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Yuliann M

College Of Southern Nevada

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Biography

The child I chose to observe is a 16-year-old boy who is currently in High School. This boy

I have known for most of his life. This individual was born and raised in America all his life. He

grew up in a household with both parents and siblings. His mother was born and raised in

America, however, has a background of Hispanic Parents who immigrated to America long ago.

His Father who also immigrated from Mexico into the U.S came only with a level of High school

completion, while his Mother only completed some college until she dropped out. Being part of a

Hispanic culture comes with real stress and high expectations while going to school. This

individual first language is Spanish. In his family, they only speak Spanish at home, knowing

that English was non-existent in their household. Up until the age of 5, they were completely

fluent in Spanish and had to go to school. From there, they did not know how to communicate

much but only knew the only language that they had learned from their parents. His mother, who

did know English very well, was able to help her son with all the school work and help them

learn a new language. As the boy got older, he struggled a bit with being an outcast at first and

having to learn another language was able to understand over time. With the help of his mother

and teachers, he was able to get into the school, get good grades, and learn about two different

cultures. One culture while growing up of having high expectations and being one of the few in

the family to finish then everyone else. This little boy has had some struggles with learning to

read. Though, he was able to get better at reading with a private tutor, then start doing well in

school. This individual pupil has learned about two different cultures and made it into his own
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culture. Being Mexican- American. While this pupil has experienced many different changes in

all aspects some have affected how well this individual does in school or not.

Physical Development

This pupil's physical development has a huge difference in growth between boys and girls.

See boys are hitting the milestone where they are going rapidly while girls are just starting to

slow down. In the article, Developmental milestones for high-schoolers Amanda Morin states

that they need more sleep and can sometimes be sleepy while in school, and have a bigger

appetite than girls. Most boys are developing in different aspects and have different needs. As

boys grow older they are developing more in their sleep, start to grow a much bigger appetite and

need all the nutrition they need in order for their body to develop. And “...have the visual-spatial

coordination to judge distance and speed and react quickly when learning to drive".

.(Developmental milestones for teens. Understood. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2022). While this

individual is growing in a lot of different aspects as well, we have to notice that during this time

this pupil will have to experience one difficult thing. Puberty. This is one huge thing that

everyone will go through. For this boy, it is quite different. In addition, an article called Physical

Development in Boys: What to Expect, states that boys will experience changes in their body

shape. It states that "they start to experience a growth spurt as they process further into puberty,

with the peak occurring during the later stages.." (Physical development in boys: What to expect.

HealthyChildren.org. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2022). For my individual you see a lot of

change. In the article, it also mentioned that “boys tend to look a little chubby and gangly (long

arms and legs compared to the trunk) just prior to and at the onset of puberty.” Watching my
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pupils grow up, I can definitely say that they are most definitely right about this. My pupil while

growing up was a bit chubby once he started to get older. By the time he reached middle school,

my pupil was a bit chubby and short. However, once he started going to school I noticed that his

height had changed and he started to thin out. In another article, I found that my pupil will have

some struggle with different things as he progresses in his physical development. In my article

called The Growing Child: tennager (13 to 18 years) have stated that teenagers will want to be

independent from their parents. (Default - Stanford Children's health. The Growing Child-

Teenager (13 to 18 Years). (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2022). My pupil is coming to an age where

his body is experiencing many changes. In addition, my pupil is at the age where he thinks that

he doesn't need his parents anymore. Though he feels that they do not understand him, it is clear

to me that they can most definitely see him. In the book Psychology Applied to Teaching, it

states that "There is still concern about appearance, although it may not be as strong as during

the middle school years" (Psychology Applied to Teaching (14th Edition), pg 101). This implies

that appearance is not so important, but when it comes down to High school my pupil has cared a

lot about his appearance at school. My pupil had come from a family who doesn't have much but

has enough to go through the years. Though, as he got into high school it seems that he started to

care when other peers his age had more expensive shoes or a pair of Jordans. Though his parents

don't have much they still do their best to help out. I noticed that as he progressed throughout

High school he doesn't care about appearance as much anymore. The reason being is that his

parents taught him that appearance is important but you do not need expensive shoes or clothes
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to fit in with the crowd. It seems that his physical development has had some good morals being

taught to my pupil.

Emotional Development

For my pupil who is a dual language learner, I have found some interesting things about

him. Being a dual language learner, it is stated in the article Dual Language Learners and

Social-Emotional Development: Understanding the Benefits for Young Children, that "..they

have a different developmental trajectory than monolingual children in language and literacy

development". (Dual language learners and social-emotional development: Understanding the

benefits for young children. Child Trends. (2020, February 20). Retrieved April 29, 2022.) What

this means is that dual language learners do have functional skills compared to their monolingual

peers. Schools should also promote my pupil’s language development for English while still

supporting the child’s home language in both school and home. (Dual language learners and

social-emotional development: Understanding the benefits for young children. Child Trends.

