P.E.P.S.I.

Project
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Bianca Seger

P.E.P.S.I. PROJECT

College of Southern Nevada

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BIOGRAPHY of SUBJECT

The subject in this study will be known as the following: ‘subject’, ‘student’, or ‘child.’

No name will be mentioned in an effort to respect the privacy of the student and their family.

Student, who I had the pleasure of studying, is a 9-year-old boy in second grade who comes from

an upper-middle class background. Student’s immediate family consists of his mother, father,

grandfather, and his older sister. Both parents of the subject are together, work together at home,

and have a good relationship. Out of all his family, Student remarks that he is closest to his older

sister and his father, the latter of whom he looks up to.

The background of the student in regards to culture is a mix of Mexican, Filipino, and

American traditions that blend together in his every-day life at home but also outside of home.

Some hobbies that Student has are collecting Pokemon cards, playing video games, martial arts,

and soccer. Student attends a private Roman Catholic school, is Catholic, and enjoys learning

about religious subjects as well as general school subjects. It should also be noted that Student is

asthmatic and has a speech impediment, both of which are getting treated.

PHYSICAL of SUBJECT

The subject is a 9-year-old-boy who stands at 4 feet and 7 inches, weighs in at 92 pounds,

and is asthmatic. In comparison, the average height for a 9-year-old boy in America is around

135 centimeters or 4 feet and 5 inches, meaning that Student is above average in height, if only

by two inches. The weight of an average 9-year-old boy in America is around 63 pounds,

meaning that Student is over the average weight by 29 pounds, however, the subject is quite

active and actually rather fit and has been described by both teachers and coaches (both in and
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out of school) that he out-performs other students. In regards to the build of the student, the

statistics of an average 9-year-old boy doesn’t seem to input physical activity or natural build.

Student, on weekends, attends classes for martial arts and has been put in a class with

older children (ages 12-17) and keeps up well with more strenuous activity, with short breaks in

order to accommodate their asthma. Student has been observed to enjoy physical activity and has

great hand-eye coordination that outperforms their peers when it comes to sports and physical

activity. It has been noted by his physical education teacher that Student is able to “outrun other

students when it comes to endurance and stamina” and his record is 27 laps around their school

field, when in comparison, his physical education teacher informed me that most children

seemed to stop around the 12th lap.

On weekdays, Student occasionally goes on walks that range from 1-3 hours with an

adult (typically his older sister) where he walks around 1-8 miles, depending on the time,

weather, and overall energy of the subject. It should be noted that Student looks forward to these

walks and even initiates going on them, which shows that the subject has a good relationship

when it comes to exercise and is even encouraged to be active by family.

“Health behaviors acquired in adolescence are likely to be maintained into adulthood,

making adolescents more responsible for their own health and lifestyle” (Mutschler, et al.)

Continuing on from the last paragraph, physical health habits of the subject have shown to be

encouraged by family, whom foster and nature the love for moving around as best as they can.

The parents of the subject have been shown to help Student maintain a healthy physical lifestyle

by enrolling him into soccer and martial arts, along with encouraging physical activity, setting

aside time to take the subject to the park, and finally encouraging play with his peers in games

like tag.
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In conclusion, Student is physically a bit above his peers in physical activity, but is also

held back from reaching his full potential due to being asthmatic. In my personal

opinion—through the weeks I spent observing Student—he is quite an active child for his

generation, who tend to be glued to technology, and does not shy away from having a day

outside, seems to be eager for things like hikes, walks, or games at a park, and cites his own

enjoyment of martial arts and soccer. I feel as if the student is in good physical shape for his age

and even better is that he knows his limits and when to back down physically when he feels as if

something will make his asthma set off.

EMOTIONAL of SUBJECT

Around this age (of 9 years) children begin to show more of an awareness of real-life

problems and learn to communicate their emotions to peers and adults as they start to transition

to having more grounding in reality.

In regards to the emotional state, maturity, and behavior of the subject, I first turned to

the Student’s teachers, asking them how Student was behaviorally in the classroom and on the

playground. Student picks up well on other childrens’ emotions, said his teacher and easily

disengages with other students when they are upset or when he, himself, is upset. Student has no

problem in informing any of his teachers when he is frustrated or concerned about something--an

action that his teachers note that many of his classmates are not yet at that level of upfront, level

communication that he is.

