Is there a link between physical activity and mental ability? The relationship of physical education with the intellectual and mental development of the child
The relationship of physical education with mental is manifested directly and indirectly.
The direct connection lies in the direct impact of physical education on the level of development of mental abilities of those involved due to the emergence in the course of training of cognitive situations associated with the study and improvement of the technique of movements, increasing their economization and accuracy, as well as problem situations of varying complexity, requiring independent decisions, active actions and creative approach to solving problems.
An indirect connection is that strengthening health and increasing the overall vital activity of the body leads to greater productivity in mental activity.
The relationship between physical development and mental performance of children has been the subject of studying many experimental studies conducted both in our country and abroad.
In studies conducted over three years in the city of Varna (Bulgaria), the effect of swimming on the state of health, the level of development of motor qualities and the change in the activity of children's attention as an indicator of their mental performance was studied. The general mental performance of schoolchildren was determined using a psychological test, by taking into account the number of processed signs per unit of time before and after swimming lessons. Children in the experimental groups, whose physical education program was characterized by an increased content of pool activities, exercises and games, found an average of 3 letters more in the curly text than the children of the control group, and later they outperformed their peers in grades 1 and 2. The incidence in the experimental groups with an increased mode of motor activity was on average 4 times lower than in the control groups. A significant positive effect was also found on the level of development of motor qualities.
Research by O.L. Bondarchuk showed that swimming contributes to the formation of arbitrary mnemonic activity and leads to a significant increase in short-term memory in children. When more than 300 schoolchildren were examined, it was found that their short-term memory is able to retain no more than 8-10 words. After using the special program in the swimming pool, the amount of arbitrary short-term memory of the children of the experimental group increased by 4-6 units, which was significantly higher than when working with children who did not visit the pool.
The relationship between the cognitive and motor activity of children aged 7-9 years has been established. According to G.A. Kadantseva (1993), speed, coordination and speed-strength abilities have the closest connection with tests characterizing cognitive activity. This is probably due to the fact that the development of any motor quality is associated, on the one hand, with the improvement of mental activity (improvement of mental functions: memory, attention, perception, without which practical activity is impossible), and, on the other hand, with the development of mechanisms of the central nervous system, among which the main role is played by the maturation of the cortical section of the motor analyzer and the formation of its connections with other parts of the brain.
Studies conducted over two years among students of 2nd - 4th grades showed that schoolchildren-swimmers are distinguished by more harmonious physical development. Harmoniously developed are 72.4% of boys and 67.8% of girls in sports classes and, respectively, 57.2% and 52.4% in non-sports classes. Pupils of sports classes have higher absolute values of body length and weight, chest circumference, VC, BMD, higher indices of backbone and hand dynamometry. They registered a rarer pulse at rest, a shorter recovery time after a functional test, better indicators of the speed of the visual-motor reaction when distinguishing colors. Schoolchildren of sports classes have higher resistance to colds and viral diseases. In ordinary classes, those who are often ill make up 5.8%, in sports there are none. A comprehensive assessment of the state of health has established that students of sports classes belong to groups I and II. health (there were no students of III group). In ordinary classes to I gr. 18.7% of schoolchildren belonged, and 9.3% belonged to III.
Swimming classes have a positive effect not only on the development of special physical and functional abilities, but also on the overall development of adolescents. This is expressed in the progressive improvement of all indicators of physical, psychomotor and intellectual development, as well as in the formation and maintenance of positive relationships between indicators of psychomotor and intellectual development. Compared with schoolchildren of the same age who do not go in for sports, young swimmers are distinguished by a higher level of development of complex psychomotor functions (speed and accuracy of complex coordination actions) and mental processes.
Thus, when teaching children to swim, we are talking not only about the development of special motor qualities, but about the formation of the mental, sensual and emotional spheres of the child in their process, about the positive impact of psychomotor development on the intellect of schoolchildren.
Introduction
For the modern educational system, the problem of mental education is extremely important and relevant. One of the leading experts in the field of mental education of preschoolers, N.N. Poddyakov rightly emphasizes that at the present stage it is necessary to give children the key to the knowledge of reality. In the works of domestic and foreign scientists, preschool childhood is defined as the period optimal for mental development and education. This was the opinion of the teachers who created the first systems of preschool education - A. Froebel, M. Montessori. but in the studies of A.P. Usova, A.V. Zaporozhets, L.A. Wenger, N.N. Poddyakov, it was revealed that the possibilities of mental development of preschool children are much higher than previously thought.
Mental development is a set of qualitative and quantitative changes that occur in mental processes due to age and under the influence of the environment, as well as specially organized educational and educational influences and the child's own experience. .
So why do people achieve different levels of mental development,
And on what conditions does this process depend? Long-term studies have made it possible to derive a general pattern for the development of human mental capabilities from biological factors and dependence on internal and external conditions. Biological factors that primarily affect the mental development of a child are: the structure of the brain, the state of the analyzers, changes in nervous activity, the formation of conditioned connections, hereditary fund of inclinations. Internal conditions include the physiological and psychological properties of the body. And external conditions are the environment of a person, the environment in which he lives and develops.
In general, the problem of the development of mental abilities is extremely important, complex and multifaceted. The relevance of the chosen topic stems from the factor of the need for the mental development of the child, depending on the environment and the environment of education. And at the moment it is very relevant.
