Kristina\'s Report Essay Examples

Pauline is a three year old who is having learning disabilities. Robert is a five year old who is having trouble relating to other kids and the teachers. These two cases of developmental and academic risk are the subject of this paper. Kristina has been asked by the school principal to prepare a report on the biological, cognitive, and socio-emotional factors that would affect these children to the extent that they are having issues with learning and relating to others. Upon observation of the children, it has been found that these children are being affected by a combination of retarded growth that is biological, which is compounded by family problems that are socio emotional. In other words, the cognitive development of these kids is being affected by their home circumstances and at the same time, they have been impacted by biological factors as well.
The focus of this report is on explaining how these factors interact with each other to converge and create a situation where each kid is having serious issues with academic and nonacademic learning. This report is the product of six months of observation by Kristina who took it upon herself to monitor Pauline and Robert for signs of academic learning issues and issues with their peers. This report integrates theory into practical observations about the children to arrive at a comprehensive and holistic understanding of the factors that are responsible for the kids’ inability to learn or relate to their peers. The conclusion of this report is that unless the home situation improves and unless the kids are given special care by the school, they would turn into adults with severe psychological problems and severe psychosomatic issues.
Robert on the other hand, has biological problems that are compounded by the fact that he is living in a single parent home where the absence of a father figure means that he is unable to comprehend some life circumstances and relate to other kids in a normal and healthy manner. The key aspect about Robert is that all the three factors i.e. cognitive, biological, and socio emotional aspects interact with each other to create a situation where Robert is unable to even perform simple math and unable to relate to his peers in a meaningful manner. This is indeed a serious situation that might even warrant intervention by the state, which must if necessary place him in protective care until he recovers and learns to function as a healthy kid in a manner that a five year old does. Further, Robert is having serious biological issues that are also the result of sustained trauma from having to live in a home that is chaotic and abnormal. As Erikson’s theory points out, childhood circumstances and childhood experiences play an important role in determining later life development. Apart from that, the childhood memories are the most vivid of all memories and hence, Robert can be placed in protective care until the time he improves. The key aspect here is that Robert is having nightmares and a general sense of PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder caused by the divorce of his parents and the constant trauma that is the result of living in a single parent home. Therefore, the school must take appropriate steps to ensure that Robert develops as a normal child and does not enter adulthood with psychological and psychosomatic scars. It is indeed an urgent situation that the school must address if Robert is to have a meaningful and fulfilling adulthood. Therefore, the conclusion about Robert is that he must be placed in protective care until the time he recovers and is able to learn and relate to other kids in a meaningful and fulfilling manner. This is the key finding that this report makes as far as Robert is concerned.
As mentioned earlier, childhood is the time when kids learn the essential life skills and their minds that are just forming absorb the environmental factors like a sponge absorbs water. Hence, care must be taken by the government and the schools to ensure that children are able to learn and relate to their peers in a healthy and meaningful manner. Both Erikson’s and Piaget’s theory talk about how the cognitive, biological, and socio emotional development take place during childhood and how exposure to adverse life circumstances leads to the alteration of the brain chemistry leading to disorders during adulthood.
It is imperative that kids have the best possible home environment as well as a fulfilling academic environment. This is the key finding of this report. To actualize this, the school and the social services department have to come together and make the children be placed in an environment that is conducive for their future growth and future success. The portrait of childhood is the most vivid one and hence, the report is of the view that there cannot be any compromises on how the children are handled by both their parents and their teachers. In conclusion, both Pauline and Robert must be immediately counseled and if necessary, the state must intervene to ensure that their development is not impeded.