According to Liza Tibayan, a curriculum and implementation specialist at Stratford

School, children at this age gain the ability to verbalize feelings and emotions clearly to others. I

have found that Student is well ahead emotionally when it comes to handling emotions,

expressing himself, and communicating how he feels, but also contradicts himself at times and
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shows normal reactions/behaviors that his peers around his age range may have. Student, of

course, is still a child and so is prone to moments were frustration can get the better of them but

Student has also been taught good methods to calm himself down or is aware that he needs to

extricate himself from a situation or something that is upsetting him if it makes him

uncomfortable.

When upset, Student would--for a for minutes--show extreme frustration, before

informing why he is upset and expressing wanting space from other people so he could be alone.

The form of communication done by subject is incredibly advanced and speaks of an emotional

maturity that is beyond his peers as he communicates his boundaries clearly and has no issue

expressing why and how he is upset.

According to the Center of Disease Control, children around the ages of 9 through 11

start to show more awareness of their body and in turn body image and eating problems start

around this age. When I had asked the subject how he felt about how he [in general] felt about

how he looked, Student replied that he looked fine. During the physical portion of my

observation and study, Student was hesitant and even anxious about stepping onto the weight

scale and had expressed his concerns with being overweight or “chunky” as he put it. For a

9-year-old boy, this shows considerable awareness for his own body in regards to how it makes

him feel emotionally.

In conclusion, Student is a bit more ahead in terms of how they are developing

emotionally, if for the startling amount of emotional and physical self-awareness tied along to the

way they are able to empathize and put themselves in someone else’s shoes without faltering.

PHILOSOPHICAL of SUBJECT
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In regards to the philosophical views of a 9-year-old boy, I presented the subject with a series of

questions, ranging from a simple ‘right or wrong’ prompt to a more complex viewpoint that tests

and questions the moral scale of where a person may stand.

Student had no issue in relaying his viewpoints or thoughts to me, but did express a

concern that showed his consciousness in regards to how his views may be taken. While he was

not embarrassed by what my reaction might be, he was rather apprehensive and cautious. After

reassuring Student that I wouldn’t judge him for his answers, it struck me how mature and

thought-ahead Student was with how I may react. In a study done in order to test the

self-awareness and response of a child through their philosophical views, it was found that “By

showing embarrassment and other so-called secondary emotions , young children demonstrate a

propensity toward an evaluation of the self in relation to the social world. They begin to have

others in mind, existing ‘‘through’’ in addition to ‘‘with’’ others.” (Rochat, 2003).

For example, one of the first simple questions I proposed to Student was “Is stealing

bad?” to which they replied: “Well, it depends. If the person had no food, then it's okay.” It

showed a remarkable amount of sense and empathy that Student immediately thought of

extraneous causes/factors and had chiseled away a little bit more of the look I had on his sense of

morality and philosophy. Then, I asked Student if he thought that the environment he was

growing up in was good for the worldview he wanted to take on in life. Student was more

hesitant and thoughtful with this question, spending time thinking about just what I exactly

meant and how to answer it. He stumbled over his answers a few times and had even gone back

to my question over a series of days, before finally settling on a “I’m not sure.” His explanation

for that was that he was not yet done growing and didn’t know everything, but that as long as it

wasn’t sinful or very, very, very bad then there was room for bad things to actually be good.
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Due to the way Student responded, I had to clarify for them that there was no other stipulations

and that the imaginary thief in this scenario stole because they wanted to, not because they

needed to. Student quickly changed their judgment. It was very noticeable to me that the

Student’s views on things came from their religious background, where they had shown

empathetic understanding that came from their religious education, but also from Student’s

mother, who capsulated on her view on being empathetic and understanding to all people

because “that [someone in need] could be you, one day.” This comment highlighted to me that

Student’s parents did not shy away from rather heavy philosophical topics around their child and

in fact, were open and ready to give an answer and teach valuable morals to their child.

In addition, Student was rather earnest and open with his morals aligning with some

subjects that he was taught in his religious education. To love fully, walk justly, and treat

everyone as if they were God’s own children. It is a simple, time-old philosophy that has been

taught in the Catholic church, but the subject takes these teachings to heart and uses them as a

guide. Overall, I would say that Student’s philosophical viewpoints are rather ahead of those his

age, but since many of his peers (as verified by both the teachers and the subject) follow the

same religious teachings and careful raising by their parents, I would place him a little bit above

average in philosophical development, in comparison to his classmates.