Goal of the work- reveal the importance of physical development and the external environment for the mental development of the child.
1. Consider the essence of the concepts of "physical development" and "external environment".
2. Determine the importance of physical development and the external environment for the development of the mental development of the child.
3. Determine the impact of physical exercise on the mental development of children.
4. Get acquainted with the literature that reveals the importance of physical development and the external environment for the mental development of the child.
Chapter I. The influence of physical development on the mental development of children.
General information.
The positive influence of physical development on the mental was known in China, even in the time of Confucius, in ancient Greece, India, and Japan. In the monasteries of Tibet and Shaolin, physical exercises and labor were taught on the same level as theoretical disciplines. Baden-Powell at the end of the 19th century created a perfect system for educating the younger generation in the form of a scout movement, which was accepted by all civilized countries of the world, including Russia before and after the revolution. “Poor health and lag in physical development are noted by many researchers as one of the possible factors of “mental weakness”. (A. Binet). Recent studies by the American neuroscientist Lorenz Katz and molecular biologist Fred Geig have shown that in the brain of people of all ages, under the influence of certain conditions, new interneuronal connections can arise and new nerve cells can appear. One of these conditions is physical activity. In physically active individuals, along with nerve cells, new blood vessels were found in the brain. This is regarded as follows: under the influence of physical activity, the blood supply to the brain improves, and accordingly its nutrition, which stimulates the formation of new interneuronal connections and new nerve cells. In the US, a new system has already been developed - "neurobics" - a set of special exercises for training the brain. It is noteworthy that the above changes are most pronounced in the hippocampus - a small brain formation that processes incoming information. The studies of Lawrence Katz and Fred Geig confirm the close relationship between mental development and physical development.
Swedish scientists have established a direct relationship between the physical condition of a person and his mental abilities. The IQ of people who go in for sports or physical education is noticeably higher than that of those who lead a passive lifestyle. At the same time, numerous studies by L.S. Vygotsky, J. Piaget, A. Vallon, M. M. Koltsova and others testify to the primary role of movements in the development of the mental functions of the child. Researches of G.A.Kadantseva - 1993, I.K.Spirina - 2000, A.S.Dvorkin, Yu.K.Chernyshenko - 1997, V.A.Balandin - 2000; 2001 et al. found a close relationship between indicators of physical fitness and the level of development of cognitive processes in preschoolers. In the works of N.I. Dvorkina - 2002, V.A. Pegov - 2000. the presence of reliable links between individual indicators of mental and physical qualities was revealed. The positive influence of active motor activity on the state of mental performance was established by N.T. Terekhova in 1989, A.V. Zaporozhets in 1980, A.P. Erastova in 1989. At the same time, the studies of N. Sladkova -1998, O.V. Reshetnyak and T.A. Bannikova -2002. show that the lag in mental development leads to a lag in the development of physical qualities.
Thus, scientists have established a close relationship between indicators of physical fitness and the level of development of cognitive processes in children, and scientifically proven the positive impact of active motor activity on the state of mental performance.
1.2. Physical development and physical education of children.
One of the most important indicators of a child's health is his physical development. Physical development means a complex of morphological and functional properties of the body, characterizing the size, shape, structural and mechanical qualities and the harmony of the development of the human body, as well as the reserve of its physical strength. These are the laws of age development, which determine the level of health and the functioning of all systems in the body.
Physical development- the dynamic process of growth (an increase in body length and weight, the development of organs and systems of the body, and so on) and the biological maturation of a child in a certain period of childhood. At each age, a person grows according to certain laws, and deviations from the norm indicate existing health problems. Physical development is influenced by the neuropsychic, intellectual state, a complex of medical and social, natural and climatic, organizational and socio-biological factors. Throughout a person's life, changes in the functional properties of the body occur: body length and weight; lung capacity; chest circumference; endurance and flexibility; dexterity and strength. Strengthening of the body goes either spontaneously (natural age), or purposeful, for which a special program of physical development is being created. It includes exercises, rational nutrition, the correct mode of rest and work.
Monitoring the physical development of the population in Russia is an obligatory component of the state system of medical control over people's health. It is systematic and applies to different groups of the population.
The foundations of physical development are laid in childhood. And, the control of the parameters of physical development begins in the neonatal period, periodic examinations of children and adults continue at various age periods of development.
What is physical development and why does a person need sports? Its significance in a person's life is difficult to overestimate, so love for this activity must be instilled from childhood. Parents can compensate for the harmful effects of the environment, poor nutrition and psycho-emotional stress with sports. In addition, special exercises will help correct violations in the physical development of children, in particular problems with the musculoskeletal system and flat feet. Also, training helps: gain the missing muscle mass; reduce weight; fight curvature of the spine; correct posture; increase endurance and strength; develop flexibility.
What is physical development and education? It consists in a complex of health-improving exercises and measures that affect the strengthening of the body and spirit. The main task of education is health improvement, the formation of economical movements, the accumulation of motor experience by a person from early childhood and its transfer to life. Aspects of physical education: feasible loads; outdoor games; competent daily routine, rational nutrition; personal hygiene and hardening. Why is physical education necessary for a child? Results from physical activity can be noticeable immediately and after a while. Education has a positive effect on the child's body, developing his natural data, so that in the future he can more easily endure stressful situations and changes in the situation: personal qualities develop, character is tempered; a positive attitude to life is formed, active people always feel happier; a negative attitude towards bad habits is formed.
