Sample Of Childrens Imaginative Children And Young People Essay

Sample Of Childrens Imaginative Children And Young People Essay This paper will focus on an observation which demonstrates a childrens use of imagination and pretence. This sample of play displays evidence of Harry, Jenny, Katie and Lucys use of pretence, role play and symbolic play, of which the main focus of this commentary will be role play and symbolic play. Children are able to detach themselves from reality during pretend play and at the same time get closer to reality (Wood Attfield, 2005). They create roles, use symbols, and redefine objects, shared meanings, transferring real world knowledge skills and understanding from areas of their lives. In pretend fantasy play children become whatever they choose to be in this case mum, dad and child. According to Corsaro (2003) children often become roles that exist in society and through the childrens shared knowledge of the adult world they are able to transform themselves. Harry, Jenny, Katie and Lucy are able to transform themselves in to roles of parents and child due to the knowledge they have gained through their own experience (9, 12). These children are able to draw upon their existing knowledge of their parents behaviour and actions which Piaget (1962) would refer to as schema (building blocks of knowledge). According to Corsaro (2003) dramatic role-play assists childrens social and emotional development and he states that many have seen role play as an imitation of adults. Corsaro continues to expresses that children do not just imitate adults in their play they take on the power and control of an adult through imaginative play. This can then be used in the future when t hey will be in charge of themselves and others. Harry and Jenny display this when stepping into the role of parents they experiment and imagine what it feels like to have power as a parent. A very significant theme throughout this observation is symbolic play and is seen frequently firstly when the children use play dough to represent cakes (3, 5, 7, 13, 14,), a box to represent an oven (6, 12, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25) and later when Harry uses a building block as a telephone (30). According to Garvey (1990) objects operate and link the child with their environment and as a child matures their use of objects in pretence become more appropriate. Objects become more realistic and understandable to adults. Referring back to Garvey this is when play scenarios becomes more comprehensive. These children all transform objects to take new form to serve as a purpose to continue the play and it is very obvious to the adult eye what these objects represent when the play theme is known or observed. These children (with the exception of one who generally copied her peers) have learnt to make-believe and are using less realistic objects, they become more inventive and more imagina tive, skilled pretenders where they have transformed a cardboard box into an oven (Garvey, 1990). Harry speaks to an imaginary person on his imaginary telephone pausing allowing time for a response this was very realistic, he developed the theme of having to go to work after ending the telephone conversation. According to Garvey (1990) children use roles and identities not just to the participants but also to imaginary ones and objects are changed and invented as they are needed and in order to engaged in make believe. Singer Singer (2007) express that symbolic play enables children to have a clear sense of what is real and what is not real or fantasy. Jenny had the ability to switch between reality and pretence when using the phrase Lets pretend. Jenny initiates the play theme to Lucy and Katie. (1). It is obvious that Jenny has made cakes with her mother on many occasions (7) referring to Bruce (2011) Jenny is using her imagination in a play situation and rearranging past experience in new ways. It appears that Lucy seems to be confused by her suggestion by voicing her concerns how (2). Jenny demonstrates to Lucy what she wants her to do by cutting the play dough into moon shapes (5). Lucy is now able to visualise that the play dough will now change form and become cakes even though they are not actually real cakes. Vygotksy (1978: 86) states that when peers interact they can support less component peers in developing skills this is known as the Zone of Proximal Development (1978: 86). In this case Lucy is in the zone of proximal development and through peer support she can now successfully understand that the play dough is going to represent a cake. Jenny as a more knowledgeable peer in terms of being older has more experie nce, so she was able to support and instruct Lucy. They are in the play room they have no ingredients, no oven and no obvious cooking utensils. There were no realistic objects for Lucy to use to make cakes. Lucys maturity level is not as advanced as the others and she finds herself in new situations which contradict her existing schemas, the existing schema must be accommodated in order for the new information to fit, fantasy play can help children make sense and test these ideas through assimilation (Piaget, 1962 Kitson, 2005). Lucy being the youngest participant Fenson, Kearsley and Zelazo (1976 cited in Smith, 2010) state that younger children depend on more realistic objects during pretend play Lucy has not yet reached the stage they refer to as decontextualization where children have the ability to use less realistic substitute objects. This observation has highlighted the importance of pretend/fantasy play for children to be able to express themselves as well as enjoy this valuable time. Observations of this type of play provides valuable insights in to childrens social worlds, however within a pre-school setting this type of free play could be very difficult due to observe due to the amount of children within a pre-school class. In this type of small setting (in a child minders home) this task is easier to carry out and can provide important information about a childs likes/dislikes, what makes them happy/sad and possible anxieties they may have but most importantly where they are developmentally. Freud (1961 cited in Moyles, 2005) states that children display their inner selves through fantasy play. What I observed on this particular occasion was the children were left to their own devices without much supervision or interaction from their child minder. I can only assume this was due to my presence. The question is does adult intervention enhance childrens development? Hutt et al (1989) agree that adult interventions or participation is essential when attempting to improve cognitive development. Smith and Syddall (1978, cited in Hutt et al, 1989: 171) continue to suggest that daily adult interactions in childrens play particular pre-school children can change their performance on tests of cognitive ability. In the case of Lucy struggling to fit in to the play theme at the beginning due to a lack of understanding could have been an opportunity for her child minder to get involved with the play and support her through this (although Jenny did step in to help and the play continued) having an adult take part in these types of social-role play situations could according to Moyles H eathcote (1989, 1984, cited in Kitson, 2005) can stimulate and deepen a childs play experiences and adults can then create learning areas to suit a childs needs. Also referring to Tina Bruce (1997) children are able to benefit when directed than if left to ordinary development. To further support the idea that adult direction supports childrens development, Kitson (cited in Moyles 2005) states effective adult interventions can assist children create new forms of play themes, dilemmas and support children in extending their learning this can be done by not telling children what to do but offering them alternatives to explore. However Brostrom (1997) thinks that play should be free from force of an adult and this can stop child from playing. So rather than forcing play they should observe it more, create more stimulating activities to support it whilst providing materials to initiate more creative play to support childrens learning. Other things to consider are adults involving themselves more with childrens play without dominating the play but sensitively entering childrens worlds and respect the dynamics or the play themes. As the childrens play was ended suddenly Singer and Singer (2007) importantly state that children need time, space and simple materials to engage in pretend play Bib S.J, Hutt, Tyler, C. Hutt Christopherson (1989) Play, Exploration and Learning Smith, Peter, K (date) Children and Play: Understanding Childrens Worlds Bergen, D, (2002) The Role of Pretend Play in Childrens Cognitive Development Volume 4 Number 1 Moyles, J (2005) the excellence of Play 2nd ed chapter 8 Fantasy Play and the case for adult intervention by Neil Kitson Open uni press Berkshire Vygotsky, L. S. (1978).  Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Tina Bruce (2011) Learning through Play 2nd ed London Hodder Tina Bruce (1997) Helping young children to play

