Thursday, July 14, 2011

Lesson 7

I enjoyed the reading in chapter 8 and especially the videos. I feel the videos gave a more in-depth understanding of each age group. It was fascinating to me to see the changes in a child between the ages of 5 -8. How different their thinking and ability to make decisions became in a few short years. As I watched, I thought of different children I come into contact with daily and where they are in their thinking process. It has helped me to understand their actions better. Take for example young teenagers and how daring and impulsive they are. When the book and video explained the growing stages of the frontal cortex, which continues to grow into early adulthood, that helped me to understand their actions more clearly. It appears their emotions seem to overpower their logic at times and they may seem to be immature. It even had me reflecting back to my youth and the different statements my parents had made about acting "grown up" and "don't be so childish" when I had giggling sessions with my girlfriends. Outwardly I was growing up but internally I was still trying to figure things out. Maybe it is not so much a matter of being disobedient, but trying to figure life and choices out. I know through watching this video I fell more compassion and understanding for our youth.
In the book, they have portrayed aging as a positive part of life. Society, at least in the United States, does not place a high value on the elderly. I'm afraid in general, the attitude is to place them in nursing homes, or somehow just to remove them from our lives. Other countries put us to shame in this particular area. As the human race continues to extend its life span, hopefully this tradition of "out of sight, out of mind" will change. They are proving over and over that the older brain still functions well, still is alert and capable of learning. I have learned through reading that I need to stimulate my thinking, do activities, keep busy and I will live a fuller life. I was pleased to see that a high percent of older people are happy and content in the later years. I feel we are starting to take away the negative stigma of aging.