Growing Up in s Christian Family

Growing Up in s Christian Family Being raised up in a spiritually oriented family has its mix of blessings and curses. The blessings are certainly the security and stability of a family whose foundation is strongly well planted in the Word of God. The curses are the problems that come as a result of being swept along the river of the faith of the parents. I am writing this paper with intentions of highlighting the readers with these problems in mind. As one deal with considering the faith of the pre-adolescent children from within the congregation or from the family prospective, one ought to ask the question, When are children ready to make the faith commitment of their life? Therefore, before I draw my ideas from other various sources, I would like to start with a personal experience of a friend of mind whom I came to know during my basic combat training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and whom we are stationed together in Camp Robinson, North Little Rock. Andrew is chaplain assistance for my army unit and my close battle buddy whom I thought would be a best candidate to interview for my research paper. Based on his responses to my curiosity about his spiritual life, he informed me that his family was deeply involved in the life of the church way before he was born. His father was a church leader. Among his best friends, was the son of the church chairman and another was the pastors son. According to Andrew, he spent much of his time with his friends both at the church and at each others homes. Each of their parents played a role in their formative years. This was our extended family. We were more like cousins than friends, for each of our natural extended families were hundreds of miles away, he said with a serious look on his face. He went further by saying that they were no different from the other kids, but evidently the bond that they had, held them closer to the influence of the church. So, when it came to making a decision for Christ, there really was no decision, he said. In the case of Andrew, one is left to believe they had no other choice other than go with the flow. So, as early as the age of five, the three of the best friends would respond to the request of their childrens chapel teacher and prayed that Jesus would come into their hearts without having a firm cognitive sense of their prayers. Was there a change in their lives? No, they were simply following the natural order of events for children in the church. Furthermore, Andrew stated that when they were twelve, after several years later, their Sunday school class met in the pastors study for baptism and membership class. Again, expectations dictated that by this time in their lives it was time to take this step. So, one Sunday evening the three friends, along with others in their class, stepped into the water and were baptized. Were we demonstrating to the world that we were now dead in our sins and transformed into new life in Christ? he wondered. No, we were following the sequence of events of all the church kids that went before us. It was a right of passage into the next level of life in the church. Were we forced or coerced into doing this? No, we desired to take these steps because it was the proper thing to do. Andrew confessed that as he grew in his understanding and faith, he came to resent both the actions of the church and home. He perceived the events as irresponsible and meaningless. He felt that he had been misled and was given a false sense of his position in Christ. I concluded that I was not saved during those early years and I objected to the practice of child evangelism, he protested. This state of hostility toward his church lasted for about three years during his late teens as he struggled with his own identity and his relationship with God. Now, Andrew is a married man and Chaplain assistance in the military unit. His wife and he are planning to have children in the nearest future. Therefore, in light of his own spiritual development he is left to wonder how he would measure a childs spiritual readiness or more explicitly, how would he know when a child is ready to make a decision for Christ and for baptism? It is with this question that every parents out there should bear in mind when considering spiritual formation of their preadolescence children. Another point one would want to put extra emphasis on is the psychological development theory. Those of us who went through adolescent stage and the parents who work or live with adolescents know first-hand that they are at once impossible to live with and a joy to have around. They are moody, critical, combative, and absent-minded; they are also creative, energetic, and impassioned about the world and their place in it. However, research on pre-adolescents development has shown clearly that the surface behaviors of early adolescents provide poor clues as to what is really going on inside them, in their minds and souls. The common perception of students in middle schools is that they are constantly in storm and stress, peer driven, rebellious toward adults, moody, uncommunicative and unpredictable. Unfortunately, these views are popular myths and have resulted in generations of misunderstanding and inappropriate attention to the needs of 10 to 14 years old. Early adolescents are rarely perceived as being deeply thinking, caring and valuing individuals who are greatly influenced by loving adults. They are in the final stages of developing the character and personality that will distinguish them as adults; difficult, serious and personal questions and inquiries into the meaning of life and death are very important, for they play a crucial role in their faith development. In his theory of cognitive development (Table 1), Jean Piaget put forth the intellectual counterpart of biological adaptation to the environment. He said that as we adapt biologically to our environment, so too we adapt intellectually. Through assimilation, accommodation and rejection, the external world is organized and given structure. Adaptation begins at birth with the exercise of sensory-motor reflexes. Differentiations via reflexes are the first adaptations that are of eventual importance in cognitive development. As the child develops, the adaptations he makes are increasingly less related to sensory and motor behaviors alone, and may be less clearly seen as adaptations by the untrained eye. Each successive stage is built upon the one before in an accumulating, orderly, sequential and hierarchical manner. Yet the cognitive structures are developed in an invariant sequence. That