How Children Are Shaped By Their Surrounding Environment

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Human development is a continual and cumulative process, the changes that happen in each major point of our lives can leave a significant impact on our future (Schaffer & Kipp, 2014). In specific, developmentalists have discovered that, "… the first 12 years are extremely important years that set the stage for adolescence and adulthood" (Schaffer & Kipp, 2014). Childhood is a time of rapid growth and development. One of my assumptions about childhood is that children are moldable and are shaped by their surrounding environment. According to Schaffer & Kipp, this is indeed true for, "… we change in response to our environments – particularly in response to the actions and reactions of the people around us" (2014). Adolescence (12-20 years old) is also a time of rapid growth and development, for it is a time in which adolescents are attempting to figure out who they are and who they want to be while going through a series of physical changes (Schaffer & Kipp, 2014). Adolescents are stuck in between this stage of not being able to behave the way a child would but also not having …show more content…

That being said, I also see the downsides of age-segregated education. Students who are behind developmentally may struggle to keep up with their peers. In addition, I think there is a lot of learning that takes place when students interact with one another. As explained previously, the responses to the actions and reactions of those around us changes who we are (Schaffer & Kipp, 2014). On one hand our genes (nature) impact who we are, and on the other hand our environment (nurture) also plays a crucial role in shaping who we are. For that reason, I believe that a mixed-age group classroom may be beneficial to some as the older students can act as mentors to the younger