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This aspect of development enables the child to move further in the process towards independence. As he/she grows through environmental stimulations, his motives will be to adapt to the environment. Hence, he/she will develop intellectually and morally. Intellectual stimulation is done formally, whereas moral development is informal and very subtle. The moral sensibility of a person is initiated during infancy, constructed and consolidated through experiences during childhood and adolescence. This will reflect in the personality of the adult.
Morality (moralis in Latin), which means, customs, manners, or patterns of behaviour that conform to the standards of the group. At every age, the individual is judged by how closely he conforms to the groups standards, and he is labelled moral or immoral, accordingly.
Moral development is related to the rules that people have for their interaction with others. It is concerned with the acceptance of morality which brings along certain forms of behaviour, attitudes and values in an individual. In the early stages, the child simply tries to avoid punishment as he cannot distinguish right from wrong.
Over time childrens values are influenced by parents and educators as role models. Childrens moral development is linked to their intellectual development. An older pre-schooler proceeds through a very selfcentred stage with decisions based on selfsatisfaction. In the later stages, a child develops a greater concern for being good and doing what is socially acceptable. It includes both the reasoning process by which people decide what is right and what is wrong, as well as behaviour in situations in which morality
Jean Piaget (18961980) is among the first psychologists whose work remains directly relevant to contemporary theories of moral development. In his studies, he focused specifically on the moral lives of children, studying the way children play games in order to learn about childrens beliefs about right and wrong. Interest in how children think about moral issues was stimulated by Piaget.
He watched children play marbles to learn how they used and thought about the games rules. He also asked children questions about moral issues like: theft; lies; punishment; justice. Through his studies, Piaget concluded that children, depending on their developmental maturity, think in two distinct ways about morality: Heteronomous and Autonomous morality
Stage 1: Punishment and Obedience Moral thinking is based on punishment. Children obey because adults tell them to obey. Whatever is rewarded is good; whatever is punished is bad.
One has developed a moral standard based on universal human rights. When faced with a conflict between law and conscience, the person will follow conscience, even though the decision might involve personal risks. Good is understood in terms of abstract principles, whether or not societies agree with them the emphasis is on human rights.
Which stages are particularly relevant to you as an educator? Kohlbergs theory shows us that moral reasoning is a complex process and the child needs to be guided throughout. In the pre-school age, you will be dealing with children of the first two stages and eventually the third stage, but it is important for you to understand the whole process of moral development according to the perspective of Lawrence Kohlberg.
Storytelling and story-listening can contribute to children's intellectual, emotional, and social development. It is good to keep in mind that telling stories to children can be just the first step in an interactive process.
Regardless of whether a story's characters are humans, animals, aliens, etc -- all stories are about situations. Story listeners can project themselves into these characters, and imagine themselves in these situations. The listeners can consider if they might do things the same or differently from how the characters do things. This gives the listeners practice for living.
Storying enables children to think in term of sequences, of progressions, of events. This helps them to recognise patterns of behaviours and actions, in story and in life. It gets them in the habit of organising data into sequences that progress from a beginning, to a middle, to an end -and hold together cohesively as a unit. This helps children to put things together -- to make sense out of experience.
Answering and discussing such questions can help children in a number of ways. Doing so can help them to think about characters' motives. This can help children to develop understandings of characters' personalities and actions -- and can enable children to think about values, ethics, and principles of morality. The children are then in a position to be able to apply this kind of thinking to their decision-making about how they might behave in their own real lives. In these ways, children can become more aware of their own -- and others -- thoughts and feelings, and they can become more articulate in talking about all of this.
Storytelling and story-listening -- along with discussion -enhances children's comprehension skills, at the literal, inferential, and critical levels. Inferential refers to becoming aware of patterns, recognising causal links, understanding that there are consequences to actions, and being able to predict what might come next. Critical refers to considering characters' behaviors, and other aspects of a story, from all angles.
It is a universal axiom that everyone knows and understands - reading is the greatest habit. Reading to younger children is still more effective. A child who inculcates the habit of reading at an early age will be the wisest and intelligent person in the later stages of his/her life. Reading habit should start at home and by the children's bed side. Parents can bring home great books and read their content to their children, especially when they go to sleep.
