“Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future”

 John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Here's Too You!

A Big note of thanks for sharing your knowledge and yourself with me.  I hope to be continuing this journey with you.  Best of luck in all of your endeavors.

Testing for Intelligence?

Holistic development is based on the premise that we are to see a child as a whole person, emotionally, socially, intellectually, physically, healthily, culturally and spiritually.

Each area of development influences the others and is interconnected.  For example: Physical development goes into cognitive and social.

Holistic development values the many forms of learning.  The art of holistic education lies in its responsiveness to the diverse learning styles and needs of evolving human beings.  What is appropriate for some children and adults may not be for others. 

 Test fall under many categories.  a standardized test is an exmination that's administered and scored in a predetermined, standar manner.  There are two major kinds of standardized test: aptitude tests and achievement tests.  The intelligence tests avaiable are supposed to be a guide to measure one's general level of intellignce.  Different test measure different skills.  Usually standardized tests are said to be the single best predicto of one's level of intellectual capacity.

They are an attempt to measure how well you know a certain subject, or ones intelligence, cognitive functioning, interest, and personality are a few that come to mind.  I think the goal is generally all interconnected. 

Based on that information, I do not believe the formal approach is the best way to study what the young child.  I do not approve this type of assessment testing should be administered to children.  Every child has their own style of learning.   Of tools and techniques that can be helpful in a standardized test will not allow all children to share what they know and have learned?  There are many other items to be considered.  I know adults who do not test well.  There are a variety of tools and techniques that can be used.

After learning that one of my students would be returning to Korea for his elementary school years, I decided to take a look at assessment testing  at schools in Korea.  In Korea education his very important and expected of all citizens.  A fee is charged to attend school.  The school researched uses  The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), it is designed to measure intelligence.  It is a standardized achievement test designed to provide achievement scores that are valid for most types of educational decision-making. Areas that are assessed are Reading/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. It is often used for placement evaluations in programs for gifted children.  

A child’s feeling and emotions have an effect on what they learn.  In elemtery school my  I felt that I felt that I was not as smart as the other children when it cam to spelling or math.  My teachers responds effected my emotional response.  If they cheered telling me I could do it or did they stare at me in complete silents.  As educators it is crucial that we remember that no experience fails to evoke an emotional response.  Understanding this fosters the whole being.   

http://www.infed.org/biblio/holisticeducation.htm

http://www.davidjcarey.com/Wechsler_Intelligence_Scale_for_Children.ht

http://www.dulwich-seoul.kr

http://www.jstor.org/stable/1130621