The main factor in maintaining health, life expectancy of a person, his physical performance is a healthy lifestyle in its broadest interpretation. Preservation and maintenance of health at the proper level is the most important task of each state. Especially it needs healthy offspring. But the future of our planet depends only on us, on the state of our health. The demographic policy of the state in the broadest sense of the term also depends on this. M.V. Lomonosov said: “What matters will we talk about today? We will discuss the most important thing - the health of the Russian people. In its preservation and reproduction lies the power and wealth of the entire state, and not the vastness of the vain without inhabitants. These words can naturally be attributed to any state, its people.
Physical exercises and their influence on the mental development of children.
The influence of physical education on the development of the child's mind is enormous. Without it, the development of the child is not harmonious. There is a pattern: the more the child develops the ability to control his body, the faster and better he learns theoretical knowledge, the more symmetrical, diverse and accurate the movements, the more evenly both hemispheres of the brain develop. The main feature of the child's body is that it grows and develops, and these processes can only be successfully carried out with regular physical activity. The authors Boyko V. V. and Kirillova A. V. indicate that the main means of physical education is motor activity in physical education classes, it is through it that the child learns the world around him, as a result of which his mental processes develop: thinking, attention, will, independence and others. The more diverse movements a child masters, the wider the opportunities for the formation of cognitive processes, the more fully his development is carried out. Koroleva T.A. notes that as a result of motor activity, mental processes are activated, blood circulation in the brain improves, the functioning of the central nervous system, all this leads to an increase in mental abilities. .
Physical exercise undoubtedly has a very good effect on the mental development of the child. When children play outdoor games or exercise, they not only strengthen their muscles, but also become smarter. Physical exercise has many positive effects on the brain, not only of an adult, but also of a child. According to research, the younger the child, the more effective this positive effect. Not everyone knows how physical activity affects the child's mental activity. Starodubtseva I.V. describes a series of exercises that have a direct impact on the intellectual development of preschoolers in physical education. These exercises combine two components: a motor action and an exercise aimed at the development of intelligence, which is implemented in the form of a didactic game.
Physical exercises have a positive effect on the intellectual abilities of children: cerebral circulation improves, mental processes are activated, the functional state of the central nervous system improves, and a person’s mental performance increases.
The positive effect of exercise on the child's brain:
· Exercise increases blood flow to the brain. Blood delivers oxygen and glucose, which are necessary for increased concentration and mental development. Physical exercises contribute to the implementation of these processes at a natural level, without overloading the child. Studies in 2007 proved that if a child is constantly involved in sports for three months, this allows a 30% increase in blood flow to the part of the brain that is responsible for memory and learning.
· Physical exercise generates new brain cells in the part of the brain called the dentate gyrus, which is responsible for memory. Scientists claim that exercise stimulates the growth of nerves. People who play sports on a regular basis develop short-term memory, have a quick response and have a high level of creativity.
· Studies have proven that physical exercise forms the main level of the brain's neurotrophic factor. This factor encourages brain cells to branch out, connect, and interact with each other in new neural pathways that cause your child to be open to learning and more active in the pursuit of knowledge.
· Psychologists have found that a well-trained child wins on a series of cognitive tasks, and an MRI shows a significantly larger nucleus basalt, which is a key part of the brain responsible for maintaining attention, checking performance, and being able to coordinate actions and thoughts decisively.
· Independent studies have found that the brain of an active child has a hippocampus that is larger than that of a non-athletic child. The hippocampus and nucleus basalis influence the structure and function of the brain.
· Physical exercise develops the child's ability to learn. In 2007, German researchers found that after exercising, people learned 20% more vocabulary words.
· Physical exercise develops creativity. A 2007 experiment proved that running on a treadmill for 35 minutes at a heart rate of 120 beats per minute improves cognition, brainstorming efficiency, creativity performance, and originality of thought.
· Activities that include balancing and jumping strengthen the vestibular system, which generates spatial imagination and mental alertness. This allows you to lay the foundation for reading and other academic abilities.
· Physical exercise reduces the effects of stress by keeping the brain activity in balance and promoting balance between the chemical and electrical systems of the organs. This effect is very similar to that of antidepressants.
· Scientists have established a link between winning in sports and academic performance, conducting research among primary school children. Studies have shown that children who took part in sports activities were more self-confident, learned about teamwork and leadership. 81% of women who succeeded in business were actively involved in sports when they were in school.
· Swedish scientists have proven that cardio training is inseparable from the acquisition of knowledge in childhood. Aerobic exercise contributes to the production of special growth hormone and protein, which stimulate the brain.
Thus, it should be emphasized that the development of mental activity of children is possible only with regular physical activity. As early as the beginning of the last century, V.A. Sukhomlinsky noted that "lagging behind in studies is only the result of poor health." Developing this idea, we can conclude that good health is the key to successful learning. Consequently, physical culture and sports, strengthening health, contribute to the physical, emotional, intellectual and mental development of the child.
Let's talk not just about the mental development of the baby, when through play activities he develops such qualities as the ability to write, read, and count, but also about the physical development of the child, which directly affects mental development. It is commonly referred to as the physical and mental development of children.
