Week 1

There was a lot of material to cover from the first three chapters. One of the topics that resinated with me the most came from chapter three. From my job as a paraprofessional I have seen first hand how important it is for a child to have a safe, supportive, and healthy home environment. On page 103, Woolfolk introduces the self-concept. According to Woolfolk, “self-concept is an individuals knowledge and beliefs about themselves-their ideas, feelings, attitudes, and expectations.” Self-concept is the way we perceive ourselves. Although our self-concepts are always evolving, it is important that our self-concepts are positive for maximum achievement. Low self-concepts ultimately mean lower self esteem. Woolfolk states on page 106 that, “self-esteem is influenced by whether the culture around you values your particular characteristics and capabilities.” 

Currently I am working with a student who was regularly abused by his parents and older siblings while growing up. Thankfully he has been removed from his parents custody to live with his aunt, but sadly, school psychologists believe the abuse he suffered was so bad it led him to have extreme anxiety and schizophrenic tendencies. Psychologists have also admitted that they have never seen anything like him. His case is so unusual they are still trying to figure out what Gene’s disability actually is, they know he is emotionally disturbed which is leading him down a path of violence, self destruction, and bad behaviors. Since psychologists and social workers are struggling to identify his disability, his education plan is always a work in progress. I never realized how crucial it is to be surrounded by people who love and support you to help you form your own idea of who you are until I worked with my student Gene. It was very naive of me to assume that people come from supportive homes. 

Another topic in chapter three that stemmed from self-esteem is understanding others and moral development. While children are developing their own sense of self they are also developing what would be considered as their own moral compass. They are starting to learn right from wrong for themselves. Lawrence Kohlberg proposed the theory of six different stages in moral reasoning. The first two fall care called the preconventional level and are based off of a person’s own wants and needs. The next two are called the conventional level and are based off of society’s laws and expectations. While the last two are the post conventional level which are more abstract ideas of justice that do not necessarily coincide with society’s laws. On page 109 the book states, “moral reasoning is related to both cognitive and emotional development. Abstract thinking becomes increasingly important in the higher stages if moral development, as children move from decisions based on absolute rules to those based on abstract principles such as justice and mercy. The ability to see another’s perspective, to judge intentions, and use formal-operational thinking to imagine alternatives bases for laws and rules also enters into judgements at the higher stages.”

The book does argue that there are some flaws in Kohlberg’s theory, and I somewhat agree. I believe that there must be a chronological flow between all the levels of moral reasoning. I always think back to my student Gene who was probably never given any moral guidelines in his life. It is difficult for him to understand the difference between right and wrong when it comes to things that we wants. To me, it seems like he is stuck in Kohlberg’s preconventional level of moral reasoning. Gene will obey some rules but only to avoid consequences. If there is something Gene really wants to do he is going to do it no matter if it is right or wrong.