Chapter 2: Physical Development

Chapter 2: Physical Development 

During this chapter and reading of all the physical attributes that happen from conception until death, it amazes me what all our bodies have to go through. Looking at heredity, I can see where I get my looks from and the build of my body. Many of my taste buds and interests in sights and smells come from my parents, except I love sushi and red wine, and neither of my parents drink or tolerate sushi.. Some of this does have to do the environment I grew up in, but also they are traits I inherited from my parents. My skeletal frame is very similar to my paternal grandmother. My eyes are my own. I also have 3 sisters, and although we share similar facial feature, the dominant and recessive genes are very different. One of my sisters has blue eyes, one has blue/green/hazel, and one has dark chocolate, whereas I have chestnut brown. Heredity and Environment play separate but mostly equal roles in who we are and what we become.

As a teacher and a parent, I also can see how heredity can affect the child. I have seen that low IQ can be passed down between two parents with similarly low IQs. I have seen how alcoholism can also be hereditary. But I have also seen how a child can surpass their parents goals and successes simply being blessed with talents and an inherent ability to understand academics with amazing tenaciousness. My own son was diagnosed with mood disorders, things that came possibly from grandparents or some recessive traits that neither I or his father suffered from. Both of my sons have a talent in drawing and creativeness, something that has been passed from my father to me, and then from myself to my sons. Physical development and heredity play a role, but as a teacher I would never judge a child by who their parents are. It is about figuring out your students and learning their strengths and weaknesses, and how to make them succeed for who they are.

What I learned from this chapter is that the physical development of a child happens differently for each child. There is a course you can guide yourself with, but mostly the physiology is what begins the changes within the child and how hormones affect the growth and maturation. Physical Development is important because when you do not have the emotional answers to why a child is acting differently, you can look at the physical aspect and gain answers that way as well.