es children must be assisted to their decision making.All children are made to obey adults at least sometimes, but most are included in the decision making process. (Kamii, 17) During playtime, the children cause conflict and it is left up to the teacher to resolve it. For example, Audrey points to Megan saying that Megan something to her. Megan starts crying and saying that she wants her mom. Chris is talking to Megan and trying to calm her down. Chris says that she needs to stop screaming. Chris sits her down at the table all by herself to stop screaming or crying. Chris walks over to ask her if she has stop screaming. Chris tells Megan, “that she needs to stop screaming before she comes to eat snacks,” and Megan continues to cry. ( observation, 4-3-02,10:04a.m.) Megan is done crying. Chris asks Megan, “if she is ready to come inside with her classmates,” and she nods yes. (observation, 4-3-02, 10:09 a.m.) Chris, as the adult, had to intervene to resolve the situation at hand. He first gave Megan the decision to stop crying so she can come inside with her class. Megan continued to cry, so it lead to her having to sit and think about what she wanted to do. Exclusion from the group is an example of an effective sanction (Kamii, 17) Another example of the child making their own decision, is when Megan and Joey are snatching blocks from each other until Megan gets mad and tells Roshanda. Joey leaves the confrontation when he sees that Megan is mad. (observation, 4-1-02,10:42a.m.) In the theories of moral stages of Piaget (1932), Mead (1934), and Baldwin (1906), parental training and discipline are viewed, as influential only as a part of a world or social order perceived by the child. Children can internalize the moral values of parents and culture and make them their own only as they come to relate to a comprehended social order and to their own goals as social selves. (Kohlberg, 273) This sta...