Each of the parents can personally observe how strong the craving for knowledge of the world around is in each child. From the first months of life, he begins to turn his head, following moving objects, he develops grasping movements of the handles, because the baby wants to try every object by touch and by the “tooth”, and therefore pulls every thing into his mouth. It is the craving for knowledge that stimulates the desire of the child to move, roll over, crawl, sit and, of course, walk. And by the age of one year, the baby is able to move independently and reach or crawl to the subject of interest to him. Learning something new, the baby develops his thinking, which means that in the first year of life it is necessary, first of all, to stimulate the physical development of the child, his freedom of movement and dexterity. This is the physical and mental development of children.
The process of physical and mental development of children is a consistent and progressive process. After all, each baby initially learns to raise his head, therefore, helping the baby, parents must choose the ideal position for this, that is, lying on their stomach. Helping the baby learn to roll over on his stomach, adults, putting the child on his back, should attract his attention so that he turns his head in your direction. Then you need to help him arrange the arms and legs so that it is convenient for the child to roll over. It is equally important not to rush the child to walk. If parents are in a hurry to put the child on its feet, the development of general motor skills, the development of the shoulder girdle are harmed, and the orthopedic functions of the body are violated. It is more important for us that the child crawls actively. This is necessary for the development of brain symmetry. Prolonged crawling contributes to the active physiological and psychological development of the child, which in the future will certainly have a beneficial effect on all the functions of the baby's body. And only when the baby gets stronger - first get on your knees, and then - start walking.
Physical and mental development is impossible without the development of fine motor skills. It begins when the child learns to coordinate the movements of the hands and eyes. The kid learns to move his fingers, learns to hold a toy and other objects in his hand, squeeze them and throw them. As a child develops, he will learn to turn the pages of a book, hold a spoon and eat with it on his own, seeing how adults do it and trying to imitate them, and also learn to hold the phone, bringing it to his ear, and smooth his hair with his hand. But most of all, fine motor skills develop when the baby learns to draw, both with fingers and with a brush, sculpt from plasticine or clay, and also write. For the development of motor skills, it is very good to play games with the baby where you need to clap your hands, offer the child fabrics with different textures, games using fingers - songs, fairy tales, the simplest counting rhymes. Great for developing hand motor skills musical instruments, sticks, balls, etc.
At an early age, the foundations are laid for the further development of the baby. The actions of parents should be aimed at ensuring that the fine motor skills of the baby develop fully, because the physical and mental development of children largely depends on it.
Physical, intellectual and spiritual development of the individual- three whales on which ours stands.
It often happens that we work hard, but we don’t get one step closer to the intended goal. This happens because by performing the intended actions, we do not change ourselves. To change your environment, your life, you need to change yourself - such is the law of Nature. We are not isolated from the outside world, and therefore any change in your internal state entails a change around you.
The success that we achieve is directly related to our inner world, to our constant improvement in all areas of life: in business, in personal life, spiritually, health, relationships with others. Reaching one level, you need to strive for a higher one. As soon as the desire disappears, degradation begins.
It is important to find people who will become guidelines for you in a particular area of life. It is very difficult for one to understand what to do and what to strive for. You can learn from other people, see how they act, imitate them, and thus reach a new level in your life.
There are three areas for improvement:
- Physical development of the individual;
- Intellectual development of personality;
- Spiritual development of personality.
Physical development of the individual
Our main resource is health. This is the basis for all our achievements. Without health, you will not be able to do anything, because you will not need anything. Ask yourself - are you leading a lifestyle that improves your health? Do not deceive yourself - today you are healthy and feel great, but tomorrow the body cannot withstand that lifestyle that does not strengthen health in any way, but only destroys it, and breaks down, starts to hurt.
You can not poison yourself with alcohol and cigarettes, eat fatty low-quality food stuffed with chemicals, do not exercise yourself physically - and hope that you will have good health. Sooner or later, the body can not stand it, and rewards with a bouquet of sores.
In order for you to have powerful and excellent health, you need to give up bad habits and do:
Intellectual development of personality
The basis of your progress towards success - receiving and processing new information . You must be able to extract, organize and systematize information, and most importantly, apply it. Ideally, you should strive to receive only the information that you need right now in order to move forward in realizing your goals. In life, it turns out differently - usually you receive and process information in much larger quantities.
Analyze the time during which you receive any information: communicate, read books, watch TV, sit at the computer. And ask yourself, do you really need to do what you do and spend time on it? If you want to relax by reading a fiction book or watching TV, maybe it's better to go to nature? At least it will be good for health.
Read books that will help you. If you are engaged in your development, you will easily find a lot of books that are worth reading. Or start improving your professional skills.
Make a list of books you need to read, videos you need to watch, and start working through them methodically. Then you need to retell what you understood several times to your friends and acquaintances so that the ideas that you have learned fit into your head and become yours.
It won't take long before you become an expert in whatever field you need.
Also attend trainings, free and paid, study online and in real institutions, find teachers, mentors and like-minded people. Repeat the actions of successful people, constantly learn new things and put them into practice.
Spiritual development of personality
Without spiritual development a person cannot be happy. Spiritual development is continuous improvement in all areas of your life. Only then you will feel satisfaction with your life, when all areas of your life will be revealed to the maximum.
There is one very simple way to check if you are 100% invested in everything you do. After completing any business, ask yourself and others: what grade on a 5-point scale did you deserve? Always aim for 5.
