When beginning my research for my Critical Inquiry Portfolio for my Intro to Early Childhood class I found an article that was very informative about social skills of young children. The article I chose is, “Why Social Skills Are Key to Learning” by Ellen Booth Church (Church, 2010). This article was very clear and beneficial to both teachers and parents. Church explains how The Four C’s, confidence, cooperation, curiosity, and communication, are the first basic skills that a young child must learn (Church, 2010). Another topic discussed in the article is what parents are able to do to make sure that their children are becoming socially developed and how important it is for the young children to interact with each other through play. Church focuses on how at the beginning of school academics are the main focus of the teachers, a variety of skills are what is most important.
In Church’s article, one of the main things that stood out to me was that Studies show that the most important skills to learn in the beginning of the year are social: cooperation, self-control, confidence, independence, curiosity, empathy, and communication (Church, 2010). I felt that this was very important because these social skills are key characteristics for a young child’s development. Without these social skills a child may feel left out and insecure about themselves because they are unable to interact with other students. At the beginning of school the students start out learning social skills in early childhood education because if they are unable to interact, listen, sit still, and take turns there is no way that the students will be able to be educated (Church, 2010). With that being said many parents worry that their child is not getting educated because they come home from school saying they did nothing but played all day. In reality, that is one of the best things a young child could do because developing themselves so they are able to be educated. It is extremely normal for early childhood programs and schools to slowly introduce academics as the school year goes on, this is not just happening in one or two schools (Church, 2010). These social skills have a key role in a child’s education and have an effect on a students learning.
Another main point that I found interesting was Church’s First Basic Skills: The Four C’s, which are ways that parents can support their child’s social skill development at home (Church, 2010). The Four C’s consist of confidence, cooperation, curiosity, and communication and each of these are very important social skills that need to be developed in every student (Church, 2010). I feel this is important because if every parent would take the initiative to stress these characteristics a child’s social skills could change dramatically. That little bit of extra motivation, that one little compliment, or letting the child express his or her own idea could have a dramatic impact on a child’s confidence, cooperation, curiosity, and communication skills. Like I had stated before, these little things a parent can do could help encourage and develop their child in a variety of different ways. That little support can make a huge impact and I do not think that many parents realize that in today’s society.
One topic that caught my eye was a section that talked about what parents are able to do to help with their child’s development and learning. This section really focused on how to make sure your child is involved and has friends at school. One point the Church stated was that it is often easier for children to make friends in their own space, one-on-one, than in school (Church, 2010). I feel that this would be extremely useful as a parent especially with younger children because many parents feel as though it is a nuisance to have their child’s friends come over to play when really it is helping them develop socially and make friends. I feel that these things that have an impact on social development are often over looked because they seem little and unimportant when really they could impact a child for the better in many ways.
Lastly, in relation to the last topic, Church discusses the importance of play for young children. Many people do not understand how play helps a child grow, learn, and investigate the world through complex activities and that it invites the child to think, problem-solve, and participate in fantasy (Church, 2010). All these concepts of play help a child develop and form their own unique personalities. Many people do not realize how many strategies are used when a child plays, whether it is at school, in their backyard, or at the babysitters. I know that this is very key for the development of the students because in the classroom that I am observing in, the teacher takes out around an hour of the day to let the student do “centers”. Centers are a variety of different activities and games such as puzzles, a sand box, writing, reading, computers, housekeeping, and a science center. These centers let the students use their imagination and also interact with other students. I feel as though this play time is very important for the students because it is a time when they can relax and just let go because they know that they are not getting graded by the teacher on how well they perform but by if they are participating in some sort of play or activity.
Overall, I felt as though this article was very informative and shared a lot of important details about how young children develop socially and how parents and teachers are able to help with the process. The article brought up many key points that today’s society tends to push to the side, like the importance of play and parent involvement in education. I would like to sum everything up with one of Church’s statements, “The experiences your child receives in the beginning of the year provide the foundation that will enable her to become an enthusiastic lifelong learner…enthusiastic because she has discovered that learning is fun as well as meaningful” (Church, 2010).
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