So, I'm still trying to make sure we get this blog moving along smoothly. I sent out requests for you all to join me as authors for this blog. However, if there are a few of you who are having difficulty with the blog or that did not receive my email, you may post in response to this instead of creating a new post (which is preferred). If you would like me to send a request for you to join as an author under another email address, that is fine by me; just email me to let me know what address you want me to send the request to.
Remember, one post must consist of original thoughts while the other one must be a response to previously posted comments. Each posting should be a minimum of three sentences long. Posts are due by the end of Wednesday for each week’s first topic (like Physical development this week), and are due by the end of Friday for each week’s second topic. These posts might be descriptions and pointers to relevant resources online, summaries and critiques of relevant articles, or personal musings related to the themes of the course. Please ensure that you reference information from lecture or the book in your original posting as background information before you build on it with your additional resources or thoughts.
Good luck and happy writing!
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Chapter 2 and the lecture on Physical development were fascinating and very insightful. The lecture helped me to gain a better understanding of the prenatal stages (Zygote, Embryonic Period, and Fetal period.) Having an understanding of the development from the beginning stages helps me to make sense of the many physical changes bad or good that take place in the babies’ early development. For example the lecture discussed in great length Teratogen, meaning "substance or disease that causes abnormal development of the fetus," helped me to reflect upon the devastating instances of babies being born with low birth rate, genetic disorders, and abnormalities such as fetal alcohol syndrome. For me personally it was very interesting making connections between these birth abnormalities that can take place during the development of the baby and the educational implications it can have on a child.
ReplyDeleteAs a future teacher there could definitely be a case of a child who will come to our classrooms with the background of being addicted to a drug, or have low cognitive abilities because of low birth rate. As a teacher we must still learn to accommodate and differentiate instruction for inclusion and success in the classroom. Another extremely beneficial section of the lecture was the discussed motor development of a child. Being able to see the Gross Motor skills (talking, walking, potty training, and differences is very important because if these skills are lacking or slow in development then issues can take place for the child, furthermore causing additional testing or observation of a child. It is good to know the physical therapists are useful and great resources for gross motor skill development in the schools. I want to teach the younger grades 2nd and under and during these grades I will have the opportunity to observe and watch my student's gross and fine motor skills and hopefully be able to identify if there is a need for further testing.
The section on later development during puberty and adolescents was key because it discussed the positive and negative changes associated with puberty for both math and female. I found it very interesting that females who developed at an early age are prone to issues of teasing, depression, less accepted by peers, anxiety, and joining with older peer groups. This was interesting because in my own person experiences in middle school the females that had developed early physically and emotionally were sought as the mature and more popular girls at school because they had a menstruation, breast, and had fully developed. At my school the girls who were “late bloomers” were often teased or felt left out of the loop of womanhood. (At least this was the case in my own personal experiences) I believe the section on puberty is also important to us as future teachers because a knowledge of the emotional, psychological, and physical changes going on during our students lives will help us make connection and support students going through awkward times at school with peers.
This lecture really put things into perspective. I have heard many of terms before and was unaware of the technical names for them. This lecture has showed me that it is very important to understand these concepts to help me become a better teacher. One of the terms that was discussed was Teratogen. This was very interesting to me because unfortunately I have a family member who had a child while they were abusing drugs. I personally have seen the effects it has had on him as a child. As an educator we need to be aware of these issues that out students might be coming in with. Another topic that was discussed in the lecture that I thought was very interesting that is beneficial for teacher who are teaching at the intermediate level and higher is puberty. It amazed me to see how males and females can view that experience in a different way. For example, if males mature early they are more likely to have a positive reaction to it where as females would have a negative reaction. As educators there are so many factors that we need to take into consideration and the development of children is crucial to being an effective teacher.
