Development of Movements and Its Importance in the Life of a Child Essay Example for Free

Development of Movements and Its Importance in the Life of a Child Essay The world of Man cannot be imagined without movement. Life is indicated by movement. In animal/bird/fish life we can realise that immobility is impossible. Even those classified as immovable (plant life) manifest their life by movement. The human kingdom isolates itself from other non-human living beings by their capacity to work which is possible only by directed movements. There is movement in every area of human work-personal care, care of the environment, social behaviour, intellectual work etc. When we consider the Child as part of the human family we need to consider the importance of movement in his Life and Development. Movement in the human body In the general development of the human being we can see the role of the brain, the senses and the muscles. Among these the muscles are the ones which execute the movements. These movements can be considered as voluntary when they are controlled by the brain. This control is made possible by the senses feeding the brain or intelligence with the right messages. When these capacities work in co-operation, the last stage remains with the muscles which make the movements. Movement thus becomes the last part that completes the cycle of thought says Dr. Montessori. This co-ordination creates the unique characteristic of Man namely WORK possible. Movement is a mode of human expression. Animals too express themselves by their movements. Dr. Montessori asks Can we ignore this fact in Man? Movement becomes a system of healthy relationship with Mans environment (establish, maintain and restore conditions). We see the importance of movement without which no expression is possible(sign language, body language, writing, etc). Mans aspiration at the highest level is that of spiritual perfection. Dr. Montessori asks Is that enough? Can Man be selfish? Does he not circulate his experiences and thereby express them? Movement should occupy the place of a servant of the whole life and the spiritual economy of the world. Mental life and development depends very heavily on sensesdevelopment of speech on hearing and observation and understanding depends on the sight. This co-ordination of the brain and the senses has to be made in the very beginning. Then and only then can there be any human expression. Dr. Montessori says Here is a very good reason why Nature keeps the human being very immobile during infancy; when the co-ordination starts Nature gives the human being the facility for locomotion. In a child we see movement/work as a manifestation of the development of the mind. While he acts on the direction of the intelligence there is an extension in the understanding. Scientific observation shows that intelligence is developed through movement; movement helps psychic development. Again Movement has a great contribution to offer in the conquest of language which is one of the most fundamental conquests to be made by the psyche of the child. When the child performs work it becomes a co-ordination of the brain, senses and muscles. In Man, the mechanism of grace is not evident at birth but has to be created by physical experiences working at the environment, done with co-ordination. None of this co-ordination is established at birth. But there is a wide possibility of movements. The variety of movements is immense-massive to minute (ballerinagymnast). Dr. Montessori calls it harmonised opposition. The child is endowed with the capacity or potentiality to co-ordinate these movements. Man has a great diversity in skill in action but must create it by will, subconsciously or voluntarily. The combination of the brain, the senses, and the muscles in collaboration with emotional and social development can lead one to what we term grace. The variety is created by the human being himself and therefore he can decide which ones to develop. But there is a price to pay. He has to work at it repeatedly to obtain that versatility. Because of this factor, the capacities vary from person to person. This individuality is very easily seen in the human beings. The muscles are too numerous for all to be exercised; but there is a certain number of exercises below which it is dangerous for psychical life to go on. The human being may also perish. We need to remember that, when a person trains on very large gross movements the mind also remains so. When he works on more refined movements the psychic capacity also becomes more refined. It has also been proved that the quality of possible movements of a person has a close relationship to the quality of mental capacities. Development of human movement Man shares the characteristics of mammals by having four limbs. Mammals develop all the four limbs simultaneously and according to the species the form and function vary. They are predetermined. Among the mammals Man is an example of developing the limbs two at a time. The form and the functions are different. Considering the development of the legs and feet we can see them from three different points of view. †¢ Biological Stand on two feet †¢ Physiological Balance and walk †¢ Anatomical Keeping whole feet on the ground The legs have a task of gaining and maintaining equilibrium. Biological guidance for the