Thoughts, Expectations, and Personal Preferences.

I feel that it is important for everyone that deals with with children should have a fundamental understanding of how human beings grow and develop. For me personally, I find it quite useful. It seems to me that when one understands the true cause of another's problems, it is easier to assist that person in overcoming the problems. I think this knowledge will be very useful considering the field I am going in to. Children in special education will need someone with some sort of understanding of the reasons they are where they are.
My goal in this course is to gain enough of an understanding of growth and development to recognize a students developmental stage and individualize his/her education plan accordingly.
I would say that the most interesting period of development to me is adolescence. I have heard that children develop their personality by the age of four, but I think there is a lot of molding and shift that occurs during this period. These children are learning to become adults and developing those thought processes. It is kind of the last solidifying factor before the child is locked into adulthood.