ReplyDeleteKristine, I completely agree with you when you talked about how it was beneficial to learn about gross and fine motor skills. You also mentioned that as a teacher you need to be able to recognize them to see if a child needs further testing. I am glad that you mentioned that a physical therapists are a great resource because I was unaware of that. I too want to teach younger grades and hope that I am able to identify early enough if additional testing needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteInteresting Powerpoint. I think we have all taken classes on psychology of children before, or at least I have and each time the same topic is brought up, I feel i learn a little more. I have never gone as in dept as to relating the material to education, but there are many factors from pregnancy that we as teachers will see, but will have not had the ability to change.. if that makes sense. I did not realize that low birthrate could affect the cognitive ability of a student. I know growing up, I was (and still am) one of the smallest people in the class, and so were my friends. We also weren't the brightest crayons ever. As well I knew a few people who were held back, and none of them were ever tall. Guess we learn something new all the time. It makes me think of my placement class, and how Tiffany is right, these students who are still very small for their age do show more of a struggle in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I almost disagree on is the motor skills. Yes, we are going to be experts on children, but when you're teaching an older elementary class, granted most of your children can speak or go to the bathoom themselves. If not, they should have already been tested for special services. So a teacher will be an expert on children, but will primarily be working with the student siwth fine motor skills, reinventing their penmenship and in turn, after all these years of the child having won the nobel peace prize for worst handwritting ever, the teacher retrained their brain to learn the proper way to write, and that is almost as big of an accomplishment as having your student exceed on AIMS. That student will know how to write more legibly for the rest of their lives thanks to you and you don't even have to take credit for it. Thank their brains!
After reading chapter 2 and listening to the lecture I learned many things about the physical development. I have never really taken a class that discussed the stages of development of an infant. So it was very informative for me to learn about the three different stages of development. However, last semester in my EDP 311 class we did spent a good amount of time learning about the brain. So I would like to discuss the article in the book titled "The Teen Brain."
ReplyDeleteThe article talked about how a lot of research has been spent on brain development at an early age, but much can be learned about the teenagers brain. Researchers found that the frontal lobe goes through major changes at the 10 to 12 years old mark. Another researcher noted that the frontal cortex changes significantly when puberty starts. He suggested that this part of the brain controls emotions, and is most likely the reason for teenagers to suffer of mood swings.
The teenage brain was one area I liked to discuss. I am going to be a high school teacher, and these teenagers, are going to be the students I teach. So for me, knowing the changes their body is going through, and how the students are feeling can greatly help me when trying to reach out and teach them throughout the school year.
I agree completely with Kristine R. "The lecture helped me to gain a better understanding of the prenatal stages (Zygote, Embryonic Period, and Fetal period.) Having an understanding of the development from the beginning stages helps me to make sense of the many physical changes bad or good that take place in the babies’ early development."
ReplyDeleteI felt that this was a great foundation for understanding special needs students in the classroom. There are so many variables in prenatal and infant development and health, it was nice to get all of the background information as to how conception occurs, the stages, and how those "special needs" might occur during the fetal developmental stages.
The foundation for learning really starts at conception. I find that so fascinating. As teachers we will come face to face with, like you said Tiffany, many many children. We will eventually become experts at teaching and developing tools and tricks for children of all backgrounds and needs to learn. However, with the background knowledge of human development..specifically child development; as teachers we will be so much more prepared to handle learners of all types in our classroom. The more prepared we are, the better. I feel like this course will help me in the "diagnosis" part of teaching. The last thing I want to do is have a problem go undetected and consequently that child not getting the services s/he needs. Being able to recognize a fine or gross motor problem accurately will ultimately help students (and their families) be more successful.
ReplyDeleteChapter two and the lecture served as an overview of this very interesting subject for me. The physical development of children is a fascinating topic and is one that I have learned about in my elementary and junior high music methods courses. We did not go into great detail on the prenatal development however, we did talk about motor and fine motor skills for the majority of the class. For all the teachers out there that are going into elementary school, it is imperative that you understand the gross motor and fine motor skills of young children and how and when they develop. For example, the chart on pages 92 and 93 of our textbook is the same chart I learned in my other class. This is a wonderful chart and is a vital piece of information for all teachers and even parents.
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting sentences of chapter two was on page 57. "The average period of human gestation is 38 weeks. Within the first weeks of prenatal development, the head, vital organs, central nervous system, and skeleton are all formed." This part of the chapter along with the lecture has helped me gain a better knowledge of this material. We all learned this back in high school, however it was not as in depth as this textbook. The human and physical development of babies is very interesting and I eager to learn more.