In any case, there are three steps:
- Creation. Male energy of the birth of ideas, plans, goals. The stage of dream formation and planning is like the process of giving birth to a child, pleasant and short-lived, but which is the impetus for everything else.
- Implementation. Women's energy of action, when you need to persistently and painstakingly realize your goals. A woman patiently carries a child for nine months before it is born.
- Achievement. The success you get. The child is born and lives his own life. The goals are achieved, and you deservedly enjoy the result.
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The fact that physical and mental development is closely related to age was understood already in ancient times. This truth did not require special proof: a person lived longer in the world - he became taller and stronger in body, became more perspicacious, gained experience, increased knowledge. Each age corresponds to its own level of physical, mental and social development. Of course, this correspondence is valid only in general, the development of a particular person may deviate in one direction or another.
To manage the development process, teachers have long made attempts to classify the periods of human life, the knowledge of which carries important information. There are a number of serious developments of periodization of development (Komensky, Levitov, Elkonin, Shvantsara, and others). Let us dwell on the analysis of the one that is recognized by the majority of teachers.
Periodization is based on the identification of age-related features, anatomical, physiological and mental qualities characteristic of a certain period of life. Growth, weight gain, the appearance of milk teeth, their change, puberty and other biological processes occur at certain age periods with slight deviations. Since the biological and spiritual development of a person go hand in hand, age-appropriate changes also occur in the mental sphere. Occurs, although not in such a strict order as biological, social maturation, the age dynamics of the spiritual development of the individual is manifested. This serves as a natural basis for identifying successive stages of human development and compiling age periodization.
Complete periodizations of development cover the entire human life with the most characteristic stages, while incomplete (partial) ones cover only that part of it that interests a certain scientific field. For elementary school pedagogy, periodization, covering the life and development of a child in preschool and primary school age, is of the greatest interest. This is the age from birth to 10-11 years. Allocate periods of mental development of children in psychology. But this periodization does not coincide in everything with the pedagogical one: after all, the development of the psyche begins in the womb, and the upbringing of a child from the moment of birth. Consider the types of these periodizations in order to better understand the characteristics of the development of the child.
It is easy to see that the basis of pedagogical periodization, on the one hand, is the stages of physical and mental development, on the other hand, the conditions in which education takes place. The relationship between age and development is shown in Fig. 3.
Rice. 3. Relationship between age and development
If objectively there are stages of biological maturation of the organism, its nervous system and organs, as well as the development of cognitive forces associated with it, then a reasonably constructed process of education should adapt to age-related characteristics, be based on them.
In pedagogy, attempts were made to ignore the age stages of development. There were even theories that claimed that it was enough to choose the right methodology, and even at the age of 3–4 a child could master higher mathematics and other abstract concepts, learn any social experience, knowledge, practical skills and abilities. In fact, this is not so. If a child learns to pronounce even very complex words, this does not mean that he understands them. The limitations imposed by age should not be confused with the fact that today's children develop faster, they have a broader outlook, a richer vocabulary and conceptual stock. This is due to the acceleration of the pace of social development, wide access to a variety of information sources, and a general increase in awareness. The possibilities for accelerating development are somewhat increasing, but far from limitless. Age tenaciously dictates its will. The laws operating in this area severely limit the possibilities of a person.
Ya.A. Comenius insisted on strict consideration in the educational work of the age characteristics of children. Recall that he put forward and substantiated the principle of conformity to nature, according to which training and education should correspond to the age stages of development. Just as in nature everything happens in its own time, so in education everything should go on as usual - in a timely and consistent manner. Only then can a person be naturally instilled with moral qualities, achieve a full assimilation of the truths for the understanding of which his mind has matured. “Everything subject to assimilation should be distributed according to the stages of age so that only what is available for perception at each age is offered for study,” wrote Ya.A. Comenius.
Accounting for age characteristics is one of the fundamental pedagogical principles. Based on it, teachers regulate the teaching load, establish reasonable volumes of employment by various types of labor, determine the most favorable daily routine for development, work and rest. Age features oblige to correctly solve the issues of selection and location of educational subjects and material in each of them. They also determine the choice of forms and methods of educational activity.
Noting the conditionality and known mobility of the distinguished periods, let us pay attention to a new phenomenon that has led to a revision of the boundaries between certain age groups. We are talking about the so-called acceleration, which has become widespread throughout the world. Acceleration is an accelerated physical and partly mental development in childhood and adolescence. Biologists associate acceleration with the physiological maturation of the body, psychologists with the development of mental functions, and teachers with the spiritual development and socialization of the individual. For teachers, acceleration is associated not so much with the accelerated pace of physical development, but with a mismatch between the processes of the physiological maturation of the body and the socialization of the individual.
Before the advent of acceleration, and they began to notice it in the 60-70s of the last century, the physical and spiritual development of children and adolescents was balanced. As a result of acceleration, the physiological maturation of the organism begins to outstrip the pace of mental, psychic, and social development.
