Yuting is now 29 years old. Her college experience led to an internship at a sales company, and she has worked there ever since. She now speaks Mandarin fluently, and she and her partner have returned to China several times. Yuting remains very close to her parents, Ron and Tom, and she sees them often. She is excited to be pregnant with her first child; her partner works from home, and the two have decided that he will care for their child when it is time for Yuting to return to work.
Yuting plays the piano for a local ensemble, and she has a reputation for being a solid accompanist. She sometimes wonders if she ought to have studied music instead of business, but she is happy that she is able to play on a regular basis.
Yuting does not show any evidence of her earlier difficulty in math. In fact, she often sees the mathematical beauty in the music that she plays. She remembers the assistance she received from teachers with fondness and is grateful for those who helped her learn strategies to work through her challenges in math.
* What is the time period for early adulthood? What are the physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional changes that typically take place during this period?
* Based on her age, is it early, average, or late for Yuting to have her first child? What influences couples' decision regarding the timing of having children?
* Is there any relationship between academic achievement and music education?
What is the time period for early adulthood? What are the physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional changes that typically take place during this period?
ReplyDeleteAlthough there is no precise time as to when early adulthood begins and end, it is typically seen as the time period between ages 18 and 30. During this time, young adults go through many of life’s milestones such as finishing school, finding a career, and starting intimate relationships to one day start a family of their own. Generally, this is a time of new experiences and people are in the most active and energetic part of their lives. By finishing school, getting a job, having a serious partner, and expecting a child, Yuting is following the typical path of a young adult.
Physically, many changes can be seen during this period. Often it is said that early adulthood is a time where people are their healthiest and will reach their peak performance. In this time, most females will have reached their maximum height by approximately 18 and males by 21. Two things that continue to change through this stage are muscle gain, especially in males, and weight gain in both males and females. Average weight gain for both women and men is about 15 pounds in about 10 years. Studies also say that people in their 20’s are in the healthiest part of their lives. Generally they see less sickness and depression. Although they are slight changes, both vision as well as hearing are at their peak but are seen not gradually begin to diminish at this stage.
Cognitive development seems to get slower during early adulthood but slight changes are still present. Many researchers have found changes taking place in the frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex of the brain, where things such as judgment, planning, speaking, and moving muscles are subject to change. Brain growth in this area reaches its final development around the age of 20. Jean Piaget noted a significant difference between adult and adolescent thinking and said that adults have more flexibility in their thought patterns, understand multiple opinions on issues better, and that there is more than one way to approach a problem. Young adults are able to construct their arguments, and are not set on finding absolute truths. They are focused on developing their careers and achieving independence from their families and living a balanced life. In this time of life, people become less creative and start maintaining stability with things. Although the brain may slow down and the retrieval of memories is something many start to have problems with. As people transition into their early 30’s intelligence begins to decrease but there are ways to keep a higher level when it is tested more frequently. Intelligence is more likely to decrease when required to be abstract.
ReplyDeleteEmotional changes that take place during early adulthood follow an intimacy vs. isolation pattern, as discovery by Erik Erikson. Those in early adulthood are said to be facing either one or the other during this time. With intimacy, you are generally dealing with the desire for strong friendships, a stable long-term relationship, and starting a family. Those who have achieved intimacy are thought to host a range of positive attributes, such as self-confidence and self-acceptance. Alternatively, those in isolation who do not find these relationships are more likely to fear loneliness and abandonment, generally leading to depression, which becomes a major concern for individuals in their 20s to mid-thirties. Most people diagnosed with major depression receive a diagnosis in this life stage but generally find ways to cope. If not, depression can lead to violence, such as suicide and eating disorders.
*Based on her age, is it early, average, or late for Yuting to have her first child? What influences couples' decision regarding the timing of having children?
ReplyDeleteAccording to the National Center for Health Statistics, the average age of women in the United States to have there first child is 25. This age has increased from the average age of 21.4 in 1970. NCHS does not have specific data for China, but they do have the average age of mothers for their first birth for selected countries. For Japan, a neighbor to China, the average age is 29.2. So according to the United States average age, Yuting would be considered late for having her first child. However, according to Japan’s statistics, Yuting would be considered average.
There are a lot of factors that can influence the couple’s decision regarding the timing of having children. Most importantly, feelings about children are going to effect the age of the first-born. The couples need to have a desire for children which may develop over time. The age that a couple gets married will also effect when they will have their first child as they might not want children immediately. Newlyweds tend to want time to settle down and spend some time together alone before adding another member to the family. Before having a child, it is extremely important to make sure the marriage has a strong foundation. Having children isn’t easy, so the relationship between spouses needs to be strong enough to deal with all the challenges that are to come. Depending on the couple, in may take several years to establish a strong foundation that won’t be shattered by children. Raising children is also very expensive, so spouses need to make sure that they can financially support a child. It is important for couples to take time to become financially secure. They also need to spend time in the workforce, so that they can build their savings account so that they can support and provide for all the child’s needs.