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ReplyDeleteThrough my experiences at the elementary, junior high and high school levels, I have found that the behaviors in the different age groups are all very different. These students are all going through different changes in life and it is so important for us as educators to recognize what these students are going through and act accordingly. I have found that junior high kids go through the most extreme of changes. This may not be true, however the school I interned at had some CRAZY kids. With that being said, it is important to know the developmental changes in your students at that level. Puberty is a difficult and weird time for all kids, and if they are struggling in school or have a poor living situation, it will make their lives even more frustrating. I also agree with Kristine on her physical therapists comment. If you as an educator ever see a kid in this kind of situation, it needs to be reported to either a guidance counselor or the parent.
Human Development is something that is quite new to me. Of course, I have heard of the nature vs. nurture debate over human development and the key terms such as genes, chromosomes, and other terms that play into physical development. The PowerPoint lecture and Chapter 2 of our textbook ran quite smooth together, making the textbook a little easier to understand and put into prespective. I thought Chapter 2 of our textbook made a good review, from concepts that one might have learned through a Biology course, or to help better understand the complex developmental process of a human. After reviewing, listening to the PowerPoint presentation and reading the chapter from the textbook, it is scare to think of the variety of issues and/or problems that play into the physical human development. I found this topic to be interesting, and have always found the development process intriguing.
ReplyDelete"The environmental substance or disease that causes abnormal development of the fetus which is called teratogen" (p. 59) in our textbook was interesting to read about. I know the effects that alcohol and tobacco play on a fetus, but there is so much more to it that can affect the fetus. Another interesting point the the textbook made was on page 52 of our textbook, which discussed Down Syndrome. Down Syndrome continues to grow at a rapid rate everyday, and it is widely common in the Special Education field. On page 92 of our textbook, it provides a good visual representation of the motor skills development into stages/sequence order. That was something new for myself, which I enjoyed.
As a future educator, it is important to be flexible with every child. You have to understand that the human development is a complex process and that not everyone develops at the same rate or age as others.
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ReplyDeleteIn chapter two it talked about of we grow as humans. What I found the most interesting was when the chapter was talking about the controversy of human brains having a window of opportunity. Studies on kittens and rats showed that our brains do have a critical period for our brains to make certain connections.(pg. 69-70). This makes sense because there is something called pruning which is a loss of these connections. That inappropriate connections are lost after not being used during late childhood/adolescence. (Pg. 67). I find it very interesting to learn about how the brain works because as a teacher it will help us to teach, understand, and help their students.
Chapter 2 in the beginning it talks about how the environment starts to influence the baby even in the prenatal stages. This is important when being a teacher because some of our students may have gone without nutrition, or important stimulation needed for proper growth. We have to understand our students as a teacher the best we can, that is why I think this course is very important so we can learn about how our student grow.
I found both the lecture and chapter 2 very interesting. I have watched so many children grow from birth to adult hood over my twenty year working with children and after reading this chapter I can understand what was happening to these children. I can only wish that what I know now I had known then. I will now be better able to identify and understand some of the things that children go through during their physical development. Knowing about high risk infants, low birth weights and how that can affect the preschool allows me as a teacher to do a better job. If I have a child that is displaying mild learning disabilities, language delays, attention problems and poor concentration it would tell me that I need to talk to the parents and get the child’s full history. In chapter 2 we learned about brain development and how I can help both the parent and the child understand what kinds of things we can do to help the child grow to their full potential. If there was alack of stimulation in the beginning of the child’s life the brain would be slower in development; however I can introduce new stimulation that would hopefully compensate for the lack of experence in the earlier years.
ReplyDeleteBlog two in response to Kristen,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you say” However, with the background knowledge of human development. specifically child development; as teachers we will be so much more prepared to handle learners of all types in our classroom. The more prepared we are, the better. I feel like this course will help me in the "diagnosis" part of teaching. The last thing I want to do is have a problem go undetected and consequently that child not getting the services s/he needs.” I am lucky enough to have a full team of teachers, physical and occupational therapist, and mental health specialists working with me. Most of the times the others are the one making the observations and getting help for the child. When I go back to teaching next year I will have new knowledge about the children physical development also. I will be able to make so of these observations myself and /or understand with the therapist are talking about and right now that feels good.
I have not taken a human development class except for CDE 430. Child development in family which was an interesting class. In chapter 2 i read alot of similar concepts that we learned in the other class. However i do agree with Cathy that this class will help diagnose parts of teaching. The develoment of a child definately has a huge impact on their education and family. We had to keep in mind that as future educators our students hae experienced alot, may be experiencing things at home, may be going through puberty or even has a slow physical or mental development. "Leo the Late Bloomer" is a good example of what slow learners are like. We should not label our students or assume that they are not well educated because they may have some sort of difficulty.
