Steps or Fluid

I personally agree with the context that Nakkula presents in the field of cognitive development.  The ideals presented by are presented by the fields predecessors were integral towards the development of her ideals.  Erickson's steps of development the portray someone constantly growing was revolutionary and extremely relevant to the field, but by no means is the end.  Neither will Nakkula's concept of contextual mapping.  But the ideal that a person can skip stages and even regress back to previous stages of development is extremely powerful and relevant.  Many times someone going through trauma or an integral juncture in their life may not act rationally, and revert to a state of mind of a previous stage.  This is where Nakkula's concept comes into play much more.  My biggest disagreement with her is the idea that there are only 4 different stages.  This is where Erickson's theories shine and hers do not.  Over the course of s persons life they go through a wide variety of ideal changes and maturing.  So much so that it cannot be condensed into 4 different stages.  It may be prudent for future psychologists who want to examine the idea of cognitive development to develop a much more extensive list of stages for Nakkula's contextual mapping.  I am exited for our field;s use of these ideals because with more knowledge of how our participants think and develop the better we will be able to teach and help them grow into happy well adjusted members of society.

Can You Succeed?

Throughout our classes in social work reiterate the inequalities and how to work with them.  There is a constant struggle with the government and funding that force us to work with less and less.  In our activity we had a real life example of inequality.  Certain groups revived more materials to protect their egg while others had what little stuff they had taken away.  We had an almost identical activity given to us in our into to social work class.  It is clear that those groups who had the better materials were more successful than those who had little.  In the end the best we could hope for as the builders, and as employees in this world is the feeling that we did the best we can.  This will mean something different for every one of us in the Youth Development field.  For some it will be endless weeks and a constant feeling of an uphill battle, while other will just do what they can for the little time they are working.  The difference will still be made, weather you work 4 hours or 40.  The difference we will make will always be felt by at least one child, and for those of us who pour our hearts and souls into our work will help that many more.  That is the hope is that we will be that difference maker in organizations who will make something out of nothing.  We will be wearing multiple hats, and no two days will be the same, but at the end of the day we will be able to go home and feel like our "eggs" will be protected as best they could with the resources provided.

What can Organizations do?

Support is a key to any child's development.  It is clear that children growing up in middle to upper class families have more support at home and therefore thrive more than others.  Whether from their own parents or from their childcare providers, it is clear children receive the help and support naturally.  If parents can afford the support then they will provide it, and this is natural and fair.  The compensation must be provided on an institutional level.  More often than not the burden for children in an inner city environment only receive this support in school.  Therefore there must be an inexpensive and effective way of providing the further support for these children from the time they are a toddler through high school.  This has been provided by YMCA's, Boys and Girls Clubs, and many other non-profit organizations throughout the world.  These organizations are unfortunately underfunded, and do not have the professional skill required to provide the help these children need.  It is asked of the employees to develop expert programming for their participants when they often do not have much more than a high school education themselves.  The only case these organizations may receive the professional help they need is through the generosity of others volunteering their services.  So what is the solution? There is no one easy fix all unfortunately.  We have to put in 80 hour weeks and go above and beyond and hope that our work will make a difference in the children in our care.