HD 300: Early Childhood Themes and Life Cycles

Core Class Reflection

My journey at Pacific Oaks started with a refreshing course on human development
theories and theorists, as well as childhood developmental themes. In HD 300: Early Childhood
Themes and Life Cycles, I expanded my knowledge on theorists like Erik Erikson as we
explored his theory of Psychosocial Stages, Vygotskys Social Development Theory and Zone of
Proximal Development, and John Deweys pragmatist approach to education. We also discussed
at length the importance of attachment.
Though I had some knowledge of Eriksons theories previously learned at the community
college level, now at Pacific Oaks, I digested Eriksons theories more in depth. I was able to
apply my own personal experiences and find more meaning in his theories. I was able to look
back at my childhood experiences and see how I progressed from stage to stage. Reminiscing on
past experiences was at times joyful and at other times not. My adolescent experiences, and
especially my young adult years, were at times hard to share. I found that at stage four, I began
moving through the remaining stages via the negative spectrum. (Where Inferiority took over
Industry, subsequently, Role Confusion would overpower Ego Identity.) Isolation vs. Intimacy
would be the worse to face, leading me into an early onset of stagnation.
This course taught me to observe differently than what I had been used to. For years I
have taken anecdotal evidence of children in my classrooms, with children ranging from three to
five years old. For this class I conducted observations of children at various ages: birth to five
yrs. old, six to twelve, thirteen to nineteen, and lastly one adult observation. As an early
childhood educator I mainly focus on the early stages, and I found touching on the older ones

was interesting. I was able to locate myself within these stages. I was able to look within and
see how I reinvented myself, moving to the next stage successfully. Focusing on the later stages
gave me a learning shift. With this shift became an internal notion, a drive to be better.
Knowing that the stages need to be resolved successfully, I reflected upon my past experiences,
reevaluating them, thus allowing myself to transform and moving my way through the stages in a
successful pattern.
One way in which I was able to reflect and reinvent myself was with help from the
required readings. Randy Pauschs The Last Lecture was a great read. It filled me with
hopefulness, knowing that even though life has its ups and downs one will ultimately end in up
the middle. His book was filled with motivational quotes, such as: "We cannot change the cards
we are dealt, just how we play the hand. This helped me day by day as I too have felt stumped.
Another of my most favorite quotes, and one I now live by is Its not how hard you hit. Its how
hard you get hitand keep moving forward. This quote was especially important to me as I had
gotten hit hard, too hard, and it was now time to get up and move on. As an educator, the
quote I constantly tell myself and other coworkers is, Engineering isnt about perfect solutions;
its about doing the best you can with limited resources. I have found this quote to be beneficial
because we do not always have the right resources to serve the families we care for, and have to
make due with the little that we have.
Other books that I connected with from this course were: Reviving Ophelia: Saving the
Selves of Adolescent Girls and Lost Boys. As a parent these two books were meaningful as
they described everyday struggles and challenges that my own children could possibly
experience as they become independent, resilient young adults. These two books highlight the
implications of parental conflict have over the development of adolescents.

As part of his lectures, Professor Pascual showed us the films, On Golden Pond and
Billy Elliot. On Golden Pond helped me visualize Eriksons last stage, Ego Integrity vs.
Despair. With Billy Elliot I made numerous connections such as what it is like to be raised in
poverty, and to be a child having responsibilities far too complex like caring for another person.
In Billy Elliot I saw myself, but I also saw my younger sister. She has a passion for
singing, the voice of an angel. Her perseverance never left her side. She beat the obstacles just
like Billy did and achieved her dreams. Im extremely proud of my little sister. Faced with
poverty and many obstacles, she was the flower that rose from cement. She attended Los
Angeles County High School for the Arts, a school too far from her hometown. She made the
effort to ride public transportation to and from school every day. Not having the means for
adequate learning materials, she still never gave up. Though our family was somewhat
supportive of her decisions, we didnt fully give her our 100 percent support until we valued her
struggles and saw her determination and passion for doing what she loves. She would be the first
to attend college outside the state to continue her education. Beating all the odds, my little sister,
just like Billy, wound up performing on a glorious stage.
Through a visit to the Skirbal Cultural Center, and touring the Visions and Values exhibit
I was able to appreciate differences and similarities within my Mexican American culture and
that of the Jewish community. Issues of religion, discrimination, and immigration were
understood too well by me, as I too immigrated to this country for a better life. Though I have
not been persecuted because of my religious upbringing, I have endured harsh treatments based
on my identity. As a woman and minority, I am faced with issues of oppression and
discrimination each day. Through my developmental life span, I too have had to adapt to social
norms and practices in order to be somewhat accepted into this newfound culture.

HD 300 not only refreshed my knowledge on theories and practices, it gave me an

opportunity to refresh myself. It allowed me to successfully move through my own psychosocial
stages and reinvent myself. The knowledge I gained in this course contributes to the drive and
motivation I need to not only complete this semester, but continue on my educational path.