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ReplyDeleteI plan to teach like 1-2 grade so i will not experience what alot of you guys will of teaching student who are going through their teenage years. Kids ages 5-7 are very curious, they love to ask questions and figure things out. I feel it is the perfect age to make a difference on kids because they are just learning to be independent from their parents, they make friends outside of family, and talk to others. Some may be nervous to come to school at first but if you are able to build a good relationship with your student then you will be fine.
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ReplyDeleteKristen Colling, I completely agree with you on if a teacher knows about human development they will be extremely prepared to handle learners of all types in their classrooms. Knowing how they change and how they learn best at different stages of grow will help us gear our lessons to better teacher them. I also liked how you talked about a problem going undetected. I think that is one of my biggest fears when it comes to teaching. I don’t want one of my student to be struggling and having a learning problem and for me not to catch it and then to go into their next classroom without being detected and not getting the extra help that they need. The earlier you catch these things the easier they are to solve. I think a lot of people not going to be a teacher don’t realize that human development has a lot to do with our profession. Human development helps teachers to catch a problem early, to understand how to teacher them in the best ways possible, and many others.
Kelly Andrews, I agree with you that human development has a lot to do with our profession. I think that having teachers know about human development is extremely important because that way teachers will have a better understanding on kids and their behaviors and also on what they are ready to learn and needs to be taught and what the kids will pick up on their own. Overall I think knowing about human development is a organization tool as well as a time saver because you know where the kids are at and can gear lessons to the appropriate developmental stages.
ReplyDeleteKristine, you made some really good points in your posting. As future educators, we have to be prepared with everything, ranging from students with disabilities and the diverse backgrounds that they come from. This course enables us to gain a better understanding of how children develop differently and what we could expect. Every student learns differently and I like the point that you made "as a teacher we must still learn to accommodate and differentiate instruction for inclusion and success in the classroom." It is important to understand that teaching can be a challenge and that not everyone learns the same so you may have to re-teach a lesson multiple times or take a different approach to teaching something. Teaching requires patience.
ReplyDeleteIt is important to understand the additional services and resources that is available to teachers in order to help students succeed, especially for first year teachers, and not to be afraid to ask for help. Reading the section about puberty and adolescents was intriguing because it is funny to look back on my past experiences and realize that I went through some of the same things that were discussed in the lecture.
I learned a lot of interesting facts that I did not know in this weeks lecture. The statistic that only 31% of all conceptions become newborns was shocking to me. I would have expected this number to be higher, when i think of all the babies that are born each year, I would have never thought that that's only 31% of the babies that are conceived.b Another interesting thing that I learned was the stages of prenatal development. I knew that their were three stages of development, but I never really knew the details of each stage till this lecture. I also found in interesting that with today's technology that babies can grow to be healthy and normal when born as early as 28 weeks after conception. I feel that information provided in this weeks lecture would be most beneficial to parents to be and early childhood development teachers.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I really enjoyed the lecture online. I have taken a plethora of online courses but have never had a professor dictate the lectures with the powerpoint. I also liked chapter 2 because I enjoy learning about human development especially the prenatal side. I am completely fascinated with prenatal development. I also find human development interesting because I am a preschool teacher so I see how young children develop everyday! I liked the second part of the chapter that focused on the teenage years. I am sure that we are all familiar with this stage beause it's much easier to remember than when we were 2 and 3 years old. The information about the prenatal development was informative because I'm sure there will be cases when I am teaching in an elementary school where a few of my students may be affected by tetreaogen or some other prenatal defect.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with many of the earlier posts that talked about how important undetected problems can be. In the preschool where I work we have a few students that might have some learning disabilities and it's so interesting to see children with these problems at a young age verse when they are in elementary schools. I have seen many students in my intern classes that are receiving services for some LD problems and it would be great to see professionals really focusing on early intervention!
