Professional Studies TSDA 2, Further Challenge continued.. An Introduction to the Nature/Nurture Debate

Activity 3

"Determinism is the philosophical idea that every event or state of affairs, including every human decision and action, is the inevitable and necessary consequence of antecedent states of affairs." - The Information Philosopher

A synopsis and analysis of the given videos and text.
The video clip from the Centre of the Developing Child at Harvard University gives evidence that at a very early age, biologically the brain is prepared to be shaped by development. Babies brains are preprogrammed to learn language. Abuse/neglect disrupts the circuiting in the brains architecture as it is being built. The argument put forward is to 'get it right early' rather than trying to 'fix it later'. In other words, providing  children with the basic physical and emotional needs such as love and security, making solid foundations for normative cognitive development. But how do we determine what is the 'right' set of needs for an infant? Who should determine them? Is it right that they are determined by anyone except parents?

"Early traumatic experience or sever neglect may have long-term deleterious effects on some individuals... But early trauma and neglect can also result in some children become more resilient." The Deterministic Myth of the 'Early Years' Dr Helene Guldberg (2013). Dr Guldberg goes on to ask; "when the window [of opportuniy] purportedly shuts, after infancy, is it too late to turn things around?" Is it reasonable to determine that a child's cognitive development, their 'nature', is set? From a teaching perspective, certainly not. A child comes into class one day shy, withdrawn and quiet, the next day they come bouncing in. In both the short-term and long-term behaviour of a child, we cannot write-off an individual as a 'bad egg'. In Sarah Jayne's TED talk, she discusses the continued development of the brain beyond the early years and into adolescence. Synapses in the brain are 'pruned away' during this time, brain development continues. "The brain is still more complicated, supremely so, and it is foolish to make predictions about young children's behaviour using current findings from the field of brain research...You need to keep up with ideas about scientific research in the fields of genetic and the neurosciences, but do not be seduced by them." -Understanding Early Childhood;  Issues and controversies, Helen Penn, second edition p92 2008. In extreme cases of initial and continued neglect of a child, child development, in some cases, will be disrupted. A child who comes from an abusive home, without receiving support or intervention, will have significant effect on their learning in the classroom. This does not mean that in the future they will be unable to lead healthy adult lives. We must always be open minded and aware that our understanding and expression of love, support and care are different. "The idea that they way parents...generally intereact with their baby reflects how much they love their baby...is based on prejudice not 'science'. We all have our way for showing love to each other." Guldberg. This introduction into the nature nurture debate has reinforced my thoughts and philosophies. It is certainly important to remember that as teachers we should first understand each child individually, before we begin to teach.

"We cannot change the past, but we can change the future, and we will be much better placed to do that without infant determinism." Guldberg. I agree, but in extreme cases of neglect and abuse, it is with far greater challenges that we attempt to change the future.