(2020, February 20). Retrieved April 29, 2022). It is also important to my pupils' success in

school and beyond. Along with schools across the country, schools are lacking in Spanish

resources. In the article it says, “Most one-size-fits all curricula are only in English. This can

result in many negative outcomes for both the teacher and students.” (Merrow, C., & Kochans,

A. (2021, July 20). Dual language education. Empowering Education. Retrieved April 29,

2022.) This statement is very important for my pupil. This can create perceptions of students that

may become biased. It also states that “negative thinking may emerge from teachers believing

that ELLS are not learning”. (​​Merrow, C., & Kochans, A. (2021, July 20). Dual language
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education. Empowering Education. Retrieved April 29, 2022.) This is one of the few problems

that my pupil has dealt with. Plus, schools tend to prioritize English only education as the main

language. My pupil has a background of being Hispanic. In the book Psychology Applied to

Teaching, it says that "children may be reluctant to enter into a teacher-led discussion in class.

Because teachers, like parents, are viewed as authority figures, many children consider it

disrespectful to offer their opinions." (Snowman, J., & McCown, R. (2014). Psychology Applied

to Teaching (14th Edition), pg 156). In my pupil's culture, he most definitely grew up in a

household where mental health isn't expressed enough or how important it is to someone. You

see, my pupil was the quietest still in class. I learned that even at home when guests are over, I

noticed that my pupil will never state his opinion about anything. My pupil will just sit back and

enjoy the company but I can tell he is thinking something. Learning from his parents, his teacher

will often say that he is extremely quiet and will do what he has to school. He doesn't ask many

questions and his teachers have just assumed that he is just very quiet at this point. Since he is

still doing very well in school. Though, they do wish he would interact more with his peers.

Though, in the text, it does state that "..because of differences in cultural experiences, some

students may be reluctant to speak or perform in public.." (Snowman & McCown, 2014, p. 156).

I do believe that this pupil has to grow up in different cultures and come from a different cultural

background than coming into a new one that is way different. I do know that his emotional

development has been affected by the number of biased teachers and not promoting only English

education as the main language. Learning more about my pupil, I did not see a lot of

multiculturalism in his schools. For his emotional development, I am sure that he was unsure of

what to do at times. Being part of Hispanic culture, you cannot state your opinion unless it is
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asked otherwise it will be considered rude. For my pupil, he needs to be asked for his opinion

before giving it. However, even then he might not even speak his mind since he is taught not to

state his own opinions.

Philosophical

My individuals while growing up from four to about ten do not question rules, they may

even frequently break them. They even may break them because they do not understand them

completely, as stated in the book Psychology Applied to Teaching (14th Edition), pg 59). Piget

explains about how a child becomes older they start grasping why rules are necessary. My pupil

was the complete opposite. He was very good at understanding the rules and being respectful.

Now that he is in High school, it seems that the rules do not apply to him as much. While in

school, many philosophical assumptions were being made when he was younger. For example, in

an article I found it states that “Biliteracy is a positive and beneficial outcome of dual language

instruction. Content-area knowledge is enhanced and accelerated by the use of students' L1."

(Moramodules. (n.d.). 2022), pg 1). There are a lot of assumptions made when it comes down to

biliteracy. One of the few assumptions made in the article, "Bilingualism is a hindrance to

learning English and therefore, detrimental to children's short-term and long-term academic

advancement." (Moramodules. (n.d.). 2022), pg 1). This is a very accurate assumption being

made when they think about dual language learners. They are not thinking that two languages

hold a position of equal prestige and importance. The article also states that "developing literacy

skills in L1 reduces the risk of reading failure." (Moramodules. (n.d.). 2022), pg 1). Dual

language learners do not see that biliteracy can have positive outcomes, and that it doesn't have
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beneficial outcomes. Though since we have so many philosophical assumptions made on dual

lounge learns. Yet, it is stated that in the article Monradoules "they fail to see that all human

beings are dependent upon language for communication." (Moramodules. (n.d.). 2022), pg 1).

Any form of language if it's a non verbal, verbal, or any form of communication. My pupil's

form of communication was verbal and only knowing Spanish. Though, his teachers may have

assumptions but they did learn that he can still incorporate English at school and still speak his

native language at home. In the book, Psychology Applied to Teaching talks about the

assumptions of multicultural education. For example, " U.S culture had been formed by the

contribution of different cultural groups". (Snowman & McCown, 2014, pg 171). However, "the

real goal of Multicultural Education is to promote understanding of the origins and lack of

validity of ethnic stereotypes” (Snowman & McCown, 2014, pg 171).. My pupils' educators may

have assumptions about multiculturalism yet the book says the real goals of multiculturalism.

Educators had made the understanding of his origin and the validity of ethnic stereotypes.

