Through the observation of children we begin to acquire an understanding of their needs, which then aids in the correct implementation

of an appropriate learning environment where they can develop to their full potential (Zimmerman, 1989). And through the analysis and reflection of three critical incidents during a CBSL placement at Camp Australia, an after school care organisation, we can begin to understand the trials and tribulations facing us as future teachers of students in the middle years.

There exists a notable decrease in physical activity amongst adolescence in the middle years of schooling and in particular girls (Dishman & Dunn, 1988). This was evident during the course of the CBSL placement where girls between the ages of nine and fourteen were observed declining to participate in arranged sporting or outdoor physical activities (see Appendix A). During this critical incident when asked if they would like to join in an arranged cricket game, the eight girls all responded no and chose to participate in alternative indoor activities such as art and crafts or to watch a movie. The refusal of girls, within this age bracket, to participate in physical activity whilst boys of the same age and both boys and girls of younger ages have no issue, forces us to ask why this is the case.

During the middle years children are going through a time known as puberty, where the hormonal changes they are experiencing play a huge role in determining their choices (Sigelman & Shaffer, 1995). They are more aware of the possibility of failing and are concerned that they may make a fool of themselves during physical activity and therefore seek to avoid it. This could perhaps stem from a lack of confidence in their personal ability to carry out the behaviours involved in a particular physical activity, also known as lack of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997).The above information provides us with some reasoning for the lack of participation, however what is of particular concern are the implications that a lack of physicality has on adolescents.

Early adolescence is a time where childrens lifelong patterns are formed, where the choices they make hold significant health implications. It is a highly influential time where healthy habits and an active lifestyle should be encouraged. With the right interventions during this time period children are given the best chance of developing habits that stick with them for life, active in your middle school years translates to being an active adult (Kids and obesity a growing problem, 2004).

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Physical activity has also been said to increase cognitive function, where according to Colcombe, S., Erikson, K., Raz, N., Webb, A., Cohen, N., McAuley, E., Kramer, A. (2003) children engaged in developmentally appropriate daily physical education show not only superior motor fitness, but academic performance as well.

A key time to see children partake in such physical activity is, according to (Veitch, Cleland, Salmon, Hume, Timperio, & Crawford, 2006) after school until 6pm, a time also known as the critical window. Camp Australia must therefore acknowledge the need for children to participate in physical activities during this critical window. It is during this period of time that children perform the majority of their daily physical activity and benefit the most from being active (Tudor-Locke, Lee, Morgan, Beighle, & Pangrazi, 2006). It is clear that the observed girls must take part in physical activities and as a future teacher of children in the middle years steps must be taken to ensure this happens in future practices.

Learning environments that engage children in a nonthreatening way should be offered as well as having an understanding of their background and in their interests as, according to Vygotsky (1987) learning blossoms when we attend to the social-cultural-historical nature of a child. We should also provide adolescent children with an opportunity for positive social interactions and a choice in their physical activities. This was not done in the above scenario, given a choice the girls may have felt comfortable in joining the activity and a more desired outcome reached.

Another critical incident observed (see Appendix A), indirectly concerned the socioeconomic status of students in the middle years. In this incident five children were seated around a table and four were making birthday cards for a mutual friends birthday they were to attend that weekend. The fifth child, who had also been invited to the party, was not making a card and was visibly upset. Upon closer observation the conversation between the children could be heard and it was distressing to hear that the four card makers were in fact taunting the fifth child. It seems that the birthday party they were invited to was at Dreamworld and as a result the children were required to pay $49 for entry, the cost of which the fifth childs parents apparently couldnt afford. The children continued to taunt the left out boy with remarks such as My mum says it cheap, why cant you go? And you cant make a card cause you havent paid. Such hurtful comments that noticeably cause so much anguish pose the question, what effect does a childs socioeconomic status have on them.