is, the course of cognitive development, marked by the development of structures, is the same for all children, although the ages at which they attain particular structures may vary with intelligence and the social environment (Piaget and Inhelder, 1969, p. 153). Erik Erikson, in his theory of psychosocial stages (Table 2), similarly stated that an individuals personality develops according to predefined steps that are maturationally set. Society is structured in a way that invites and encourages the challenges that arise at these particular times. Each stage presents the individual with a crisis. If a particular crisis is handled well, the outcome is positive. If it is not handled well, the outcome is negative. The resolution of each stage lays the foundation for negotiating the challenges of the next. Lawrence Kohlberg views the development of morality in terms of moral reasoning (Table 3). The stage of moral reasoning at which people can be placed depends upon the reasoning behind their decisions, not the decisions themselves. He believes that the stages are sequential and that people do not skip stages, although they enter and leave them at varying times. Implications on Spiritual Development Using Piagetian, Eriksonian and Kolbergian theory, James Fowler set out to explain the process of spiritual development in his description of several stages that occur in the development of faith in a persons lifetime (Table 4). He called the stage of most pre-adolescents to be mythic-literal faith. This stage is consistent with Piagets concrete operational stage and Eriksons industry vs. inferiority stage. It is at this stage that children develop their sense of position relative to others in the peer group by mastering the academic and social skills. Their individuality is defined by their position in the group. They become less egocentric and begin to understand complex concepts like conservation. The child still has difficulty though with abstract terms such as freedom and liberty. Children at this stage understand the world on a basic concrete level. Fowler states that most adolescents are at synthetic-conventional faith. This stage correlates to Eriksons identity vs. role confusion stage and a more mature level of Piagets concrete operational stage. They develop a sense of who they are and where they belong. A strong emphasis is placed on being part of the group. There is an even more intense need for conformity and the approval of the community. Their identification and expression of faith are an extension of their family, their church and their peers. During childhood, religious beliefs and behaviors are greatly influenced by ones parents. Children tend to imitate their parents beliefs and behaviors. In adolescence, however, there is a change and a questioning of many of these religious beliefs. David deVaus looked at the importance of parental influence in relation to religious values and behavior in Australian teenagers. The results showed that, at least for religious activity (behavior), both parents and peers were about equal in importance. However, when asked who had been most influential in development of their religious feelings, the most common answer was the mother (51 percent), followed by father (42 percent). According to Fowler it is not until a child reaches the next stage, individuative-reflective faith, that individuals begin to assume personal responsibility for their own commitments, life-styles, or beliefs. As this takes place, adolescents are forced to address unavoidable tensions between the person they want to be and what others expect of them. This stage is associated with Eriksons intimacy vs. isolation and the beginning level of Piagets formal operational stage when children begin to develop close interpersonal relationships, showing a willingness to commit to others. They begin to develop the ability to test hypotheses in a mature, scientific manner and can understand and communicate their positions on complex ethical issues that demand an ability to use the abstract. They can think about thinking that is they become aware of the processes where by they come to hold a particular opinion. They begin to own the beliefs they hold. They are becoming adults. Understanding the Implications and the Dangers A girls body can begin to take on the shape and features of a woman. She can speak with the sophistication associated with adolescence or even adulthood. Social and legal arrangements can permit new freedoms simply because a person reaches a certain age. But until the evolution of meaning becomes interpersonal, there is a very real sense in which the person is not yet an adolescent. If those around her should mistake physiology, calendar age, or verbal ability for psychological age and expect her to function inter-personally, they create a situation which is dangerous for the developing teenager. In his discussion on the dangers of applying developmental theory to spiritual growth, John Ackerman states that we can make three grave mistakes. First, we may have a tendency to rank individuals according to their development. Second, we may think that because we have labeled them, we know them. Third, we may take the groupings and define an absolute relationship between psychological and spiritual growth. We need to know where people are developmentally, but the focus is on God, in the persons perception of God. (Ackerman, 1994, p. 111) I will venture to say that most churches, mine included, proceed with the expectation that chronological age defines spiritual readiness with respect to issues such as faith commitment and baptism. Within the structure of our institutions we have rituals that are performed, with some regularity, with children entering puberty. The Jewish Bar Mitzvah, Catholic and Lutheran Confirmation, and Baptist and Brethren Baptism are examples of ordinances that the church observes when children have reached their pre-teen years. Tradition dictates that at this age a child is ready to begin the transition to adulthood. They need to begin taking the faith they have been taught since infancy and make it their own. But are our children really ready for such a step? Do they really understand the steps they are taking? The most common argument I hear in favor of child conversion are based on verses like the following: At that time Jesus said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Matt 11:25. And he said: I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Matt 18:3. Jesus said, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Matt 19:14. Reasoning that God accepts the faith of a child, parents