A discrepancy is formed, which can be expressed as follows: the body grows faster than the mental functions, which are the basis of intellectual, social, moral qualities, mature. By the age of 13–15 in girls and by 14–16 in boys living in the middle regions of our country, physiological development is basically completed and almost reaches the level of an adult, which cannot be said about the spiritual aspect. A mature organism requires the satisfaction of all "adult" physiological needs, including sexual needs, social development lags behind and comes into conflict with rapidly progressing physiology. Tension arises, leading to significant psychological overload, the teenager is looking for ways to eliminate it and chooses those that suggest his weak mind. This is the main contradiction of acceleration, which has created many difficulties both for the adolescents themselves, who are unable to cope with the changes taking place in them, and for parents, teachers, and educators. If with purely technical problems of acceleration - providing schools with new furniture, students with clothes, etc. managed somehow, then in the field of the moral consequences of acceleration, primarily manifested in the widespread sexual contacts among minors with all the ensuing negative consequences, the problems remained.
The following comparative data speaks of the acceleration rates. Over the past four decades, body length in adolescents has increased by an average of 13-15 cm, and weight - by 10-12 kg compared to their peers in the 50s. Acceleration begins to manifest itself already at the senior preschool age, and by the end of the primary school, girls and boys who have grown up significantly cause a lot of trouble for teachers and parents.
Among the main reasons for acceleration are: the general pace of accelerating life, improving material conditions, improving the quality of nutrition and medical care, caring for children at an early age, and the eradication of many severe childhood ailments. Other reasons are also indicated - radioactive contamination of the human environment, leading at first to accelerated growth, and over time, as experiments with plants and animals show, to a weakening of the gene pool; a decrease in the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere, which entails the expansion of the chest and ultimately leads to the growth of the whole organism. Most likely, acceleration is due to the complex influence of many factors.
Since the mid-1980s, acceleration throughout the world has declined, and the pace of physiological development has fallen somewhat.
In parallel with acceleration, another phenomenon is noted - retardation, i.e. the lag of children in physical and mental development, which is caused by a violation of the genetic mechanism of heredity, a negative impact on the development process, starting from the moment of birth, carcinogenic substances, an unfavorable ecological environment in general and, in particular, an excess of background radiation. There are lags not only in physical, but also in mental development.
Thus, each age corresponds to its own level of physical, mental and social development. To make it easier for teachers to correlate the child's abilities with his age, age periodization has been developed. It is based on the allocation of age characteristics. Age features are anatomical, physiological and mental qualities characteristic of a certain period of life. Reasonably organized upbringing should adapt to age characteristics, be based on them.
preschooler development
In the period from 3 to 6–7 years, the child continues the rapid development of thinking, ideas about the world around him, an understanding of himself and his place in life, and self-esteem are formed. His main activity is the game. Her new motives are gradually formed: the performance of a role in an imaginary situation. The role model is an adult. If yesterday it was most often mother, father, educators, today, under the influence of television that destroys the child's psyche, gangsters, robbers, militants, rapists, terrorists more often become idols. Children bring directly to life everything they see on the screen. The statement about the decisive role of living conditions and upbringing in the mental and social development of the child is confirmed.
Natural properties, inclinations act only as conditions, and not as driving forces for the development of the child. How he develops and how he grows depends on the people around him, on how they educate him. Preschool childhood is an age period when development processes in all directions are very intensive. The maturation of the brain has not yet been completed, its functional features have not yet taken shape, its work is still limited. The preschooler is very plastic, easy to learn. Its possibilities are much higher than expected by parents and teachers. These features must be fully used in education. Care must be taken to ensure that it is comprehensive. Only by organically linking moral education with physical, labor with emotional, mental with aesthetic, it is possible to achieve a uniform and coordinated development of all qualities.
The preschooler's abilities are manifested in the sensitivity of his perception, the ability to isolate the most characteristic properties of objects, to understand difficult situations, the use of logical and grammatical structures in speech, in observation, ingenuity. By the age of 6, special abilities, such as musical ones, also develop.
The child's thinking is connected with his knowledge - the more he knows, the greater the supply of ideas for the emergence of fresh thoughts. However, acquiring more and more new knowledge, he not only clarifies his previous ideas, but also falls into a circle of indefinite, not entirely clear questions that appear in the form of conjectures and assumptions. And this creates certain "barriers" for the growing development of the cognitive process. Then the child "slows down" in front of the incomprehensible. Thinking is restrained by age and remains "childish". Of course, this process can be somewhat accelerated in various ingenious ways, but, as the experience of teaching 6-year-old children has shown, it is hardly necessary to strive for this.
A preschool child is very inquisitive, asks a lot of questions, requires immediate answers. At this age, he continues to be a tireless explorer. Many teachers believe that you need to follow the child, satisfying his curiosity and teaching what he himself shows interest in, what he asks about.
At this age, the most productive development of speech occurs. The vocabulary increases (up to 4000 words), the semantic side of speech develops. By the age of 5-6, most children master the correct sound pronunciation.
The nature of the relationship between children and adults is gradually changing. The formation of social norms and labor skills continues. Some of them, such as cleaning up after themselves, washing, brushing their teeth, etc., children will carry through their lives. If the period when these qualities are intensively formed is missed, it will not be easy to catch up.
A child of this age is easily overexcited. Daily viewing of even short television programs is harmful to his health. Often a 2-year-old baby sits with his parents for an hour or more watching TV. He is not yet able to comprehend what he hears and sees. For his nervous system, these are superstrong stimuli that tire his hearing and vision. Only from the age of 3-4 years can a child be allowed to watch a children's program for 15-20 minutes 1-3 times a week. If the overexcitation of the nervous system occurs frequently and lasts for a long time, the child begins to suffer from nervous diseases. By some estimates, only a quarter of children come to school healthy. And the reason for this is the same ill-fated TV, which deprives them of normal physical development, tires them, clogs the brain. Parents are still very frivolous about the advice of teachers and doctors.