Another factor is careers. The woman has to be willing to give up her career (at least temporarily) towards the end of the pregnancy. She needs to ensure that her job will allow her to take leave. Some women really enjoy their jobs and don’t want to give them up. In addition, men will also need to take time off during labor and recovery. They couple will also have to decide whether one parent is going to stay home with the child or if they are going to put he/she in daycare. Either way, there are a lot of financial dynamics to figure out.
Sacrifices will have to be made it order to care for the child, so spouses need to be ready to give up some of their extracurricular activities in order to provide for the babies needs. For example, they need to be willing to give up their spontaneous travel plans, as they won’t be able to pick up and leave whenever they want. Time management is an important skill to have prior to having a baby as a baby will demands lots of time and attention. Before having a child it is important to ensure that both future parents are physically and emotionally ready for all the changes. Having a child is a decision that will affect the rest of their life. If parents are struggling physically or emotionally, then they should wait before having a child. They need to put their own health first.
ReplyDeleteThe amount of children that a couple wants to have will also affect the age of their first pregnancy. If they want multiple kids, they will probably start earlier than parents that only want one child. Family history will also play a role. If everyone in the family has a children later in life, than that could potentially affect the couple’s decision as well. If all their friends are having babies at a young age, they will feel pressured to get pregnant as well. They will feel the need to “keep up” with their friends so that they can experience life together. Families and friends will have a strong influence, but it is important for the couple to remember that the decision is up to them and only them. They are the ones that have to live with their choice.
* Is there any relationship between academic achievement and music education?
ReplyDeleteMusic Education has a positive effect on academic achievement. Music education enhances students’ academic performance in many different ways. According to Dr. Frank R. Wilson, “learning to play a musical instrument helps students to develop faster physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially”. In addition, playing an instrument helps students improve there coordination, concentration, memory, and eyesight. Playing an instrument can also help improve hearing acuity.
Dr. Georgi Lozonov started an accelerating learning problem in which he incorporated music and specific instruction into the learning process. As a result of his techniques, he concluded that students’ learning was accelerated when compared to the average student in a typical academic setting. When Dr. Lozonoz’s accelerated learning program was put into practice at California's Paradise Elementary school, the results showed an increase in knowledge and understanding for math, reading, and writing. This explains a lot about Yuting. She struggled in math but loved music. As a result of all the time she spent learning music, she was finally able to improve in math and she no longer struggles.
Music also helps build students self-image. As student’s self-image improve they are more motivated to learn in the classroom because they feel empowered to succeed. They feel like they can over the academic obstacles and challenges as a result of their musical talents and knowledge. In addition, music improves listening amongst students. Musical instruments and vocals were used to teach elementary Spanish speakers English. All students succeed in learning English through this musical learning process. Music can also be used to teach concepts that children don’t understand in the classroom. This strategy has been proved effective as well. In addition, relaxation is a key to academic success. Thanks to music, children are able to relax and unwind from a stressful day. As a result, they are better able to succeed in school.
Do you ever find it easy to memorize words to your favorite song on the radio but you can’t memorize math facts? For the majority of people, singing makes things learning easier. An experiment was done in a Kindergarten class in which a teacher sung the words to one group and simply said them to the other group. The teacher found that the group that she sung the words to were able to recall more words. This is because music enhances our memory.
ReplyDeleteI have seen this situation in my personal life. I work with a child with an undiagnosed disability. Up until she was 5, she was completely nonverbal. Now she is eight and her vocabulary has grown to around 100 words. She learned several words through speech therapy however; the majority of her speech came from singing songs. She sings all day!! She has learned the majority of her vocabulary from listening to her parents sing and singing along with them. When driving in the car, we will be listening to songs on the radio. The instant we get out of the car, she will start singing one of the songs that she heard. She will sing words that she has never sung before! It is quite amazing!
Music definitely has a positive impact on academic learning! Music provides students with a wide variety of skills that they can use to enhance their learning in the classroom. There have been numerous studies conducted which have found all the positive effects that were mentioned above.
Sources
ReplyDeleteAkin, Jeane(1987). A Study of Evidence that Music Education is a Positive Factor in K-8 Student Academic Achievement. Retrieved from http://childrensmusicworkshop.com/advocacy/pullouts.html
Bold, M. (1999). Cognitive functioning in early adulthood . Retrieved from http://www.marybold.com/CogFunc.htm
Cantu, E. (2005). Early adult physical and cognitive development. Retrieved from http://blue.utb.edu/ecantu/Psyc 2314/Feldman3Notes/EarlyAdultPhysCogFeldman3Notes.htm
Hamiliton, Brady and Mathews, T.J. (2009, August). Delayed Childbearing: More Women Are Having Their First Child Later in Life. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db21.pdf
Meglio, Francesca (2011). How to Discuss Having a Baby. Retrieved from http://newlyweds.about.com/od/havingababy/a/decidingonbaby.htm