The Whole Child

When thinking about the whole child, it is important to be aware of what a child can do in all aspects of life. I believe when assessing a child, we need to look at each part of their life. As I was researching this topic, I came across the website www.educatethewholechild.org. This site broke down the different components that should be looked at to consider the whole child. This ranged from cognitive intellectual activity, creative- intuitive activity, structured physical movement, handwork- making things that are useful and engagement with nature and community (Educated the Whole Child). I think this idea shows that each child develops differently and when assessing a child, we need to determine which area is their strength. By determining this strength, information could be presented in that particular way, and could help a child succeed.

Throughout my research on this topic, I found many articles discussing the success Finland is finding recently. I looked further into this, and I was able to learn many differences from schools in Finland compared to schools in the United States. In Finland, you will not see a lot of standardized testing. Teachers are prepared for many different situations and are provided with the resources and strategies to help all students be successful. Hendricks explains that teachers in Finland are able to have more freedom and flexibility in what they are teaching. There are many formative assessments where the teacher looks at students’ performance and adjust their needs based on observation. Finland looks at all aspects of the child and does not use a numerical grading system. There is a lot of communication with parents and the students about their success. Finland exposes children to “art, music, cooking, carpentry as well as history, math, science, and language arts” (Hendricks, Assessment in Finland). An exposure to these subjects prepares a child for all aspects of life, and allows the teacher to see which areas of development a child needs support with. In Finland, students are not separated based on ability level. If a student is gifted, or needs more support, there are after or before school programs to place these children. ln all cases, it is the teacher’s responsibility to complete formative assessments and place the children accordingly.

Throughout my research I have learned that the United States is focused on summative testing, which results in a focus on performing well on standardized testing. This focus takes attention away from what a child’s strengths are. I do not feel that all testing should be taken away, but I believe that children should be exposed to more opportunities and should be able to learn through experiences.

References

Educate the Whole Child. A Different Way to Think about Education. (2017) Retrieved from: http://www.educatethewholechild.org

Hendricks, K. Mid- Western Educational Researcher. Volume 25, issues ½. Retrieved from: www.mwera.org