Reference no: EM133306874

Question: Readiness is a much-misunderstood topic because people tend to base readiness on if they're ready to move forward. For example, some people may say a child with special needs is not as developmentally "ready" to move forward to another class as a child who does not have special needs. When I observed a child with special needs, the teachers told me that the school encouraged the child's parents to keep him in the same class as he was in the past year. The parents were not too sure about that decision, so they continued to move him to the next class. The parents agreed that if there were too many bumps in the road they would move him back to his previous class. It has now been 4 months and he is doing so well! The teachers expressed to me that although the child needs some extra help every now and then, how much progress has been made? When a child is held back because their "readiness" is not up to par, it limits the child on what they really can accomplish. All it takes is the adult to encourage the child and be there for them along the way. To me, readiness means the child is willing and ready to learn. The child I observed was a busy kid and he shouldn't be held back to redo everything he has previously learned. Children at such a young age are like sponges and they are ready to conquer anything that is presented in front of them. According to NAEYC, "Adults do best for their children when they nurture this unexpressed potential rather than ignore, reject, or try to train it. Healthy development, and with it school readiness, is the result of secure, responsive adult-child relationships." Adults can only redirect and "train" so much. It is up to them to be alongside the child and encourage them.