By the end of the preschool period, children have the beginnings of voluntary, active attention associated with a consciously set goal, with an effort of will. Voluntary and involuntary attention alternate, pass one into the other. Its properties, such as distribution and switching, are poorly developed in children. For this reason - great restlessness, distractibility, absent-mindedness.
A preschool child already knows and can do a lot. But one should not overestimate his mental capabilities, touched by how smartly he pronounces intricate expressions. The logical form of thinking is almost inaccessible to him, more precisely, it is not yet characteristic of him. The highest forms of visual-figurative thinking are the result of the intellectual development of a preschooler.
Mathematical concepts play an important role in his mental development. World pedagogy, studying the issues of teaching children of 6 years of age, has studied in detail many questions of the formation of logical, mathematical and generally abstract ideas. It turned out that for a correct understanding of their children's mind has not yet matured, although with the right methods of teaching, many forms of abstract activity are available to it. There are so-called "barriers" of understanding, the well-known Swiss psychologist J. Piaget worked hard to study them. In the game, children are able to master the concepts of the shape of objects, size, quantity without any training, but without special pedagogical guidance it is difficult for them to step over the "barriers" of understanding relationships. For example, they cannot figure out where it is larger in size and where it is larger in quantity. Pears are drawn on two leaves. There are seven on one, but they are very small and occupy only half of the leaf. On the other there are three pears, but they are large and occupy the entire sheet. When asked where there are more pears, the majority gives the wrong answer, pointing to a leaf with three pears. This simple example reveals the fundamental possibilities of thinking. Preschool children can be taught even very difficult and complex things (for example, integral calculus), only they will understand little. Folk pedagogy, of course, knew the "Piagetian barriers" and adhered to a wise decision: while young - let him remember, grow up - he will understand. It is not at all necessary to spend huge efforts to somehow clarify at this age what will come by itself with time. Artificially forcing the pace of development does nothing but harm.
By the time the child enters school, the motivational sphere of the child is undergoing serious changes. If a 3-year-old child acts mostly under the influence of situational feelings and desires, then the actions of a 5-6-year-old child are more conscious. At this age, he is already driven by such motives that he did not have in early childhood. These are the motives associated with the interest of children in the world of adults, with the desire to be like them. An important role is played by the desire to obtain the approval of parents and educators. Children strive to win the sympathy of their peers. The motives of many children's activities are the motives of personal achievements, pride, self-affirmation. They manifest themselves in claims to the main roles in games, in the desire to win competitions. They are a kind of manifestation of children's need for recognition.
Moral norms children learn by imitating. To tell the truth, adults don't always give them role models. Quarrels and scandals of adults have a particularly detrimental effect on the formation of moral qualities. Children respect strength. They tend to feel who is stronger. They are difficult to mislead. The hysterical behavior of adults, insulting cries, dramatized monologues and threats - all this humiliates adults in the eyes of children, makes them unpleasant, but not strong at all. True strength is quiet friendliness. If at least educators demonstrate it, a step towards raising a balanced person will be taken.
There is only one way to direct a child's choice between an unseemly and a right act - to make the fulfillment of the necessary moral norm emotionally more attractive. In other words, an undesirable action should not be inhibited or forced out by the right one, but overcome by it. This principle is the general basis of education.
Among the individual characteristics of preschoolers, teachers are more interested in temperament and character than others. I.P. Pavlov identified three main properties of the nervous system - strength, mobility, balance and four main combinations of these properties:
Strong, unbalanced, mobile - "unrestrained" type;
Strong, balanced, mobile - "live" type;
Strong, balanced, sedentary - "calm" type;
"weak" type.
The “unrestrained” type underlies the choleric temperament, the “lively” type is sanguine, the “calm” type is phlegmatic, and the “weak” type is melancholic. Of course, neither parents nor teachers choose children according to temperament, everyone needs to be educated, but in different ways. At preschool age, the temperament is still dim. The specific age-related features of this age include: weakness of the excitatory and inhibitory processes; their imbalance; high sensitivity; fast recovery. Wishing to properly educate a child, parents and educators will take into account the vitality of the nervous process: the preservation of efficiency during prolonged work intensity, a stable and sufficiently high positive emotional tone, courage in unusual conditions, sustained attention both in a calm and noisy environment. The strength (or weakness) of the child’s nervous system will be indicated by such vital signs as sleep (does he fall asleep quickly, is the sleep calm, is it strong), is there a rapid (slow) recovery of strength, how does he behave in a state of hunger (cries, screams or shows cheerfulness, peace). The vital indicators of balance include the following: restraint, perseverance, calmness, uniformity in dynamics and mood, the absence of periodic sharp drops and rises in them, fluency of speech. Vital indicators of the mobility of nervous processes - quick response, development and change of life stereotypes, quick getting used to new people, the ability to "without buildup" to move from one type of work to another (Ya.L. Kolominsky).
The characters of preschool children are still being formed. Since the basis of character is the type of higher nervous activity, and the nervous system is in a state of development, one can only guess how the child will grow up. You can give a lot of examples, describe a lot of facts, but there will be one reliable conclusion: character is already the result of formation, formed from many large and inconspicuous influences. It is difficult to say what exactly will remain in it from a 5-6-year-old child. But if we want to form a certain type of character, it must be appropriate.