and teachers do their best to help the child to make these life decisions. But unfortunately, in the well-intentioned adults attempt to hurry up and save the children from eternal damnation, they have misunderstood the concept Jesus was teaching. Taken in their proper context we see that Jesus teachings were pointing not to the childish faith as being the characteristic he was seeking, but to the humility and trust of a child as being the characteristic he was seeking in his followers. This teaching is not for the children but for the adults to follow. At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Matt 18:1-6 In each case, where Jesus speaks of the faith of a child he is using this attitude to offset the tendency for his followers to become proud and self-sufficient. One needs to see how helpless we really are without God and how our faith must grow out of ones trust rather than ones achievements. So how then do one assess childrens readiness to make these life changing decisions? One needs to consider each child as an individual and measure their spiritual readiness based upon their understanding of who God is and what he has done for them. Faith is a response to a need and if the child does not perceive the reality of the need then there cannot be true faith. Measuring Spiritual Readiness During a recent Texas Baptist evangelism conference held in Fort Worth, leaders of a Bring the Children to Jesus workshop said Children should come to Jesus just like grown-ups freely. Parents should neither push them into premature professions of faith nor neglect their spiritual nurture. Teach parents that they have a responsibility to God in the stewardship of their childrens spiritual development, said Karen Cavin, minister of childhood education at Mimosa Lane Baptist Church, Mesquite, Texas, who led the workshop with Wayne Shuffield Jr., pastor of Royal Haven Baptist Church, Dallas, and co-author of Bring the Children to Jesus, a resource published by the Baptist General Convention of Texas evangelism division. The gospel plan of salvation can be explained in terms an older child a fourth-, fifth- or sixth-grader can easily understand, they noted. Realize children think in literal terms, so avoid figurative language, they suggested. Shuffield and Cavin advised parents and church leaders to look for signs of readiness in children such as: Questions. Listen carefully to a childs questions about spiritual matters. If the child is asking who the guy was that climbed the sycamore tree, hes probably just asking for factual information about Zaccheus, Shuffield said. Just because you know the verse follows about the Son of Man coming to seek and save that which was lost, dont assume the child is making that leap. On the other hand, if a child begins to ask serious questions about sin, death and eternity, that could be a sign the Holy Spirit is drawing the child. Explore the level of interest and understanding by asking probing, open-ended questions, not queries that could be answered yes or no. Focus. Watch for a child who suddenly becomes focused on religious instruction. Unusual attentiveness in Sunday school or during worship could be a signal a child is ready to make a faith commitment. Behavioral changes. Anything from a sudden interest in Bible-reading to expressions of guilt over wrongdoing at home could mean God is working in a childs heart. Shuffield said that while some young children genuinely are converted, that is the exception, not the rule. Pastors, teachers and parents can help young children by distinguishing between the natural desire of a child to express love for Jesus and the life-changing decision of receiving him as Lord and Savior. At another workshop, Childrens Church A New Way, leaders suggested a combination of small-group sessions, self-guided activities and large-group time for childrens worship. Life development pastor Charlie McAllister and childrens worship leader Karen Lewis from the Houston-area Fellowship of The Woodlands said they incorporate lively music with a lot of hand motions, drama and secular videos with spiritual applications into their Adventure Zone childrens church service. We make it fun for the kids, Lewis said. Kids tell their parents, I want to go back to that church where they sing, dance and have donut holes.' We try not to make it like school, McAllister said. We want it to be fun. We involve the kids in worship. Our goal is to raise up a generation of worshipers. Kids learn by doing. Theres no altar call and no scare tactics. We let the Holy Spirit convict. In conclusion, taking the information presented by developmental psychology one might conclude that pre-adolescent children are simply not capable of making a decision for Christ. Maturely[ speaking, they have not developed the cognitive tools they need to come to this decision. Their thinking processes are still governed by mythical, literal understanding of their environment. They are more interested in fitting into the group than making individual decisions. But this conclusion would be flawed. Indeed, John Ackerman states that most adults within the church would possibly fall into this same category. Rather, when we look more closely at the evidence we come to the conclusion that there is no magical age at which a child suddenly becomes able to understand spiritual matters. It seems quite clear that the only way to assess the spiritual readiness of a child is on an individual basis. And the real problem exists not with the children but the adults who are trying to teach them. In our sometimes over-zealous attempts to bring children to a decision for Christ we forget what that decision is. First, it is the job of the Holy Spirit to convict the heart of the individual, to open their eyes to the truth, to help them understand the eternal significance of the decision. Only God knows when the time is right but we can watch for the signs to know when to open the Word to these children. Second, tradition and ritual can be quite meaningful in helping us define our relationship with God, but it cannot create that relationship. Only through teaching and discipleship can a child begin to define his or her own relationship with God. It is through good biblical teaching that the child will understand why he needs the relationship and through godly Christian modeling that the child will understand how he develops that relationship. In many ways our traditions have made it so much easier to deal with issues pertaining to the spiritual development of children. They define the quantifiable standard and make the decision easy. They excuse us from the difficult job of working closely with each individual, to assess his or her specific spiritual needs. But in order to achieve the desired result a life-changing decision for Christ we must break free from our tradition and begin working to develop the spirituality of children in the only way that is truly effective individually. Table 1 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT PIAGET A. Four Factors Determining Development 1) Maturation the gradual unfolding of the genetic plan for life. 2) Experience the active interation of the child with the environment. 