Teachers can put up Reading Corners, take children to the school library or ask the children to bring books from home to share with their friends The DEAR programme is a good way of encouraging children to read. As you read stories to children or as children read books by themselves, the moral of the story will sink in their minds very quickly.
An Extraordinary Egg, By Leo Lionni Three frog sisters living on a pebbly island discover an extraordinary pebble. It turns out to be an egg. One of the frog sisters deems it a chickens egg because she just knows these things. A baby alligator hatches from the egg yet the sisters continue to call the little gator a chicken. The story follows the little chicken through a rescue of the frog sister, Jessica. They become inseparable buddies and one day, they reunite the baby alligator with her mother. However, the frog sisters never concede in their conviction that the little creature is most definitely a chicken.
Literature for Young Children identifies this book as an appropriate literature choice to support the goal of the development of logical thinking (Giorgis & Glazer, 2009). An obvious error in logical reasoning among the characters in the story gives children an opportunity to feel superior to the book characters because they know what is going on (Giogis & Glzer, 2009, pg. 156). Expanding logical reasoning in this way enhances selfesteem and teaches children to study the evidence instead of taking the word of someone who just knows as truth.
Fredericks gift to his fellow mice is unexpectedly needed in a very dark time for them all. The story reminds the audience that everyone has a gift to give and it may not be recognizable while it is being created. This story lends itself to lots of questions: What if Frederick had just been sleeping while his family gathered the supplies for winter? Is thinking working? What are some other things the mice could do after all of the food was gone and they only had the gray room to be in? Would you like to have Frederick in your family when it was time to get ready to going camping? Why or why not? Role playing these scenarios would lend itself to numerous responses, especially for the child playing Frederick.
No David by David Shannon Perhaps one of the least favourite words for a child to hear is no. However, when the character of David is experiencing reaching for the cookie jar while standing on his tilted chair, splashing all water and more from the bath tub, playing with his food, picking his nose and running out of the house naked, it is hard not to laugh about the boundaries he is breaking. The illustration in this book is absolutely eye-catching for young children, and they will connect to the little fellow who is always being told not to do what he is doing. He eventually gets into trouble and is sent to the corner for a time-out, a little tear rolling down his cheek. The story ends with redemption in the warmth and love of his moms arms.
This is an important book because children will come to know that they are not the only ones being told not to do what they are doing David is in the same boat. This is supportive of the social goal to see things from another persons perspective (Giorgis & Glazer, 2009). A fun conversation to initiate while looking at the adorable David and his antics is why he shouldnt do some of the things he is doing. These social behaviour conversations take the pressure off of the child or children and let them put David on the spot. The premise of this story is important for children to understand; David is not a bad boy he just makes some unacceptable choices. He will continue to be loved and accepted after making poor choices. For personality development, this supports their development of weighing evidence and to make appropriate choices (Giorgis & Glazer, 2009).
Leo The Lop by Stephen Cosgrove This story, about a bunny named Leo who looks different from the rest of the bunnies, takes place in the imaginary land of Serendipity. He is made to feel that looking different is not okay. He attempts to change his gorgeous, loppy, long ears to be like all of the other bunnies whose ears stand straight up on their heads. In a wonderful twist, he comes to the conclusion that the he is the normal one and all of the others must not be since they are different from him! An especially wise possum vicariously informs all of them of the moral of the tale which is: Normal is whatever I am and whoever you are!
This book lends itself to role play and is a good example of the importance of not treating others differently because of the way they look. Differences are normal and natural. This is especially applicable when working with children with disabilities (if there are physical differences) in the same classroom or anywhere. Normal physical differences could be emphasized and celebrated such as a large nose, large mouth, big ears, a pot belly, oversized hands, or any other costume that is available that shows an exaggerated physical difference. A follow up activity: Write or draw a picture of one thing that makes you different from anyone else you can think of and why is it good. What makes you the same as other people you know? Post the stories and pictures in a collective book for classroom sharing.