Discussion and dialogue also ensures that students will feel more comfortable disagreeing with their peers openly. However, the teacher must wait until students are willing and able to engage in intelligent conversation on these topics, before giving students more liberties. Teachers must be able to understand when students are truly ready to talk about difficult issues, and not impose their will upon them.
At all ages, "relevant language, writing, spelling, and reading skills as opportunities to develop social skills such as planning, sharing, taking turns, and working in committees" is an important part of education (Network, 2003) the expectations for these activities will grow increasingly difficult over the course of the student's education, as old knowledge scaffolds upon the new. But the basic principles of common educational values such as respect for students remain unchanged. The teacher is always in dialogue with the students, constantly learning from them as they learn from him or her. A good teacher knows that every class is different, and not every class can be taught the same as previous groups, even if all students are from the same age groups. They may have different backgrounds, interests and needs, and the collective consciousness of the class will shape the overall attitude and behavior of the class.
In contrast to developmentally-appropriate education, a "developmentally inappropriate environment is predominately teacher directed and limits children's movement, interactions,...
The teacher may rigidly follow a prescribed curriculum without attention to individual children's needs, interests or backgrounds. Instruction may not challenge the children, or it may exceed their capabilities. Memorization and skill development are emphasized. Assessment is primarily limited to children's
performance on paper-and-pencil tasks measured sporadically, such as before a reporting period" (Burts, 2005). Unfortunately, the increasing emphasis on standardized testing in the classroom can generate such a negative environment. The pressure to teach the test and to ensure all students pass can result in an emphasis on rote activity that does not remedy the deficits of weaker students and ignores the needs of stronger students who are likely to pass anyway. Not every student is ready for certain activities and approaches to learning, regardless of his or her
grade level. In contrast, some classes may benefit from techniques commonly used with older students, such as debates. Developmentally-appropriate education gives teachers the ultimate responsibility to decide how something is taught, based upon their assessment of student needs, rather than prescribes how education should take
place in the classroom in a rote
fashion.
References
Burts, D.C. (2005, Fall). Developmentally appopriate educational practices. Retrieved April 4, 2013, from Louisiana Agricultural Magazine: http://text.lsuagcenter.com/en/communications/publications/agmag/Archive/2005/Fall/Developmentally+Appropriate+Educational+Practices+in+Early+Childhood+Programs+an+Economic+Investment.htm
Network, U.E. (2003). Developmentally-appropriate
teaching in early childhood programs. Retrieved Apr 2013, 21, from Utah Education Network: http://www.uen.org/k-2educator/teaching.shtml
