China Daily. Retrieved from: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-05/13/content_871182.htm
