Learning Profile of an 8th Grader

Hello.

     In an interesting interview with a young man in the eighth grade, I learned that school culture plays a significant role in development.

     As the oldest brother with two younger siblings, Thanh spent his first few years of life as an only child. His environment was limited to mostly family settings until he began preschool. His birthday, in early October, put him in the position of being the youngest in his grade. His mom was given the chance to wait one year for him to start kindergarten, but she felt that he was academically ready due to his assimilation in preschool and would benefit from the increased socialization. According to Piaget, "we have a need to assimilate objects or information into our cognitive structures (Crain, 2011, p. 121)." Thanh's mother recognized the benefits of an educational, social setting. 

      Some years at home and at school have been more difficult than others for Thanh. While he has continuously demonstrated aptitude, his efforts and attitude have wavered. As Erikson explains, this stage in Thanh's life, known as "the latency stage" between ages six to eleven, is dangerous because students have "an excessive feeling of inadequacy and inferiority (Crain, 2011, p. 290)." It was also during this time that his younger brother and sister were born and there was a significant shift in the balance of attention at home.

      Moving into puberty has been positive for Thanh in many ways. He is now taking a second math class, Algebra, to prepare him for high school. As an eighth grade student taking on an additional class each day, Thanh was anxious about the additional expectations from his parents and teachers, but he was determined to show that he could excel in school. Taking this class, plus achieving good grades in his other classes, has improved Thanh's relationship with his parents and peers. Now Thanh has shown that he can be trustworthy. According to Kohlberg, "good behavior means having good motives and interpersonal feelings such as love, empathy, trust, and concern for others (Crain, 2011, p. 161)." Thanh, now 13 years old, is understanding morality and demonstrating healthy behaviors and interpersonal relationships.

Thanks for listening. See you soon!
Elizabeth

Reference

Crain, W. (2011). Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. Boston, MA: Pearson.