THE MAN :: essays research papers

The Man They Called Danny -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To the millions who watched his story unfold, slain reporter Daniel Pearl was a symbol of loss and national grief. To those who knew him, he was much more. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- by Felicity Barringer Sidebar: Why Reporters Risk It Related Site: Wall Street Journal The Daniel Pearl Foundation THE FILE "JOURNALIST1" on my computer, created after the war in Afghanistan began, is a disjointed record of the fears and losses of the last several months. It begins with notes about journalists in Afghanistan and the dangers they face. It was open when the father of John Tipping II, a firefighter who died in the World Trade Center, called to talk about his son for a thumbnail portrait in the New York Times. So it continued with notes about a fireman. The same file was on my screen January 24 when a call came from Steven Goldstein, Dow Jones?s corporate spokesman. He told me that Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal?s South Asia bureau chief, was missing. ?Journalist1?? soon filled with notes about Daniel Pearl?s work and his life and details that reflected the painful uncertainty about his fate. Finally, it recorded the even more painful certainty: Pearl?s death at the hands of Pakistani kidnappers. A videotape sent to the American Embassy a month after his capture showed a knife wound near his heart, evidence of his gruesome execution. The kidnappers then videotaped the mutilation of his body. The prolonged uncertainty, the geopolitical importance of a crime calculated to embarrass Pakistan?s president as he aligned himself with the United States and, finally, the kidnapping?s barbaric conclusion, guaranteed an audience of millions. Many of these became captivated by the man they called ?Danny.? His smile was beguiling, a lighthearted challenge to any person or institution that took itself too seriously. His eclectic embrace of people and ideas led him into journalism, into myriad friendships, into all kinds of music and into marriage with a French citizen whose blithe spirit mirrored his own. It is no surprise that he is better known than the other journalists in the ?Journalist1?? file, better known than John Tipping II and most of those killed on September 11. The country and the world mourned, hard, for the thousands who died that day, and for all that was lost with them. But people did not just mourn Daniel Pearl. They claimed him for their own. When word of Pearl?s death was broadcast on February 21, Vera Katz started scrambling around her home in Venice, Calif.

Brand Positioning Essay

Positioning Statement culled from it for communication. Being a part of brand identity, it is a concise statement. Positioning statement is a declaration of the position our product/service will occupy in the mind of our target consumers. Before developing positioning statement we have look in to these areas: a. Market exploration: We have to assess first where our and our competitors’ brand stand today. b. Market segments: We consider target market segment c. Core identity: We then identify what is core identity or the essence of our brand d. Value proposition: It is better to know what criteria potential buyers use to choose one product/service over another. Identify a few criteria. e. Position of the existing products: Our product/service always has a relation to our competitive products. We have to see how our brand is perceived. Ultimately, we choose the best position. If that is already occupied, we think of taking the leader head on if we are strong or by-pass the leader and find other position. A concise positioning statement first describes what is important to the customers, and then what problem our product will solve for them, and how. Positioning is amenable to the following definition: 1. The position of a brand is the perception it brings in the mind of the target consumers. 2. This perception reflects the essence of the brand in terms of its functional benefits in the judgment of that consumers 3. It is relative to the perception held by a consumer of competing brands. The competing brands can be denoted as points or positions in perceptual space of the consumers and together make up a product/service class. 4. Positioning process consists of analysis of brand equity, core competencies, unmet consumer needs, competitive differentiation.

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