Childhood and the Invention of Printing Presses
Childhood didn't exist in the early centuries, according to Neil Postman. Children used to be treated the same as adults since they were viewed as miniature adults in the past. The study of children's behavior and how they reacted to their environment, however, marked the beginning of childhood. The invention of printing presses is credited with the development of childhood because it allowed for the dissemination of information that readers believed. Literacy and the concept of shame in language usage were both taught through print. In particular, the introduction of institutions for the instruction of grammar and the development of education (Postman, 1985). Today, technology is contributing so much in the passing of information to both parents. Indeed, technology brought about the issue of childhood, but in the current world, technology is bridging the gap between the two groups.
Rewards and the Natural Reasoning of Children
2. Rewards, according to Kohn, are as much the same as punishment. The child gets used to gifts which if failed at any moment makes them bitter. Second, rewards destroy the relationships between the children who are paid and those who are not rewarded. The third reason for not recommending rewards is because it destroys the natural reasoning of the child. Indeed, children are motivated when they are rewarded for doing well. In fact, children compete to be the best in the particular area where the reward is guaranteed so that they can be rewarded, which turns works for the betterment of the learning in schools. Looking at rewards from a broader perspective, rewards become useless if wholesome molding of a child is the intended goals.
The Mind and its Expressions
3. According to Descartes (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2013), the mind is primarily the creator of thoughts, being entirely different from the material body. He believes the idea is new from the sense that the mind can further be divided into three expressions termed "ideas" wherein it composes fiction, innate, and adventure. It is these three notions that are causing significant challenges in the field of psychology today.
Works Cited
Postman, N. (1985). The Disappearance of Childhood. Childhood Education, 61(4), 286-293.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2013, January 14). Descartes’ Theory of Ideas. Retrieved from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes-ideas/
