Long Island University, C. W. Post
September , 2010
Today in class we learned about Erikson’s theory. According to this theory, a child’s behavior is predetermined and universal. Some variations are possible given the social environment or a particular “crisis” in a child’s life. However, there are general psychological needs for each age group in a person’s development. We learned exactly which needs pertain to each age group. Professor Boyanton told us to use the acronym “TAIIIIGI,” in order to help us remember the needs in order of age. I agree with the concepts of this theory, especially with the age group between four and five year olds. The needs of this age group are “initiative vs. guilty.” I know that when I was this age, my biggest fear would be getting in trouble. I was always a well-behaved child, but whenever I knew that I did something wrong, I would get upset and cry. I did not like getting in trouble because I always felt like I had made this biggest mistake ever. I always felt better when someone told me that I was doing a good job, or if someone complimented me on something that I had put a lot of work into.
In addition to my personal experience, I worked as a camp counselor for a group of five year old boys this past summer. Over the course of my time at this camp, I got to know a group of five year olds very well. I learned which ones needed extra encouragement and which ones could handle challenges. Professor Boyanton explained to us that the best thing to do for children of this age is to always encourage them. One of my campers would always say to me during swim time, “Watch me swim to you! What me swim to you!” Even though we went through this every day, I constantly applauded him for doing such a great job. Another one of my campers loved arts and crafts. Whenever he completed a project he would always say to me “Look what I did!” After complimenting him on his work, he would always have the biggest smile on his face! I learned a lot from working so closely with this age group. I cannot wait to explore and learn more about other age groups as I further my career in teaching.
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