No two schools in the Modesto City School district are the same. They have been built at different times and in different areas of the community. Each school has a mix of teachers, principals, and staff with varying beliefs and pedagogical styles. These groups collectively work to fit the United States educational model; a model which often swings back and forth between the latest in best practices and curriculum standards. The students, not to be forgotten, are also bodies of change. In the same way best practices and curriculum standards are implemented differently at each school site, the students also differ. What does remain consistent are the theories of child development that originated from theorists Erik Erickson and Jean Piaget. …show more content…
According to Erikson (1963), an individual passes through eight stages of psychosocial development. To Erikson, the early stages passed during infancy and childhood are critical due to the brain being most susceptible for taking in specific types of learning. These stages are Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt, Initiative vs. Guilt, and Industry vs. Inferiority. The resulting achievements marked by each stage are the development of hope, willpower, purpose, and competence. Erikson believed that a developmentally healthy child will complete each stage through accomplishing a task successfully. The degree to which a child completes each stage affects the next stage by way of developing patterns that regulate a person’s actions for the rest of his or her life. These actions include personality traits and how he or she presents themselves during times of crisis. Erikson believes that because the brain is always creating pathways between neurons it continues to develop as the child interacts with his or her environment. He notes that “providing meaningful positive experiences for children actually alters the formation of their brains” (1963, p.259). When cultivating these stages of development, Erikson did not take into consideration how the experiences a child has with his culture, community, and family structure could adversely affect their progression through these stages if his or her environment is not a healthy or