Research question & Rationale
Interactions between new individuals and in new surroundings are always unpredictable. But when they’re three to five years old, it’s an experiment. As a child, I did have exposure to other children my age before going into grade school, but not in a traditional pre-kindergarten school setting. Today, I am a family and child science major, working as a preschool after-school teacher, and have a five-year-old brother. The early childhood community is one of much significance to my life that I deal with every day. My interaction with children is constant as I learn more about their development and see my own brother grow throughout his life.
Pre-kindergarten is set in the middle of such a crucial point in a child’s development. They are exposed to many things including new surroundings, adults, other children, toys etc. Not growing up in that traditional setting, I still came out as a college student today like many others who went to preschool or not. My research question is "Does the exposure to social play/playground politics in a preschool setting better prepare small children socially for kindergarten?" Children's early education is a part of the foundation to their life, and should be taken seriously. Preschool is still a new and growing community, so I'm interested to see what studies are out there.
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I will conduct research and explore this question through first hand observations of my own preschool class along with web-based articles on findings in this topic. I will interview a long-time preschool teacher at Maclay school for her perspective on the issue of children's development. My younger brother is now in kindergarten, attended preschool, but still struggles socially. While I know every child is different, I'm still curious to find out the effect of preschool in this area of development.
Peer Profile: Mauris
Everyone’s first year of college can be a hard adjustment; there’s new people, new responsibilities, and new experiences that may take some time to get used to. Mauris is a freshman at Florida State University. Like many of his peers, he has dealt with struggles of getting suited to his new life in college. Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, Mauris didn’t have to travel too far to find his dream school. He spoke about how it was a big difference from Jacksonville, but it doesn’t feel too bad to be away from home for him.
Deciding which college you want to attend for the next four years of your life is a very tough decision, but not for Mauris. He always wanted to go to FSU. He’s always been a huge Seminoles fan, so when it came time to tour colleges he knew he wanted to tour FSU. “The moment I knew I wanted to attend FSU was when I was in the Union and saw the Greeks strolling,” Mauris chuckled. Jokes aside, overall, he said it was simply the love and passion for the school that drew him in.
A major part of the adjustment to college is living in a different place. Mauris decided for his freshman year he would live in a dorm. Living in a dorm is probably the hardest adjustment for a person, especially if they’re used to double the space from their room, without a roommate. Mauris had a little bit of advantage doing Summer C session so he could get used to the college atmosphere and dorm life with a lighter class load. He told me how although it was tough at first having a random roommate and he’s had trouble sleeping at night, he is now doing better and has become friends with his roommate.
For college in general, Mauris has had his own struggles. When asked if he felt ready or scared before coming to FSU, he said, “Yeah, I was a little bit of both, like I knew I wanted to go but was still scared how it would actually be.” With Summer C, Mauris believed he was definitely ready for fall by the end of the 6-week semester.
What suits one student for college life may not suit another. For Mauris, when family problems arose, he found himself going home every weekend, putting a toll on his grade. He said this semester he would not let that happen this semester, because he wants to be as focused as possible and get in a better routine than before. Like many freshman, he is still in the trial-and-error process for his new life.
Despite some minor setbacks, Mauris loves Florida State. He can often be found on Landis Green, his favorite spot on campus, throwing a Frisbee with friends or chilling by the beautiful fountain. Even if he knows he’s not fully adjusted to college life, he knows that Florida State was the right decision for him, and he couldn’t be happier to be a Seminole.