The concept of a child changes over time and place The ideologies associated with childhood have changed

drastically throughout the centuries. These ideologies will continue to transform over time as children are Children have been viewed in many different ways. It is these viewpoints that have shaped what childhood is today and what it will become. In todays modern society children are taught from a very early age how to behave like an adult. It is through these teachings that they are also informed, from a ridiculously an alarmingly early age - about the idea of sex, drugs and alcohol. Children are becoming more and more increasingly delinquent from an earlier age. This is greatly due to what they are exposed to in school. The concept of a child is an important issue which desperately needs to be addressed. Twenty-five years into the future it is vital that children are re-introduced to what its like to be a child and live a happy childhood. Students should be protected from certain things which will may or may not directly affect them such as alcohol and drug abuse and engaging in sexual relations. (Not sure what you meant here, so disregard the may/may not if Im wrong) Every new topic, try to make a new paragraph. This section was hard to read as a block of text. Schools should be a place that which endorses childhood and child related values such as family, friendship and an overall atmosphere of happiness. School should be mainly focused on play, social activity and education in the topics that are essential for this early stage of life. Examples of these topics would be the absolute basics of literacy, numeracy, physical development, geography all of which should have an equal amount of play and bookwork incorporated. Maria Montessori (Might be an idea to reference the date of her theory e.g. Maria Montessori (1980) But the date she published her theories etc) developed various different childrens activities that included inanimate objects combined with play to teach mathematics. It is these theories which should be encouraged in an educational environment. In terms of Bronfenbrenner (year?) and his ecological systems theory a child twenty-five years into the future will be very different in the educational, social, cultural and political sense. A child today has far too many problems they are forced to deal with at home. This is why children should be protected from certain problems by surrounding them with a microsystem that is as large as possible. Children should have close relationships to children around the neighbourhood, as opposed to the current discomfort that is associated with children playing on the street. Family is to be made a much bigger part of life. Family is not focused on enough significantly at school and therefore a child may be confused with different rules and regulations that would be deemed appropriate in a home environment. This is why the home and school environment should be far more integrated. Children will go back to being children by being urged to have a far greater group of friends with whom they will share their childhood with. The exosystem should be minimised as much as possible. The term extended family should be non-existent. The reason for this is that no matter what, children should always feel loved by any family member and be protected from any familial turmoil which may face the parents and prevent a positive relationship with a family member. The mesosystem should be an important part of the life of a child. Culture is a very important aspect that should be acknowledged in early childhood. However culture has been skewed into what currently seems to be more like rules that a child has to follow. A child (repetition of A Child Mix up sentence beginnings) Children should be exposed to as much culture as possible but not so that it is forced upon them. A child should not be pressured by society

to uphold certain cultural values. A child Instead, they should be exposed to many different cultures at an early age in order to understand that there is a wide variety of different beliefs and attitudes. As the child grows the chronosystem will have a far greater affect in allowing the child to make their own decisions on what aspects of the ecological systems theory they choose to focus on.

Theorists and Their Ideologies about Educating Children Negative views It was originally John Locke who believed that poor children should be raised in an environment that would immediately expose them from the age of three to working conditions. He protested that children should be reared in the direction of work from an early age to develop strong working class citizens. It is because of this factor that children were forced to attend schools with specific work orientated teachings, so as to prepare them for a life they would potentially be unsuited to or find unappealing undoubtedly dislike (Sounds opinionated). It was the parents who also encouraged this train of thought by forcing their young to equip themselves with an education that was thought to lead to wealth and profit. This is a very negative approach to education as it requires children, from a very young age, to engage in activities completely distant to that which would be required to lead a typical childhood. This eliminates the opportunity for play as children are forced to work, and learn to work, before they even develop specific motor skills. Children were seen as workers rather than actual children at this point in time. It was Aristotle who focused mainly on children and what age they should begin reproducing. He believed that females around their seventeenth year should begin to reproduce while males were not ready until the age of thirty-seven. This meant that females were taught from a very young age how to behave like a mother. It was this theory that may have contributed significantly to the theory I believe, that initially developed the ridiculous idea that children should be educated in sexual relations as early as the age of twelve. These teachings still exist predominantly unfortunately are still used in modern society. This detracts from what is important information for a child to possess and what children should be learning in schools. In my opinion it was Aristotles theories of reproducing, specifically, the age of reproduction, are potentially the catalyst for what todays society deems as paedophilia. It has influenced the societal view of children and the age at which children should start engaging in sexual relations. It is these theories that should be completely eliminated as they are destroying any sense of childhood that modern day children are missing out on. Positive Views Pestalozzi believed in a holistic approach to education. This meant that he believed in educating the whole child and cherishing the important role that childhood had on the life of a person. His views were that the early years were the most significant in a childs life as they provide opportunity to develop ones own sense of who self they are as a person and educate themselves in a way that would best benefit their idea of qualitative education. It was from this that coined the term selfdirected learners that Pestalozzi used. One of his main theories was that mothers should have a

huge involvement in the education of their children as it is the mothers that children spent the most time with. This is a vital factor for children as it requires them to engage properly in what is meant to be a proper childhood cherishing familial values. Comparison of Theories It is Pestalozzis theory that separates the absurd ideologies of reproduction and educating the poor that Aristotle and Locke propose. Their thoughts are the basis for some of todays major social issues for example the age of reproduction proposed by Aristotle is a major problem that paedophilia stems from. While Lockes thoughts on educating the poor is what has led to major social class divisions in society. This is why Pestalozzis views on education for a child are ones that should be encouraged and continued throughout the early child hood years. My Role as an Educator and Advocator for Children As stated earlier I believe that children should be required to do nothing more than act and behave like children. Certain negative issues are brought up way too early in schooling such as sex discrimination and drugs. The K-6 Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PD.H.PE) Syllabus shows what students will be learning in stage three (years five and six) of their schooling life. They are taught about the effects of puberty but are also told about what this leads to and how to deal with sex and what it entitles. This is an outrageous time to be introducing children to such an issue. Children at this age are misinformed and are not aware of the consequences of their actions. If they are only just beginning to learn about puberty and its effects, there is no rational way they are going to be able to make an informed decision about the repercussions of sex and the consequences that may arise from such a situation. It is because of this aspect of the syllabus, I believe as a beginning teacher, children are far too engaged with sex and this results in devastating circumstances as relative poverty in Australia, underage pregnancy, rape and unfortunately discrimination. Children should not be exposed to these types of issues at such an early stage in their life. This is why, as an educator, it would be my desire to change the syllabus so that children are only taught what they need to know and what really relates to them. I would want children to be focused more on play at an early age and developing what would be considered a typical child hood. This is where family would play a vital role and be encouraged even in schools. Pestalozzis thoughts on education would be sufficient in that a mothers role would be significant in education for children. Aristotle and Lockes views would be completely disregarded. As an educator I would feel it is my role to protect children from certain aspects in life that they should not be concerned with so as to encourage a strong and healthy childhood.