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Socioeconomic status is loosely defined as a status based on family income, parental education level, parental occupation, and social status in the community (Demarest, Anderson, Humphrey, Farquhar, & Stein, 1993). Families with more money, high levels of education and high occupational status are more likely able to provide their children with an environment and resources that directly benefit them. In the above scenario the boy being teased appears to come from a family with a low socioeconomic status and as a result is subjected to vindictive comments from his peers.

When parents are unable to pay for extra occurrences within a childs life, such as resources associated with schooling and social incidences such as birthday parties, they more frequently experience failure in school and are subject to bullying (Battin-Pearson, Newcomb, Abbott, Hill, Catalano, & Hawkins, 2000). Battin-Pearson et al (2000) goes on to say that this then moves children on a trajectory of either conduct problems or withdrawal behaviours. Children from a low socioeconomic status are also prone to socioemotional problems which include poor adaptive functioning, increased likelihood of depression, delinquent behaviour and in extreme cases manifest into psychiatric disturbances (McLoyd, 1997). It can therefore be recognised that the critical incident outlined above cannot be allowed to occur and steps taken in assuring this.

As a future teacher of children in the middle years it is vitally important to the development of a child that the socioeconomic status of others is never an issue, both within the classroom and out. A step towards achieving this would be to understand individual childrens circumstances and the effect they may have on their readiness to learn and willingness to continue learning According to Brooks-Gunn & Duncan (1997) children from a low socioeconomic background are a diverse group and as such require a diverse range of support to help alleviate negative educational outcomes associated with poverty. As a future teacher, challenging behaviours, attitudes and procedures that discriminate, however subtly, against children from low socioeconomic backgrounds, is an essential action (Australian school communities getting to the heart of the matter, 2010). So too is the explicit teaching of hidden rules of middle school culture, rules such as language and discourse patterns, that may help children from low socioeconomic backgrounds feel more at ease (Brooks-Gunn & Duncan, 1997). By creating experiences that respect and bridge the gap between differing socioeconomic backgrounds incidences such as the above would be less inclined to happen.

The last critical incident deemed appropriate for analysis was, unlike the two preceding incidents, not an observation but rather a direct personal experience of a childs lack of respect for my authority (see Appendix A).

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This incident occurred when, after repeatedly asking a child to climb down from a high railing, they refused to do so. Each time this particular boy was asked to get down he simply turned away and ignored the instruction. Being told that there would be consequences for his actions made no difference; he only opted to get off the railing when asked to do so by the manager of the after school care program. Having had no issue exercising authority to children within a school environment, why this boy simply chose not to listen to my earlier instruction remained to be seen.

Authority is a complex interaction between individuals influenced by larger social structures and is transactional depending on actions, reactions and recognition by both parties (Deutsch & Jones, 2008). The traditional view of a childs concept of authority, being a one sided heteronymous orientation toward adults as authorities based on age, size and power appears to be giving way to a more complex theory (Piaget, 1995). Children look beyond their hierarchical power relationships with adults, which imply authority, to the social context of their surroundings.

The social context of an after school based program affects childrens interactions and in turn influences their relationships with adult authority. They are given more freedom and no longer consider themselves to be at school or deem it necessary to give the same respect to staff that they would to their teachers. The blatant lack of respect for authority shown above can be traced back to the child making judgements about the legitimacy of authority figures (Laupa & Turiel, 1993). He has considered my social organisational position as well as delegated role and judged that the manager of the program was the authority to be obeyed and listened to. He has, in doing this, concluded that all directives given before that of the after school care manager were not legitimate as they did not come from someone holding an appropriate social position in an appropriate social context (Deutsch & Jones, 2008). The boys refusal to get down from the railing may also have occurred as he did not feel I was listening to his reasoning for being on the rail and I therefore was not respecting him.

Respect, as a bidirectional trait, has been identified by youth as an important component of their identities and experiences in after-school programs (Deutsch & Jones, 2008). Children view respect as an important construct that influences their perceptions and relations with adult authority and believe that communication, in particular listening, plays a huge role in this. In the above critical incident the child may have viewed me as having little or no respect for him as I did not listen to his reasons for being on the high rail only told him, repeatedly, to get down. This lack of respect, in his eyes, may have in turn warranted the lack of respect for my authority.

