When I first started reading Vivian Paley’s book I thought that it would only have a small bit about the child’s fantasy play and the majority about the author’s views on the children. I think that she did not want to tell the reader what to think, instead the reader had to interpret what the fantasy play meant to the children, which is what teachers will probably do when they assess students using portfolios and assessments that do not use numerical scores. I think that this book was assigned to this class because it allows the student to have some experience in trying to gather information about a child’s thinking during their play time, which is valuable learning time for children. The teacher, or reader, has to interpret the meanings behind the stories that the children create. The most obvious part was when Fredrick would only play the role of the baby when he was worried about getting another sibling and not being the baby of the family anymore. I think this was a great example o...
In the article Assessment of Young Children, the authentic assessment approach seems to veer towards looking at the student holistically, as opposed to the standardized tests that capture the child’s ability at a moment in time. I am really liking this idea of looking at the child in a multidimensional way, using personalized education, and creating growth promoting relationships, but I am wondering how this can actually be done at our public schools. I see teachers barely getting through the day with 20 to 30 children in their classrooms. It does not seem reasonable to expect our teachers to have the time to get to know each child to the point that a parent would know the child. Which leads me to wonder if some of this should fall on the parents. Where does their part come into “stimulating the growth of heart and mind”. Should we ask our teachers to spend all day with our children and know almost every aspect of their lives in order to personalize their education? Perhaps this...