3) Social Transmission the information and customs that are transmitted from parents and other people in the childs environment. 4) Process of Equalibration the process by which the child seeks a balance between what they know and what they are experiencing. When thay are faced with information that calls for a new and different analysis or activity, children enter a state of disequalibrium. When this occurs, they must change the way they deal with the information and establish a new, more stable state of equalibrium. B. Concepts and Processes 1) Scheme a method of dealing with the environment that can be generalized to many situations. 2) Adaptation can be understood in terms of adjustment. As the forces in the environment change, so must the individuals ability to deal with them. Adaptation involves two complementary processes: a) Assimilation In this process, input is filtered or modified to fit already existing structures. When we assimilate something, we alter the form of the incoming stimulus to adapt it to our already established actions or structures. b) Accomodation The process that involves modifying internal existing schemes to meet the requirements of the new experience. When we accommodate, we create a new scheme or modify old ones. C. Cognitive Development Stages 1) Sensorimotor Stage Birth to about Two years. Infants progress through their world using senses and motor activity. The develop object permanence, the understanding that objects and people do not disappear merely because they are out of sight. Their abilities are limited by an inability to use language or symbols to communicate. Intelligence during this stage involves organized systems or schemes of actions and behaviors that become increasingly complex and coordinated. 2) Preoperational Stage Age Two to Ten Children can use on thing to represent another. They can use language to go beyond their own direct experience. But their understanding of the world is still limited. They oftem believe that inanimate objects have a life of their own. They are egocentric, believing that everyone sees a situation the wat they do. Preschoolers do not understand conservation, the idea of something remaining the same despite changes in appearance. 3) Concrete Operational Stage Age Ten to Fifteen Children progress through this stage where many of the preoperational deficiencies are slowly overcome. Children begome less egocentric and begin to understand conservation. The child still has difficulty though with abstract terms such as freedom and liberty. Children in this stage understand the world only on a concrete level. 4) Formal Operational Stage Adolescence to Adulthood Children entering this stage now develop the ability to test hypotheses in a mature, scientific manner and can understand and communicate their positions on complex ethical issues that demand an ability to use the abstract. They can think about thinking that is they become aware of the processes where by they come to hold a particular opinion. Table 2 PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORY ERIKSON A. Eight Psychosocial Stages 1) Trust vs. Mistrust The positive outcome of the stage of infancy is a sense of trust. If children are cared for in a warm, caring manner, they are apt to trust the environment and develop a feeling that they live among friends. If the parents are anxious, angry or incapable of meeting a childs needs, the child may develop a sense of mistrust. Trust is the cornerstone of the childs attitude toward life. 2) Autonomy vs. Shame or Doubt Toddlers are no longer completely dependent on adults. They practice new physical skills and develop a sense of autonomy. If they are not allowed to do the things they can do or are forced to do things they are not ready for, they may develop a sense of doubt and shame about their own abilities and fail to develop self-confidence. If encouraged to do what they can for themselves, they are helped to acquire a sense of autonomy. 3) Initiative vs. Guilt At age four or five, children begin to formulate plans and carry it through. If encouraged to form their own ideas, the child will develop a sense of initiative. If punished for expressing their own plans, the child develops a sense of guilt, which leads to fear and a lack of assertiveness. 4) Industry vs. Inferiority During middle childhood, children must learn the academic skills of reading, writing and math, as well as social skills. If they succeed in acquiring these skills and if their accomplishments are valued by others, the child develops a sense of industry. If they are constantly compared to others and come up a distinct second, they may develop a sense of inferiority. 5) Identity vs. Role Confusion During adolescence, children must decide their own vocational and personal future. They develop a sense of who they are and where they belong. The child who develops a strong sense of identity formulates a satisfying plan and gains a sense of security. Those who do not develop this sense of identity may develop role confusion, a sense of aimlessness and being adrift without an anchor or plan. 6) Intimacy vs. Isolation The positive outcome of the psychosocial crisis of young adults, involving development of close interpersonal relationships, most often typified by marriage. The negative outcome of this stage is the unwillingness or inability to commit to others. 7) Generativity vs. Stagnation The positive outcome of the psychosocial crisis of middle age involves giving of oneself and ones talents to others. It is primarily concerned with establishing and guiding the next generation, investing something of oneself in the future. The negative outcome of this stage involves absorption in ones own personal needs and an inability or unwillingness to give to others. 