Philosophical

For my pupil growing up, I do believe that he did have some assumptions made when it

came down to his social development. In the article, Dual Language Learners and

Social-Emotional Development: Understanding the Benefits for Young Children Zepeda and

Whittaker states, " Young dual language learners tend to be judged by teacher and observers as

having English- speaking monolingual peers" ( Dual language learners and social-emotional

development: Understanding the benefits for young children. Child Trends. (2020, February 20).

They have stated that my individual has already made assumptions about him. There was a lot
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that they still did not know just yet. However, despite these limitations, the article does state that

“dual language learners look as good as or better than monolingual children in social functioning

in the early years of life”. (Dual language learners and social-emotional development:

Understanding the benefits for young children. Child Trends. (2020, February 20). My individual

had expectations and a disadvantage but it does appear that he has some more flexible mental

ability. In the book, it does state that "The more high school students believe that learning occurs

quickly or not at all, the more likely they are to have a lower grade-point average than students

who believe that learning occurs gradually"(Schommer-Aikins, Duell, & Hutter, 2005). My

self-efficacy is very low. His confidence isn't that great nor does he do well on test-taking. He is

not a great test-taker, and it does show in his grades as well. I do believe that it had to do with his

self-efficacy which is affecting his social development. Along with, his self-efficacy, the book

also states "Consistent with the prediction from social cognitive theory that the nature of a task

affects students' perception of the task's difficulty and their self-efficacy, students' self-efficacy

for learning and their task performance was higher for the well-structured task than for the

ill-structured task." (Snowman, J., & McCown, R. (2014). Like my pupil, he has that nature

where tasks are difficult at times and it affects his self-efficacy more than a well-structured

student.

Intellectual Development

My pupil's intellectual development has a long history since he is a dual language learner.

There have been many studies on bilingualism and it has negative consequences. The effects of

bilingualism on executive functions and non-verbal abilities. The cognitive development of Young
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Dual Language Learners: A Critical Review.) Understanding bilingualism, essentially a

linguistic experience, must affect linguistic performance and unfolds a fear factor that managing

two different languages is a demanding task. (Barac, R., Bialystok, E., Castro, D. C., & Sanchez,

M. (2014). The cognitive development of Young Dual Language Learners: A Critical Review.)

My pupil has shown that he may have scored a little lower than most children with their

intelligence scores. Teachers during middle school should be modeling strategy developments to

help with their achievements in life. In the book, it states that " regulation skills make significant

contributions to achievement, especially when students reach the middle school grades, and

modeling, can be an effective way to help students acquire these skills" (Snowman & McCown,

2014, p. 323). My pupil who didn't do so well in school could have used a modeling strategy.

This could help with my pupil's writing skills. From seeing when he was growing up his writing

skills were not all that great when he first started. Plus, the book says that "writing skills are also

frequently used by researchers to investigate the effects of modeling". (Snowman, J., &

McCown, R. (2014). Psychology Applied to Teaching). While my pupil was in middle school,

writing was very important during his middle school years because writing tasks start to become

more complex as he goes. I know that my pupil doing essays in middle school wasn't so

prepared. In the book it says, "students who feel poorly prepared to carry out writing tasks tend

to be more anxious about them and to spend less time on them." (Snowman, J., & McCown, R.

(2014). Psychology Applied to Teaching). My pupil doesn't spend so much time writing his

essays. Being asked why he says that he doesn't feel that his teachers did not prepare him. I feel
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as though some teachers do care about their education and some are just there. He has said that

most of them do not make any of his curriculum interesting to engage in.

His development for being a dual language learner was different and difficult. Learning and

only knowing Spanish for all your life. Then having to go to school where you do not understand

any English. Having assumptions made about you, thinking that your intelligence is less than

others. His development is much more different since he is a bilingual learner and a boy.
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References

Developmental milestones for teens. Understood. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2022, from

https://www.understood.org/en/articles/developmental-milestones-for-typical-high-schooler

Physical development in boys: What to expect. HealthyChildren.org. (n.d.). Retrieved April

29, 2022, from

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/gradeschool/puberty/Pages/Physical-

Development-Boys-What-to-Expect.aspx

Default - Stanford Children's health. The Growing Child- Teenager (13 to 18 Years). (n.d.).

Retrieved April 29, 2022, from

https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=the-growing-child-adolescent-13-to-

18-years-90-P02175

Dual language learners and social-emotional development: Understanding the benefits for

young children. Child Trends. (2020, February 20). Retrieved April 29, 2022, from

https://www.childtrends.org/blog/dual-language-learners-and-social-emotional-developmet

-understanding-the-benefits-for-young-children

​Snowman, J., & McCown, R. (2014). Psychology Applied to Teaching (14th Edition).

Cengage Learning US. https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781305176881

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Moramodules. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2022, from

https://moramodules.com/Prop227/AssumptionsEOvBE.htm

Barac, R., Bialystok, E., Castro, D. C., & Sanchez, M. (2014). The cognitive development

of Young Dual Language Learners: A Critical Review. Early childhood research quarterly.

Retrieved April 30, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4180217/