development of feet, to put the whole foot down in order to get the equilibrium is given by Nature. We can identify four steps in the process. SitRollStand with support (Stand without support) Walk with help (Walk without help) The logic of Nature seems to be to stand upright, walk and become steady and move to take part in the life around. This indeed is a great achievement of independence on the part of the human being but very predictable. Walking as a human conquest made by the child is proclaimed as not only an achievement made at the physical level but also as booster for the most necessary ingredient in human life and developmentself confidence and self reliance. This is recognised by the modern psychologists. It throws open varied scope for mental activities also. The other two limbs meaning the hands seem to have a different method of development. In the history of evolution we see a great landmark when the thumb starts acting against the fingers and not along the same direction as seen in earlier rungs of the ladder of evolution. Hands depend, for their development, not only on the psyche but also on the psychical life of different epoches in time in different racial groups. Intelligence of the child will reach a certain level without the use of the hand, but with it a still higher level is reached and the child who has used his hands invariably has a strong character. In the individuals development of hands we see the attempt in grasping and that grasping made as an intentional movement. †¢ 1st step Grasping prehension instinctive to conscious movements †¢ Six months Intentional movements †¢ 1st year Hands and feet exerting the maximum, Creating challenges, Imitation of characteristic movements, Making efforts to fit himself for life and independence There is nothing biological or physiological in this. Hands can perform an immense variety of movements. They are not predetermined but depend on the individual. Therefore there is every reason to believe that it has something to do with the development of the mind. Dr. Montessori would take it even to the soul or personality. The hand thus become instruments of learning and the variety in these movements depend on what activities they have opportunity to perform. Around the time the child is one-and-a-half years, the leg movement and the hand movement co-ordinate. For instance, carrying a heavy object. This is another milestone in development. Nature prompts the child to exert the maximum effort. Dr. Montessori talks at length of the study of history and ancient civilizations being made available to us only because of the work of hands which also reflects the mental height of those who created the masterpieces. Civilizationsartifacts, historical relics reveal that hands combined with the emotional lives reveal the quality of the lives of people. Hands seem to have followed the intelligence, the spirit and the emotions. Dr. Montessori says Childs intelligence can develop to certain level without the help of hands. But it raises to greater heights with hand work. The strength of character becomes conspicuously stronger. Dr. Montessori would exhort us about the misconception with regard to human movement, Educational theory thinks that people have to sit still for intellectual activity. Therefore educationists try to separate movement from thought. This even leads to alternating mental and physical activities in schools. Montessori refers to it as the coordinated work of the red and the white man as an intimate reciprocal relationship. The red man indicates the circulatory system and the white man refers to the neuro-muscular system. Maturation is a great factor in this development. The Senses gather knowledge for the intelligence and the intelligence together with the Will carries on the work with the help of the muscles. Separation of movement and thought is injurious to development. To consider strengthening the muscular capacity alone as a means of strengthening the physique can be detrimental. It would be like making a prince (muscular system) live like a slave to a shepherd(mere vegetative lifefor creating appetite or strengthening the lungs). It must become a contributory factor to mental development. Eventually it should lead to emotional and spiritual enrichment. Some thoughts about handedness: Handedness means predominant use of one hand. Two factors determine the handednessthe preference for one hand as compared to the other, the proficiency or skill with which the hand can be used. Studies of handedness has shown that at birth the child is ambidextrous Earlier it was believed that the child was born either right or left handed. It has been proved otherwise. During the first year of life the child uses both hands without any particular preference. In the second year usage of left and right is done shifting as the necessity occursfor instance the proximity or the angle in which an activity has to be performed. Between two-and-a-half and three-and-a-half years the child is ambidextrous using both hands with equal proficiency and frequency. The bilaterality is very marked at this stage. From the age of four to six years there is a preference to unilaterality or a predominant preference to using one or the other hand. Such preference can be observed in the speed, accuracy, strength and steadiness in the movements.