Annual Editions: Human Development 06/07 Freiberg, Karen L

This thirty-fourth edition of ANNUAL EDITIONS: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT provides convenient, inexpensive access to current articles selected from the best of the public press. Organizational features include: an annotated listing of selected World Wide Web sites; an annotated table of contents; a topic guide; a general introduction; brief overviews for each section; a topical index; and an instructor’s resource guide with testing materials. USING ANNUAL EDITIONS IN THE CLASSROOM is offered as a practical guide for instructors. ANNUAL EDITIONS titles are supported by our student website, www.dushkin.com/online.

UNIT 1. Genetic and Prenatal Influences on Development

Part A. Genetic Influences

1. The Identity Dance, Gunjan Sinha, Psychology Today, March/April 2004

Identical twins are clones with the same genetic profiles. Life experience, therefore, must matter if identical twins develop unlike emotions, health problems, and personalities. This article reports scientific evidence that genes have the equivalent of molecular “switches” that can be turned on or off by prenatal and postnatal environmental factors. Several unlike identical twins are described.

2. The Age of Genetic Technology Arrives, Leon R. Kass, The American Spectator, November/December 2002

The 30,000 human genes have been mapped and biotech businesses are booming. Will genetic engineering result in every baby being born without any mental or physical disabilities? Will we eliminate tumors and infections, enhance immunity, and make disease extinct? How much more memory, or years of life, will we add? Will we be fulfilled or dehumanized? Leon Kass addresses these ethical issues.

3. Brave New Babies, Claudia Kalb, Newsweek, January 26, 2004

Reproductive technology has made it possible for parents to have their eggs and sperm united in a lab dish. After selecting the genetic characteristics they want, the appropriate embryo (or embryos) is implanted in the mother for gestation. This practice has raised some troubling questions. Claudia Kalb addresses these questions of morality and ethics.

Part B. Prenatal Influences

4. Inside the Womb, J. Madeleine Nash, Time, November 11, 2002

Embryonic cells, also known as stem cells, generate most of the human organ systems in the earliest weeks of prenatal development. Not only aberrant genes, but also health, stress, nutrition, and toxins (e.g., drugs) can alter the precision of stem cell transformations. Concerns for embryonic development are not yet, but should become, a political priority, argues Nash.

5. The Mystery of Fetal Life: Secrets of the Womb, John Pekkanen, Current, September 2001

Environment affects prenatal development. This article reviews known dangers (e.g., alcohol and drug use, viral infections) and recently discovered endocrine disrupters (e.g., chemicals in our air, food, and water). The author gives advice on exercise, nutrition, and health maintenance to optimize the physical and cognitive status of the offspring.

6. A New Fertility Factor, Alice D. Domar, Newsweek, September 27, 2004

The body-mind connection is considered an important factor in conception. While fertility-drug injections are still used to help establish a pregnancy, alternative health care methods—complementary medicines such as meditation, yoga, relaxation therapy, and psychotherapy—are increasingly useful for women. The stress of procreation failure creates anxiety and depression which interferes with fertility.

UNIT 2. Development During Infancy and Early Childhood

Part A. Infancy

7. Four Things You Need to Know About Raising Baby, Joanna Lipari, Psychology Today, July/August 2000

In this article, Joanna Lipari explains the synthesis of important aspects of areas of infant development—genetic inheritance, physical development, cognitive skills, and emotional attachment—into a new view that equates parenting behaviors to software that promotes the growth of the baby’s brain (hardware). Lipari discusses attachment theory and compares “old thinking” about raising a baby with research-guided “new thinking.”

8. Who’s Raising Baby?, Anne R. Pierce, The World & I, February 2002

What happens to self-esteem and emotional/personality development when babies are rushed to do everything sooner and better than others? The author contends that parenting and infancy should be more about love of learning. Through play, babies discover their individuality and genetically driven interests. Pressuring them to conform to gender-appropriate activities (e.g., sports, ballet) or academic pursuits is miseducation.

9. And Now, the Hard Part: That Sweet Little Thing Is About to Commandeer Your Life, Lauren Picker, Newsweek, April 25, 2005

Research documents the plunge in marital bliss upon a baby’s arrival. Infant caregiving is compared to the popular TV show “Survivor.” Gender roles are challenged as to division of labor. Sibling rivalry is real. The majority of mothers must adjust their careers to accommodate parenting demands. Financial worries abound. Despite all the anxiety, babies still enrich their family’s existence.

Part B. Early Childhood

10. Long-Term Studies of Preschool: Lasting Benefits Far Outweigh Costs, Gerald W. Bracey and Arthur Stellar, Phi Delta Kappan, June 2003

This article summarizes three research studies showing the long-lasting benefits of early childhood education (e.g., higher education, career success, stable marriage, moral living) for preschool children living in poverty at time of interventions. Each of the programs had extensive parenting involvement and encouraged attachment bonds. The authors argue that high quality preschool today, taxpayer-funded, would reap future rewards for the USA.

11. Guilt Free TV, Daniel McGinn, Newsweek, November 11, 2002

A new generation of parents use television as an aid to early childhood socialization. New high-quality programs improve cognitive skills, language, self-esteem, and emotional intelligence. Some families still have anxiety about sex and violence. Kids’ TV is improving however.

12. Raising a Moral Child, Karen Springen, Newsweek, Special Issue, Fall/Winter 2000

Parents are held responsible for ethics and morality training during early childhood. Our culture has fewer moral role models than before and more and more aggression and violence, increasing the urgency for moral lessons. Karen Springen relays the advice of several experts on how to help preschoolers learn right from wrong.

UNIT 3. Development During Childhood: Cognition and Schooling

Part A. Cognition

13. A Time and a Place for Authentic Learning, Joseph S. Renzulli, Marcia Gentry, and Sally M. Reis, Educational Leadership, September 2004

The process of knowing (cognition) is often lost as educators “teach to the test” to improve state mandated achievement scores. Education rooted in cognitive science is found in schools that emphasize student thinking. The authors of this article describe authentic learning situations in which students become excited about learning in enrichment clusters.

14. The New Science of Dyslexia, Christine Gorman, Time, July 28, 2003

Genetic differences in brain wiring are now believed to create dyslexia. Children with dyslexia are skilled problem-solvers and many achieve fame in arts and science. Reading involves separating language into phonemes, analyzing sounds, and automatically detecting them. Educational practices can improve these cognitive skills.

15. Metacognitive Development, Deanna Kuhn, Current Directions in Psychological Science, October 2000

Cognitive development that reflects on itself is called metacognition. Understanding intellectual performance will allow parents, teachers, and others to help children develop effective metacognitive awareness. Deanna Kuhn suggests that knowledge of metastrategies will help us to understand how education occurs or fails to occur.

Part B. Schooling

16. Trick Question, Michael Fumento, The New Republic, February 3, 2003

Our culture has been critical of calling attention-deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) a real disorder. We blame parenting, stress, and educational settings for inattention and impulsivity. We claim the drug Ritalin reduces creativity and makes boys more like girls. This article gives the facts about ADHD and its treatments, including Ritalin use.

17. The Future of Computer Technology in K–12 Education, Frederick Bennett, Phi Delta Kappan, April 2002

The author argues that the comput er culture will benefit education. Creative individuals can develop software with many cognitive advantages. However, the improvements will not happen until teaching undergoes a major alteration.