ReplyDeleteIn response to Cathy Morgan's post, I think that we can all agree that if all people working with kids know the facts that we learned about development in Chapter 2, then all children would be better off. I agree that it is very important to know symptoms to look for in learning disabilities, language delays, attention problems, and poor concentration. As a teacher if you know these things, you can help diagnose children earlier and help make parents more aware of when their children may need to see a specialist for help. Lastly, I also agree that it is important to know about children's brain development, so that you can help each student of yours can grow to their fullest potential.
ReplyDeleteResponse to Sandra Lara:
ReplyDeleteSandra,
I completely agree with you and your personal experience with a family member. I too have a relative who abused alcohol during her pregnancy and caused her child to suffer greatly cognitvely and physically due to putting horrible things in her body during human development. Looks like you and I think a lot a like in how we both see knowing development of females and males to be crucical to teaching students. I just think it is so important to know our students on all levels not just intellectually because if we can undersand their physical and emotional needs we can differentiate and accomodate indivduals better.
In listening to the lecture and reading the book, I found a couple of things that really interested me. First, the difference between genotypes and phenotypes, and that based on -environment-, a genotype isn't necessarily expressed as a phenotype(page 56). As an example, the book used a child having genes for high intellectual ability not getting the right creative nourishment and aid, and therefore that ability would not be expressed to its fullest potential.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed reading and hearing about habituation. I think that if presenting a new idea or new person can move a very young child away from things that it holds as 'routine' (old toys, security blanket, etc), that it should continue to work as a theme for teaching older children. I'd like to understand this better, so will continue to read up on it.
I was intrigued with learning about the different views of puberty... while I have first-hand knowledge of what goes on when males are going through puberty, I was shocked to see that early maturation was treated so differently for females.
The most important part of the lecture and reading was, for me, the segment on childhood failings in health and wellness. When I was working at an elementary school last semester, the very first thing to strike me was how... well, how -fat- a lot of the kids were. I couldn't seem to remember my childhood being anything like that. Their parents gave them fatty foods, and so did the school. With the health risks being so high, especially for very serious diseases like juvenile diabetes, it's absolutely revolting that all schools aren't leading the charge in proper diet and exercise (according to the book, some are, but I haven't seen them).
I wanted to comment on Andrew's discussion of an article from "The Teen Brain." I read a similar study from the National Institute for Mental Health, saying that the overproduction of grey matter happens not only in the range from just prior to puberty to around 11 (for girls) or 12 (for boys), but also in the womb and for the first 18 months of life. What I found fascinating in the NIMH study was they found the growth of white matter (myeline, that fatty substance that helps neural impulses travel a lot faster) grew from early childhood to the end of puberty. The coolest part is this is the exact time that it's considered 'best' to teach a child another language... at age 6 to around 12! Just think about being able to design a program to tap that opportunity!
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ReplyDeleteAlot of the posts are talking about how knowing the stages of development will help us as teachers. I am very happy to see that most of us agree as teachers we need to be aware of how our students are maturity and growing. In the classroom we will see the childrens progress and be able to see any problems they may have.
Also I think it is very interesting how Harry Hazell mentioned the part about health and wellness. I agree there are many overweight children out there. But also how about the children that are being under fed and it is harming their education. Say a child is having a hard time concentrating, or not learning the material being covered. Many teachers might assume a learning disorder. However, we need to look into the nutrition and situation at home with this child. Physical development has a lot to do with the child's nutriion, and needs to be observed as well.
This is my very first human development class. The only course I have ever taken which is closest to this topic or course was Psychology. Both the lecture and chapter included a load of information I was not aware of. As for the development of a fetus, I found it very interesting to see how a child is developed and how its creation and make up is first started out as. The lecture tells where things may go wrong in a pregnancy and how it expalins how certain situations occur. Both included information that I personally did not even know which even concerned me. It was neat to see that the students I plan on teaching have gone through a number of things that have made them who they are. It helps me to know because I can understand how a student will learn and how to better teach them. Both the chapter and lecture explan everything about the development of child!
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ReplyDeleteI love learning about human development. I took CDE 232 and really enjoyed it. Another note on potty training, and it may be linked to physical development, is that some children are ready for it and others are not. For example my youngest brother was bout two he wanted to go pee in the potty. He was ready and only had 2-3 accidents before he was fully potty trained. I think some of his heightened development was from watching his three older brothers. On the other hand my niece is three and isn't potty trained even though her parents have tried. She is an only child and is not ready, or doesn't want to be potty trained.
