Signature Assignment

Psy 1100
Victoria Willett
The view of lifespan human development is very much apparent in the title. In this perspective,
the entire human lifespan, from conception to death, is considered and studied. This view sees each
stage of life as important, and seeks to explain the unique changes each one brings to the individual.
There is a widely spread misconception that out of all the phases of life you move through,
childhood is the one most deserving of study as if the events and information you encounter during that
time will determine the outcome of your life. The lifespan human development perspective, on the
other hand, sees life as a whole. It understands the multidimensional and plastic nature of the human
experience and strives to encompass it's entirety.
Throughout the semester, we studied many different aspects of this life perspective, from the
moro reflex to degeneration of brain tissue. Along with the natural and physical stages, we learned of
the many many influences on our perceptions of each stage. Our beliefs, our culture, and the
information to which we have access all effect our development. An example of this which I found
personally interesting was the choice of homeschooling which a growing amount of parents are making
for their children.
Homeschooling is a style of education In which children learn from means other that of public
and private institutions. In many cases, they are given lessons from their parents in their own home, but
the availability of supplemental learning is steadily diversifying. Linda Perlstein, author of Why
Urban, Educated Parents Are Turning to DIY Education, listed different clubs, tutors, and associations
available to home schoolers. Despite these advances and advantages, there are also many strong
arguments against homeschooling
I had long held the belief that homeschooling children was overall detrimental for their
development. I feel that going to public school was only in part to educate me in academic subjects
such as reading, mathmatics, or science. An important part of going to school is finding your own way
through the chaos of social experiences to forge your individuality, and understand human interactions.
If I hadn't attended public schools, I may not have learned how to shut down bullying, how some
friends change for the worse and you need to let them go, or how to handle good and bad advances
from the opposite sex. Not to mention that all of the beliefs and values I was raised with were
challenged, and then supplemented by what I learned from the hundreds of people I interacted with.
On the other hand, in my later years of high school, and now in college, I'm discovering how
outdated and broken America's public schooling system is- we're using the same basic methods that
were developed in the industrial revolution! If you're too good at a subject, your learning will stagnate
because you can't skip ahead, if you're too bad at a subject, one-on-one lessons are often out of the
question. Reading (source), I felt I understood the opportunities these parents were trying to give by
lifting their children out of the public school system.
This information helped me reassess my preconceptions on homeschooling and the advantages

and detriments it presents. Education is a big value of mine, and just like all parents I'll want to give my
children the best to help them through life. I can't say that studying this had made up my mine, I'm not
in ether camp, but I feel I understand both of them more intimately now. Homeschooling is widely
varied depending on the resources the parent is able to utilize. Community connections could be the
difference between a child growing up to be socially competent or troubled in social interactions. But
here be go on the flip-side again because public school teachers may not recognize, or seek to remedy,
a weak social comprehension. It's a much more complex and uncertain decision compared to my initial
beliefs!
In a way, this obscurity of an absolute truth which forces us to learn and make decisions is a key
concept in lifetime human development. We believe what we're raised in, before confronting more
information, opposing views, and struggles which make us question our most important values. But
through all of that stumbling we drop some things, pick up others, and choose our path- that's personal
development. It really coincides with the LE 1350 Values and Self Image class I've been taking. Both
courses discuss the whole of life, and the ways people get themselves through it.

References

Perlstein, L. (2012). Why Urban, Educated Parents Are Turning to DIY Education. 1-8. Retrieved May
1, 2016.