A fellow adjunct and I were recently lamenting the woes of higher education when she commented, “Education has become a commodity.”
While I was slightly taken aback, I agreed. She gave voice to something I’ve been observing in the classroom and experiencing in my interactions with students...
I love teaching the Bible to early childhood development majors for several reasons: (1) It combines two fields I’m deeply passionate about (Bible/theology and child development), (2) ECD students are extremely relational and intuitively understand God’s relational nature, (3) They approach the Bible with humility and a genuine desire to learn, (4) Working with children gives them an entirely different perspective on Scripture, and (5) They’re terrified the first night of class (due to their perceived biblical ignorance), but by the last night, they gladly, willingly, and confidently share their insights...
Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist came up with the zone of proximal development (ZPD). This “zone” represents the distance between where a child is at and where they can be. It’s the bridge between what's already known and what’s unknown; the link between an already-skill and a not-yet skill. It is in this zone where learning takes place...
In child development and developmental psychology, mirroring is the process by which a caregiver reflects back to a child their worth, value, and specialness. It’s a validating process. It recognizes a child’s emotions and feelings, and in so doing, validates their being and personhood. The overwhelming experience of joy, love, and affection present in the parent's gaze is beamed directly into the infant's or child’s eyes. Essentially, this gaze conveys, “you’re worthy just because of who you are.”
Mirroring plays a significant role in the development of self-worth, self-esteem, and self-concept. Children need to be admired, they need to feel their mother and father’s excitement and joy. When a child fails to receive mirroring, s/he “struggles to establish a sufficiently cohesive and enduring self.”*
We recently discussed this concept in the early childhood development class I teach...