After reading through the chapter and through a number of the blogs. There was one that stood out to me that I could relate to. Harry wrote about the term habituation and trying to break students out of routine. It seemed like something to pull students away from as they get older or develop better. I have seen example of this while interning. Many ELL students and Special education students need routine in order for them to cope and get around in something new or unfamiliar. Routine and repetition actually helps them out. And for ELL's as soon as they become stronger students and learn more they can slowly drift away routines and are able to do more things on their own. This is what came to mind while reading it.
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ReplyDeleteIn response to Harry Hazell post. I too have been surprised that so many students are overweight. It is sad that they have to expirience this so young. I see students and wonder if they do anything active during the day or if they just eat, watch tv and play video games after school. I have heard that schools are trying to help with the weight issue by feeding the students healthier foods. Soda machines are banded from elementary, junior high and high schools. Its great that the schools are trying but it dont think it is enough. Something needs to be happening at home also.
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ReplyDeleteIn Response to Kelly.
I'm taking that BLE 220 class and we were talking about the different ages that children come into the ELD classrooms and how they are able to learn. The teacher said it was easier to learn in elementary and I thought back to the powerpoint from yesterday on when they learn best and how they remember it. As much as I feel I am learning now, I know I won't retain all of it, but the things I learned as a child, like tying my shoes, and knowing how to add and carry over, I learned all of that at such a young age that no matter how long do do not add for, I will always remember. Guess the information is tru.e The younger you are. the easier it is to A. Pick it up and B. carry it into your long term memory.
Chapter 2 was really interesting to me. I knew most of the scientific ideas already but found the topic of disorders really informative.On page 53 it talked about Down Syndrome and the characteristics of the children. I observed a dance classroom where there was two Downs children and they were the most loveable kids ever. It was great for all the kids because they seemed to help and learn from each other.On page 96 I did not realy agree with the part that said it is better for kids to start sports at age 6. My little brother started playing when he was four becaus ehe wanted to. Noone pushed him into it and he is eleven now and loves football and is great at it. I think he has excellent coordination for a male his age and I think the sports helped.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the as teachers we need to know the stages in which children develop so we can help to see how children are developing in relation to each other and individually.I agree with Sapna Kanabar, that teachers need to develop a good relationship with their students regardless of how students may react to it.
ReplyDeleteDue to some difficulties I am behind in the blog department but well on my way to getting caught up...I was interested by many of the topics covered in our first reading assignment. The section on Motor Development pp. 90-97, was particularly interesting to me as a musician and future music educator, since studies have shown that learning an instrument at a young age has a positive effect on students' learning and development.
ReplyDeleteThe Suzuki violin method, developed in Japan and adopted in the US, is a widely respected method of beginning young children on the violin (and other string instruments). Children begin learning the care and handling of violins as young as age 2, and by age 3 or 4 are receiving formal training and performing songs by memory. Young children learning in the Suzuki method are known for their performances of technically demanding pieces by memory. The method is based upon strong community support from peers, teacher and parents, positive reinforcement and communication, repetition, respect, frequent performances and listening to music excerpts daily. I believe that early music instruction, particularly within the Suzuki method, can complement and facilitate development of fine and gross motor skills as well as the development of other cognitive functions. The Suzuki method also promotes a respectful, positive and cooperative social environment that is also important in the socialization process of children.
Here are a few links that may be interesting:
http://suzukiassociation.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_method
Catherine Reid Blog 2
ReplyDeleteI agree with Katie F.'s comment :"As a future educator, it is important to be flexible with every child. You have to understand that the human development is a complex process and that not everyone develops at the same rate or age as others."
When I was observing my mentor teacher at the elementary level, I worked with a student who seemed physically and mentally behind the other children in his 4th grade class. He could hardly communicate verbally and his motor skills were very clumsy. He also seemed to need a lot of extra attention in order to learn, although he seemed capable of keeping up with a lot of extra attention. My mentor teacher told me that his mother was neglectful in many ways and completely unsupportive of his interest in music. After watching him play a song with the class during a school assembly, smiling as his classmates cheered him on, it was clear to her that playing music provided a very strong sense of accomplishment and motivation to learn. Having worked with this student, I could see that his environment really put him at a disadvantage socially, physically and cognitively, but his interest in music could serve as an activity that would help him to "catch up" with his peers in these areas.