8) Integrity vs. Despair The positive outcome of this last stage involves the realization that ones life has been worthwhile. After a life time of facing challenges and problems, they can look back on a productive life. Mature adults have a different perspective on life and see their lives as having a purpose. People who see only missed opportunities may become bitter and depressed. Table 3 STAGES OF MORAL REASONING KOHLBERG A. Preconventional Level The child is responsive to cultural rules and labels of good and bad, right and wrong, but interprets these either in terms of the physical or hedonistic consequences of action( punishment, reward, exchange favors) or in terms of the physical power of those who enunciate the rules. The level is divided into two stages: Stage 1: Punishment and obedience orientation. The physical consequences of action determine its goodness or badness regardless of the meaning or value of these consequences. Avoidance of punishment and unquestioning deference to power are valued in their own right, not in terms of respect for an underlying moral order. Stage 2: Instrumental relativist orientation. Right action is that which instrumentally satisfies ones own needs and occasionally the needs of others. Human relations are viewed in terms of the marketplace. Fairness, reciprocity, and equal sharing are present, but are always interpreted in a physical, pragmatic way. Reciprocity is a matter of you scratch my back and Ill scratch yours, not of loyalty, gratitude, or justice. B. Conventional Level Maintaining the expectations of the individuals family, group, or nation is perceived as valuable in its own right, regardless of consequences. The attitude is not only one of conformity to personal expectations and social order but also of loyalty to it, of actively maintaining, supporting, and justifying it, of identifying with persons or group involved in it. This level has two stages: Stage 3: Interpersonal concordance or good boy / nice girl orientation. Good behavior is that which pleases or helps others and is approved by them. There is much conformity to stereotypical images of what is majority or natural behavior. Behavior is frequently judged by intention he means well becomes important for the first time. One earns approval by being nice. Stage 4: Law and order orientation Orientation is toward authority, fixed rules, and the maintenance of the social order. Right behavior consists of doing ones duty, showing respect for authority, maintaining the social order for its own sake. C. Postconventional, Autonomous, or Principled Level The person makes a clear effort to define moral values and principles that have validity and application apart from the authority of the groups or persons holding these principles, and apart from the individuals own identification with these groups. This level has two stages: Stage 5: Social-contact, legalistic orientation Generally with utilitarian overtones. Right action is defined in terms of general individual rights and standards that have been critically examined and agreed upon by society. The person is clearly aware of the relativism of values and opinions and so emphasizes procedural rule for reaching consensus. Aside from what is constitutionally and democratically agreed upon, right is a matter of personal values and opinions; emphasis is thus on the legal point of view, but with the possibility of changing law in terms of rational considerations of social utility rather than freezing law for the sake of social order. Outside the legal realm, free agreement and contract is the binding element. This is the official morality of the American government and Constitution. Stage 6: Universal ethical principle orientation Right is defined by the decision of conscience in accord with self-chosen ethical principles appealing to logical comprehensiveness, universality, and consistency. These principles are abstract and ethical; they are not concrete moral rules. At the heart, these are universal principles of justice of the reciprocity and equality of human rights and of respect for the dignity of human beings as individual persons. Table 4 STAGES OF FAITH DEVELOPMENT FOWLER Stages Description of Characteristics Pre Stage: Primal Faith * Undifferentiated faith (Infants to 2 years) * Embedded in reflexes, sensing, sensor motor skills Stage One: Intuitive-Projective Faith * Reflection of parental /family faith and religious traditions (Pre-school childr

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee :: essays research papers

The story, To Kill a Mockingbird is a very fine novel which exemplifies the life in the south and the human rights and values given to everybody. The book especially took the case of prejudice to a serious extreme. From the title, a mockingbird through the eyes of Harper Lee, is a person who has fallen victim to vicious stereotypes. The title To Kill a Mockingbird explains itself quite clearly in the end of the novel when Tom Robinson, one of the mockingbirds, is killed due to the stereotypes dumped upon him. Often, the use of stereotypes just breaks down the real truth of a person.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When stereotypes of Boo are used, the truth is often obscured. 'You'll get killed if you touch that tree';(pg 38) This quote reveals that the two siblings felt that Boo was a harmful person because of false rumors. Stereotypes are easily picked up, and used to horrible extreme when a large majority of people use them. This was the case with Scout and Jem when they picked up on the stereotypes going around the neighborhood about Boo. 'When I got there, my breeches were all folded and sewn up';(pg 63) When Boo sewed Jem's breeches together, this was a sign from Boo to let the children realize what a kind and pleasant man he really was. Also, Boo was considerate enough to save Jem from a couple of whippings, because after all, if Atticus were to see the torn pants he would have known Jem was the culprit in the Radley's yard. 'You were so busy looking at the fire, you didn't notice Boo behind you';(pg 76) This was also a symbol which Boo shared to let the kids slowly realize the truth about him, that he was an innocuous caring person hiding behind a fading shadow. Boo just wanted to be seen as the real him instead of the horrid stereotypes which deformed his image.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Misconceptions are results of prejudice in Jehovah's Witnesses' case. When they come strolling up people's street, the first reactions to the neighborhood is to lock the door. They lock their doors because they hear the jokes and prejudice against Jehovah's Witness which puts the thought in people's minds that Jehovah's Witness is just a joke. On the other hand, many are already faithful followers to their own religion and don't want to waste the time listening to a mini sermon.