The problem of society and school is a one-child family. In it, the child has a number of advantages, favorable conditions are created for him, he does not have a deficit of communication with adults, which has a positive effect on his development. The child grows up loved, caressed, carefree, with initially high self-esteem. But there are also obvious “minuses” of such a family: here the child adopts “adult” views and habits too quickly, he develops pronounced individualistic and selfish qualities, he is deprived of the joys of growing up that children go through in large families; he does not develop one of the main qualities - the ability to cooperate with others.
Often in families, especially with one child, "hothouse" conditions are created that protect children from experiencing displeasure, failure, and suffering. For a while, this can be avoided. But it is unlikely that it will be possible to protect the child from troubles of this kind in later life. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare it, it is necessary to teach it to endure suffering, poor health, failures, mistakes.
It has been established that the child understands only those feelings that he experiences. Other people's experiences are unknown to him. Give him the opportunity to experience fear, shame, humiliation, joy, pain - then he will understand what it is. It is better if this happens in a specially created situation and under the supervision of adults. Artificially protect from trouble is not worth it. Life is hard, and you have to really prepare for it.
Academician Shalva Amonashvili, a prominent researcher of the age characteristics of preschoolers and younger schoolchildren, identifies three strivings characteristic of this age, which he calls passions. The first is a passion for development. The child cannot fail to develop. The desire for development is the natural state of the child. This powerful impulse to development embraces the child as an element, which explains his pranks and dangerous undertakings, as well as his spiritual and cognitive needs. Development occurs in the process of overcoming difficulties, this is the law of nature. And the pedagogical task lies in the fact that the child is constantly faced with the need to overcome various kinds of difficulties and that these difficulties are consistent with his individual capabilities. Pre-preschool and early childhood is the most sensitive period for development; later on, the passion for the development of natural forces wanes, and what is not achieved during this period may not be further perfected or even lost. The second passion is the passion for growing up. Children tend to grow up, they want to be older than they are. Confirmation of this is the content of role-playing games in which each child takes on the "duties" of an adult. Real childhood is a complex, sometimes painful process of growing up. Satisfaction of passion for this occurs in communication, primarily with adults. It is at this age that he should feel their kind, ennobled environment, asserting in him the right to adulthood. The formula “you are still small” and the relations corresponding to it absolutely contradict the foundations of humane pedagogy. On the contrary, actions and relationships based on the formula “you are an adult” create a favorable atmosphere for the active manifestation and satisfaction of the passion for growing up. Hence the requirements for the upbringing process: communication with the child on an equal footing, the constant assertion of personality in him, the manifestation of trust, the establishment of collaborative relationships. The third passion is the passion for freedom. The child manifests it from early childhood, in different forms. She reveals herself especially strongly when the child tries to slip away from the care of adults, seeks to assert his independence: “I myself!” The child does not like the constant guardianship of adults, he does not tolerate prohibitions, does not obey instructions, etc. Because of the desire to grow up, in the conditions of misunderstanding and rejection of this passion, conflicts constantly arise. All prohibitive pedagogy is the result of the suppression of the desire for adulthood and freedom. But there can be no permissiveness in education either. The pedagogical process carries the need for coercion, i.e. restrictions on the freedom of the child. The law of coercion is aggravated in the authoritarian pedagogical process, but does not disappear in the humane one either.
Accurate observations of the characteristics of the development of the child are made in astrology. As follows from the eastern horoscope, a person's life consists of 13 life periods, each of which symbolizes a particular animal or bird. So, the period from birth to a year, i.e. the period of infancy, or infancy, is called the age of the Rooster; from one year to 3 years (early childhood) - the age of the Monkey; from 3 to 7 (first childhood) - the age of the Goat (Sheep); from 7 to 12 (second childhood) - the age of the Horse; from 12 to 17 (adolescence) - the age of the Ox (Buffalo, Ox) and, finally, from 17 to 24 (youth) - the age of the Rat (Mouse).
The age of the Goat (from 3 to 7 years) is considered one of the most difficult. Its onset is easy to notice by the behavior of the child: a small, calm toddler suddenly turned into a capricious, hysterical child. At this age, one should not strive to increase physical strength, to temper the will of the child.
The main task of physical development, and the whole meaning of age, is the game and again the game (development of dexterity, coordination). In "Goat" there is uncontrollable cockiness, militancy, irascibility. Don't encourage pugnacity, but don't discourage it either. At this age, the child's emotions are manageable - he is able to cry and rejoice, whine and be blissful - and he does everything very sincerely.
The main task of this age is the comprehension of the surrounding world of nature and the world of words, speech. As a person learns to speak before the age of 7, he will speak all his life - talk to him like an adult. In nature, study with him the basics of botany, zoology and geology. The main property of the "Goat" is a useless and stubborn student. Do not force him, the main mechanism of his study is the game. Girls at this age are much more serious, and the attitude towards them should be more balanced.
The preschooler is in the stage of intensive development, the pace of which is very high. An important feature is the heightened sensitivity (sensitivity) to the assimilation of moral and social norms and rules of behavior, the development of new types of activity. Most children are ready to master the goals and methods of systematic learning. The main activity is the game through which the child satisfies his cognitive and social needs.