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And as with the first two critical incidents information can be taken from this experience to help inform practices as a future teacher of children in the middle years.

Ensuring children are aware that whilst they are to respect adult authority, they are also entitled to receive this respect in return. In the above scenario, listening to the childs reasoning would have been a step towards achieving this and perhaps would have meant a more favourable outcome. Overall it is important to develop childrens understanding to always be respectful of others and when dealing with an authoritative figure to show this respect and listen to what is being asked.

In analysing the above critical incidents and in the consequent reflection, areas where children require understanding and support are identified. As future teachers of children in the middle years it is important to take the information learnt and use it to inform our future practices. As, according to Wallace (2005) middle schools need to find ways of providing a safe and stable teaching and learning community to enable teachers and students to boldly venture into the integrated world within which they live.

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References

Australian school communities getting to the heart of the matter. (2010). Retrieved March 14, 2011, from BULLYING. NO WAY!: http://www.bullyingnoway.com.au/issues/socioeconomic.shtml Bandura, A. (1997). Self efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman. Battin-Pearson, S., Newcomb, M. D., Abbott, R. D., Hill, K. G., Catalano, R. F., & Hawkins, J. D. (2000). Predictors of early high school drop-out: a test of five theories. Journal of Education Psychology , 566-580. Brooks-Gunn, J., & Duncan, G. J. (1997). The effects of poverty on children. Future Child . Colcombe, S., Erikson, K., Raz, N., Webb, A., Cohen, N., McAuley, E., et al. (2003). Aerobic fitness reduces brain tissue loss in aging humans. Journal of Gerontology Medical Sciences , 177. Demarest, E. J., Anderson, L. M., Humphrey, D. C., Farquhar, E., & Stein, S. E. (1993). Review of research on achieving the nation's readiness goal. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Deutsch, N. L., & Jones, J. N. (2008). Show Me an Ounce of Respect: Respect and Authority in Adult-Youth Relationships in After-School Programs. Journal of Adolescent Research . Dishman, R. K., & Dunn, A. L. (1988). Exercise adherence in children and youth: implications for adulthood. In R. K. Dishman, Exercise adherence: its impact on public health. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Kids and obesity a growing problem. (2004). Retrieved March 21, 2011, from WebMD Medical News: http://www.webmd.com/content/chat_transcripts/1/101011.htm. Laupa, M., & Turiel, E. (1993). Children's Concepts of Authority and Social Contexts. Journal of Educational Psychology . McLoyd, V. C. (1997). The impact of poverty and low socioeconomic status on the socioemotional fuctioning of African-American children and adolescents: mediating effects. In R. D. Taylor, & M. Wang, Social and Emotional Adjustment and Family Relations in Ethnic Minority Families (pp. 10-10). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Sigelman, C. K., & Shaffer, D. R. (1995). Lifespan Human Development. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks-Cole. Tudor-Locke, C., Lee, S., Morgan, C., Beighle, A., & Pangrazi, R. (2006). Children's pedometer-determined physical activity during the segmented school day. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise , 38 (10), 1732. Veitch, J., Cleland, V., Salmon, J., Hume, C., Timperio, A., & Crawford, D. (2006). Children's and adolescents' physical activity during the critical window. Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research . Vygotsky, L. S. (1987). Thought and word. In R. W. Reiber, & A. S. Carton, The Collected works of L.S Vygotsky. New York: Plenum Press. Wallace, J. G. (2005). Integrating the curriculum. In D. P. Bahr, Teaching Middle Years (pp. 149-163). Sydney: Allen and Unwin. Zimmerman, B. J. (1989). A social cognitive view of self-regulated academic learning. Journal of Educational Psychology , 81 (3), 329-339.

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Appendix List

A. ACTIVITY DIARIES/JOURNAL ENTRIES FROM 10HR CBSL PLACEMENT

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