Ballet Original

Ballet is a dance-drama performed by one or more dancers accompanied by music. Dancing, music, scenery, and costumes are combined with colorful artistry to express a mood, theme, or story. The dancers perform steps and pantomime carefully worked out by a dance arranger called a choreographer. Professional ballet dancing is a highly disciplined art that can be learned only through years of training. Dancers practice daily and masters the basic movements and steps so thoroughly that they are applied automatically when performing.Lessons for amateurs, including children, teach good posture and bodily grace and increase appreciation for professional performances. The purpose of this study is to know the in-depth history and of development of ballet. II. Discussion A. Development of ballet Ballet grew out of Renaissance court entertainments that were a mixture of dancing, singing, and acting. It became a serious art form in France during the reign of Louis XIV when it moved out of the cou rt ballroom and onto the theatrical stage.Jean Baptiste Lully, a French-Italian composer and dancer, included ballet interludes in his operas and in 1681 introduced women dancers to the public stage. About 1700 Pierre Beauchamp, A French dancing master who often collaborated with Lully, established the five positions of the feet on which all ballet steps are now based (Anderson, 2001). Ballet spread throughout Europe in the 18th century and the dancers became more skilled. Ballet costume, especially the women’s long, heavy dresses and high-heeled shoes, greatly restricted movement and made jumping steps difficult to perform.Marie Camargo and Marie Salle were among the ballerinas who advocated freer movement. Camargo wore ankle-length skirts and heelless shoes, and is credited with introducing the entrechat-quatre. Salle often danced in a simple draped gown, stressing expressive, natural movement. About the middle of the 18th century Jean Georges Noverre, a French dancer and c horeographer, led the movement that established the ballet d’action (dramatic ballet). The spoken interludes that furthered the plot were replaced by pantomime and the corps de ballet became more important (Pasevska, 2000).Gaetan Vestris and his son Auguste were the unrivaled male dancers of the period. In the Nineteenth Century there were many changes in ballet. The ballerina added the technique of dancing sur les pointes (on her toes) and reduced the male dancer to the role of an unimportant partner. The Romantic Movement in literature, music, and painting also affected ballet. Mythological subjects were discarded in favor of themes based on the supernatural and on folk legends. Maria Taglioni, Fanny Elssler, and Carlotta Grissi were among the great ballerinas of the Romantic era.Taglioni introduced the tutu while dancing in La Sylphide (1832); Elssler introduced the character dance, a stylized folk dance. Grissi created the title role of Giselle (1841), the classic ballet of the Romantic age (Clarke & Crisp, 2000). Carlo Blasis, an Italian dancer and teacher, established a system of dance training in The Code of Terpsichore (1830) and is credited with originating the attitude pose. Blasis’s theories were carried to Russia, which became the ballet center in the second half of the century. Marius Petipa, a French dancer and ballet master working in St.Petersburg, created the full-length (three- or four-act) classic ballet. Classic ballets, such as The Sleeping Beauty (1890) and Swan Lake (1895), emphasized dancing for the sake of dancing. Costume, scenery, story, and music played a minor role so as not to distract from the dancing. Twentieth-century Reforms. Many Russian dancers rejected the spectacular entertainment style of the classic ballet. As early as 1904 Michel Fokine, a dancer and choreographer, submitted his plan for ballet reform to the Imperial Theater.He believed the dancing should express the feelings of the characters portrayed an d that the music, decor, and theme should be in harmony, complementing each other. After seeing the American dancer Isadora Duncan performed in 1905, Fokine incorporated her ideas of freedom of movement and rhythmic expression into the discipline of ballet (Koegler, 2002). When the Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev presented the Ballets Russes in Paris in 1909, Fokine was the choreographer. His Les Sylphides marked the beginning of the modern era of ballet.Leading composers, artists, and writers created music, stories, and decor (scenery and costumes) for ballets Russes