Saturday, December 24, 2011

Impressionable Quotes

“Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression.~Dr. Haim Ginott


"Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children."~Walt Disney


"We do not think of a child as a person full of needs to whom we must continually give, give, give.  Children are seen as competent individuals who have within themselves the ability to find out what they need to know. "~Carlina Rinaldi

 

"The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children" ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

 

 














Saturday, December 10, 2011

ASSESSING INTELLIGENCE

I personally feel that there is no one way to assess a child.  In order to get a full and accurate assessment a child should be assessed in every area of development.  When one think about it, in order to understand a child you have to look at every aspect of the child's life, and I feel it should be the same when assessing a child.   In order to get a full understanding of the child's development and intelligence we must examine all areas of biosocial, cognitive, as well as psychosocial development.  I think it is unfair for a child who has been reading the English language for a minimal amount of time to be measured on the same scale as a child who has always read the language. 

ASSESSING INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA

The children in China are faced with the same dilemma as the American children with the standardized tests.  In China the three major purposes for assessment is
  • assessment as improvement of teaching and learning
  • assessment as making schools and teachers accountable for their effectiveness
  • assessments as making students accountable for their learning
In China the primary schools test in the areas of mathematics and Chinese language. Both Hong Kong and China have long traditions of high-stakes examinations to select students for limited spots in higher levels of education or in higher rated educational institutions.  
Regardless of which culture, I feel it is inappropriate for children to be assessed using standardized testing as the only tool.  Some children are very intelligent but have a difficult time with testing.  Also during test time a child may be having problems at home, feeling ill, and the atmosphere of the testing room may be uncomfortable, who knows.  Know one, so if all of things are not taking into accountability I think the test results inaccurate.

Reference:
http://auckland.academia.edu/GavinBrown/Papers/1042771/Teachers_Conceptions_of_Assessment_in_Chinese_Contexts_A_Tripartite_Model_of_Accountability_Improvement_and_Irrelevance