SOCIAL of SUBJECT

Socially, Subject has been noted by his teachers that he gets along well with other

children and will follow rules and not succumb to peer pressure when his friends or peers get
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wild and out-of-control in the classroom. Student has no issue setting aside his work to help

peers, but I have observed he struggles in communicating to strangers and is rather awkward

around adults. This is not out of the ordinary in boys around the subject’s age, but this

awkwardness even extends to his teachers and can even be detrimental to him at times.

At the subject’s school, ‘Communicaton and Language’ is counted in grades and I have

been informed that Student has always been graded a ‘Satisfactory’ for his ability to

communicate. Due to Student’s speech impediment, it isn’t far to think that this is the reason that

the subject is not confident in communicating with the adult or authority figures in his life.

In regards to how Student is in social development around his peers, I would place him at

around average in his ability to make friends. Uniquely, the classmates that Student has now are

the same classmates he’s known since Pre-K. The subject is in the only third grade class at his

school and thus all of his classmates are very familiar faces he has grown up with. Student seems

to struggle to make friends outside of a classroom setting at places like parks and his parents

have remarked that while Student gets invited to birthday parties and the like outside of school,

he does not actually hang out with any of his friends or peers after-school nor does he have

friends that does not attend the same school that he does.

According to the Center of Disease Control, children should be forming stronger, more

complex friendships and peer relationships as it becomes more emotionally important to have

friends, especially of the same sex. Student is on the end of being one of the more popular boys

in class and does have a select few friends that he considers his ‘real friends.’

I would place Student a little bit below in social development due to the fact that he

struggles to communicate with others his age outside of school and is hesitant around even adults
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he is familiar with. Student understands social norms, niceties, and is a rather polite young boy

that I enjoyed my observation on.

INTELLIGENCE of SUBJECT

When it came to speaking to the teachers and parents of the Student, I instantly noticed

how they would constantly mention how smart of a child he was. The subject is at the top of his

class and extra work has been allotted to make sure that he feels stimulated enough in school that

he keeps his interest in it. Intellectually by the age of 9, children start to be able to understand

more complex math equations, read bigger books, and need less guidance and hand-holding than

they did the year before.

The subject is ahead of his peers especially when it comes to math as he is able to

understand fractions, multiply three-digit numbers, and has formed a solid foundation and

understanding when it comes to division. During aptitude testing, one of the subject’s teachers

had remarked that Student was able to follow the math testing all the way to 6th grade

mathematics.

As noted by his teachers, “Student excels in all areas of teaching, though has struggled

and fallen behind at times when it comes to AR Testing, as he does not do enough in a week,

though he has started to take his own steps in order to rectify this. Student is the first to resort to

problem-solving and also is the first when it comes to finishing work and being on top of the

class.”

Student is completely aware of his own academic weaknesses despite being the highest

performing child in his grade/class and has also taken steps to improve where he feels that he is

weakest. As he struggles with a speech impediment it has made hin adverse to reading, as most

reading in the previous grade for him was to be reading aloud. Overall, I would place the subject
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as way above his peers intellectually, as he is a top-performing student, applied problem-solving

strategies on his own, and can understand material that is grades ahead.

RECOMMENDATION of SUBJECT

Teacher of Subject:

“Student needs to set aside more reading time for himself. While he can understand some

advanced vocabulary, spells well, and knows how put together context clues. The issue arises in

the fact that Student tends to read books that are a little bit below his AR-Reading level, but it

seems that he has been branching out from that habit and has become more confident in reading.

In math, Student excels. It is his best subject and he is just outstanding when it comes to

assignments, tests, and homework overall. There has been very few times that I have ever given

student a grade less than an A and I hope to see that the trend continues for the rest of the school

year.”

Developmental Levels of Student.

Red Line is the Average (70) in comparison to other children in Student’s age/grade level.
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References

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, September 23). Middle childhood (9-11
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.).

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/sr_11/

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old-language-and-cognitive-milestones

Healthwise Staff. (n.d.). Milestones for 9-year-olds. MyHealth.Alberta.ca Government of

Alberta Personal Health Portal. Retrieved April 2, 2022, from
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ad%20and%20understand%20longer,Think%20independently.

Rorschat, P. (n.d.). Five levels of self-awareness as they ... - Emory University. Retrieved
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