performances. Fokine created The Firebird (1910) and Petrouchka (1911), both with music by Igor Stravinsky. Ballets Russes dancers included Anna Pavlova, Ida Rubinstein, Adolphe Bolm, and Vaslav Nijinsky and his sister Bronislava. Nijinsky choreographed three famous ballets—Afternoon of a Faun (1812) and Jeaux (1913), both with music by Debussy, and The Rite of Spring (1913), with music by Stravinsky.After 19 14, Leonide Massine became the leading choreographer of the Ballets Russes. He created Parade (1917), music by Eric Satie, story by Jean Cocteau, decor by Picasso; and The Three-Cornered Hat (1919), music by Manuel de falla and decor by Picasso (Dufort, 2004). Throughout the 1920’s the Ballets Russes was the outstanding company, performing throughout Europe and the Americas. Ballet after Diaghilev. In the 1920’s and after Diaghilev’s death in 1929, many dancers and choreographers formed their own schools and companies. Massine became choreographer of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.In England, Ninette de Valois founded a dance school and company that became the Sadler’s Wells Ballet (now Royal Ballet) and featured such dancers as Alicia Markova, Frederick Ashton, and Margot Fonteyn. Serge Lifar revitalized the Paris Opera Ballet. George Balanchine came to the United States in 1933 and with Lincoln Kirstein formed the School of American Ballet and the Amer ican Ballet (later New York City Ballet). Ballet Theatre (now American Ballet Theatre), formed in 1939 by Lucia Chase, presented ballets by American choreographers and composers as well as classic and contemporary European ballets.The repertoire included Eugene Loring’s Billy the Kid (1938) and Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo (1942), both with music by Aaron Copland; Pillar of Fire (1942) by the Emglish choreographer Anthony Tudor; and Jerome Robbins’ and Leonard Bernstein’s Fancy Free (1944). Nora Kaye, Alicia Alonso, and David Lichine were among the leading dancers (Kuklin, 2000). Ballet Theatre played a major role in the development of American theatrical dance in the 1940’s. International Growth. After World War II ballet became increasingly popular, and numerous, diverse ballet companies flourished.The Royal Danish Ballet became noted for the agility of its male dancers and for its performances of August Bournonville’s 19th-century Danish ballet s, such as Konservatoriet. Of the more than 30 ballet companies in the Soviet Union, Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet and Leningrad’s Kirov Ballet gained international fame. Among the outstanding companies are Netherlands Dance Theater and Maurice Bejart’s Brussels-based ballet of the 20th Century. Both companies present many experimental ballets (Koegler, 2002).The National Ballet of Canada and Germany’s Stuttgart Ballet became known for their performances of both narrative and abstract ballets. In the United States there has been a spectacular growth of interest in ballet. More than 100 amateur regional ballet companies have been formed along with numerous professional groups. American Ballet Theatre and the New York City Ballet became the major companies, winning international acclaim. The Joffrey Ballet became nationally known for presenting 20th-century standard works, such as Parade, as well as new avant-garde ballets, such as The Relativity of Icarus (1974) .By the 1980 ballet’s dancing and choreographer styles varied widely. The distinction between ballet and modern dance grew narrower as many companies fused the technical discipline of ballet with the freedom of modern dance (Clarke & Crisp, 2000). III. Conclusion In conclusion, ballet has contributed a lot in the dance industry. Ballet groups appear in full-length ballets (divided into acts and scenes) and in programs made up of two or more shorter ballets. Ballets are sometimes included in operas, musical comedies, and other stage, television, and screen productions.The music may be written originally for ballet or adapted from other music. Reference: 1. Anderson, Jack (2001). Choreography Observed (University of Iowa). 2. Clarke, Mary & Clement Crisp (2000). The Ballet Goer’s Guide (Knopf). 3. Dufort, Anthony (2004). Ballet Steps: Practice to performance (Crown). 4. Koegler, Horst (2002). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ballet, 5th edition (Oxford University). 5. Ku klin, Susan (2000). Reaching for Dreams: a Ballet from Rehearsal to Opening Night (Lothrop, Lee & Shephard). 6. Pasevska, Anna (2000). Ballet from the First Plie to Mastery (Princeton Book).

Piaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development Theory - 745 Words

Piaget s Theory of Cognitive Development Numerous papers have been written on Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Theory. Most fall short of helping others understand what exactly Jean Piaget means when it comes to the three basic components to Piaget’s Cognitive Theory. These two articles I have chosen to use in this paper, give the best explanation on his theory. This paper will go into detail on the key concepts of Piaget’s Cognitive Theory and hopefully help others understand in its simplest form. Literature Review Jean Piaget was born in Switzerland in 1896. After receiving his doctoral degree at age 22, Piaget worked with Alfred Binet (Cherry). It was then that he developed an interest in the intellectual development of children. He noticed that children were just as intelligent as adults. They were just thinking differently. He was intrigued with the reasons children gave for the wrong answers. All this was done by observing his children. To Piaget, children construct an understanding of the world around them, then the experience discrepancies between what they already know and what they discover in their environment (McLeod, 2012). The goal of this theory is to explain how and why infants and children think and develop the way they do. For this, he breaks it down into three basic components; schemas, adaptation process, and stages of development. Schemas are the basic building block for intelligent behavior. It is described as both the mentalShow MoreRelatedPia get s Theory Of Cognitive Development1289 Words   |  6 Pagesare many great cognitive theorists, but the one that comes to mind is a development psychologist by the name of Jean Piaget. One of his prized declaration was in 1934, where he declared that education is capable of saving our society from collapsing whether its violent or gradual. Piaget had a key effect on education and psychology, and because of that effect he made many contributions to learning and to cognition. One of most important contribution was a model that was made by Piaget. This modelRead MorePiaget s Cognitive Development Theory1077 Words   |  5 PagesAccording to Piaget (1957), cognitive development was a continuous restructuring of mental processes due to varied situations and experiencing the world and maturing biologically. His view of cognitive development would have us look inside a child’s head and glimpse the inborn process of change that thinking goes through. â€Å"He was mainly intere sted in the biological influences on â€Å"how we come to know’† (Huitt and Hummel, 2003). Piaget’s views helps us to have appropriate expectations about children’sRead MorePiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development1813 Words   |  8 Pages ECH-130 Sociocultural Tables LLlllll Cognitive Development Definition Examples of Application of Concept Strategies to Support and/or Assess Learning Birth to Age 5/Pre-K Piaget Sensorimotor stage: :the first stage Piaget uses to define cognitive development. During this period, infants are busy discovering relationships between their bodies and the environment. Researchers have discovered that infants have relatively well developed sensory abilities An infant who recently learned how to rollRead MorePiaget s Theory On Cognitive Development1449 Words   |  6 Pagesstrengths and weaknesses of Piaget’s theory on cognitive development. It will focus on Piaget’s work highlighting positive attributes and how they’re being applied in modern day and also delve on key limitations of the theory. Piaget was a Swiss psychologist who was interested on why children would give similar but wrong answers in an intelligence test (Vidal, 1994). Based on his observations, he concluded that children undergo sequential cognitive development patterns which occur in defined stagesRead MorePiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development969 Words   |  4 Pa ges20th century, the development of psychology is constantly expanding. Erikson and Piaget are two of the ealier well known theorist, both being significant in the field. Their belief s are outlined in Piaget s Cognitive Development Theory and Erikson s Psychosocial Development Theory. These theories, both similar and different, have a certain significance as the stages are outlined.Erikson and Piaget were similar in their careers and made huge progressions in child development and education. WithRead MorePiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development Essay1790 Words   |  8 PagesCognitive developmental theories provide a framework for understanding about how children act and perceive the world. However, every theory has both strengths and weaknesses. A certain theory may explain one aspect of cognitive development very well, but poorly address or completely ignore other aspects that are just as important. Two well known theories of cognitive development are Piaget’s stage theor y and Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. As I plan to be a pediatric nurse, these two theories willRead MorePiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development1111 Words   |  5 PagesPiaget’s theory of cognitive development Piaget’s theory of cognitive development was based around his belief that children will develop their intelligence through a series of stages: Sensorimotor (birth – 2yrs), Preoperational (2-7yrs), Concrete Operational (7-11yrs) and Formal Operational (11+). He believed these stages to be invariant, the same stages taking place in a fixed order, and universal, the same for every child regardless of their background or culture. (McLeod, 2015) Piaget believedRead MorePiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development1519 Words   |  7 Pagesrelates to both Piaget and Vygotskian theories in the sense that they describe how the child s mind develops through different forms of stimuli that occur during early childhood. Piaget s theory focuses mainly on things such as; how children think; how the world around them is perceived and how the newly found information is explained through the language they use. Vygotsky s theory however differs as the effects of different forms of social interaction occur in cognitive development such as; internalisation;Read MorePiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development1325 Words   |  6 PagesJean Piaget developed a systematic study of cognitive development. He conducted a theory that all children are born with a basic mental structure. He felt that their mental structure is genetically inherited and their learning evolved from subsequent learning and knowledge. Piaget’s theory is different from other theories and he was the first to study a child’s learning by using a systematic study of cognitive development. His theory was only concerning the learning of children, their developmentRead MorePiaget s Cognitive Theory And Cognitive Development1494 Words   |  6 Pages 1) Examine how Piaget’s cognitive theory can help to explain the child’s behavior. Piaget confirms â€Å"Each cognitive stage represents a fundamentally new psychological reorganization resulting from maturation of new functions and abilities† (as in Greene, 2009, p.144). The case Vignette describes Victors’ stages of development through Piaget’s stages of cognitive development as exhibited behavior that occurred during the sensorimotor, preoperational, as established areas. Victor experienced a normal