The child care experience is something that many have varying experiences with. Some may have younger siblings that needed care or tending to, meanwhile others are the youngest or the only child and the roles are reversed. One way or another, almost everyone has had experience when it comes to taking care of children.
At Arvada West High School, the FACS (Family and Consumer Sciences) wing has a class that can help broaden students’ horizons when it comes to childcare. The class, Child Development, is an elective class that is available for all grade levels to take.
There are many reasons why this class might be an ideal fit for multiple students, but before that is explored, it’s important to understand what child development is. “Child development refers to the sequence of physical, language, thought and emotional changes that occur in a child from birth to the beginning of adulthood. During this process a child progresses from dependency on their parents/guardians to increasing independence” Kid Sense says. It’s important to understand that child development is something that influences both child and guardian and stays around for many, many years.
Achieve Academy, which provides information on certain college courses, explains that “The course is a study of the principles of child growth and development from conception through adolescence. The focus of the course is on meeting children’s physical, social, emotional and cognitive needs in their homes and classrooms. Students apply their learning in various educational settings.”
Arvada West has its own child development course that is led by one of the FACS teachers, Anna Sorzano. It’s Sorzano’s first year teaching child development, and they had a few words to say.
“It’s my first year teaching this class, I’ve been teaching it this year for two semesters. I do enjoy it and think that it’s a really fun class and there’s a lot of opportunity to work with others,” Sorzano explains.
Just recently, those that partake in this class went and visited the nearby Warren Tech campus where they were able to observe and interact with young children, giving them real-life experiences and a chance to stretch their legs and get out of the classroom.
Sorzano goes into depth about what is taught in child development class. “You learn about how children learn and the best ways to care for them. It’s a really good class if you plan on working with them in the future or if you work with children currently. It’s a good path if you’re interested in being a teacher as well, it’s good to know how to work with children in that instance.”
This class provides experience and knowledge for certain career paths that students might be interested in. According to Nazarene University, some of the careers that are available through this class are a social worker, preschool teacher, speech pathologist, occupational therapist, behavioral specialist, or librarian. The list is never ending.
Following the in-field experiences this class offers, Arvada West has a special program within this course that is even more exciting. The RealCare babies are robotic babies that allow students to simulate what it would be like to take care of a toddler, thus being a very unique and interesting experience.
“The robot baby is new this semester,” Sorzano explains. “They were given to use as a donation. The goal of the project is really to just let teenagers really learn what it takes to take care of a newborn.”
This is a lot of faith put into high school students, as some of the robot babies cost up to $2,000 dollars. It’s a big responsibility, and with that comes a lot of pressure as well.
“Not only do students learn what it takes to raise a child, but how it affects your daily life. A lot of students realize if they have an infant at home it changes their schedule completely. It wakes you up at night, it’s very tiring,” Sorzano says.
When you receive the robot babies, participants care for it over the course of one weekend. It may seem short, but when it’s awake every hour screaming or crying for attention, those hours can drag on. When the child starts crying, students are instructed to figure out what is wrong with it and tend to its needs immediately. They can do one of four things; feed it, change it, rock it, or burp it. If its needs aren’t met, the child will become unruly, simulating that of a newborn.
The experience is different for everyone, but if students think they have what it takes they can register for child development and try it out for themselves.
Arvada West’s child development course is one of high regard, with new experiences and chances around every corner. If students are interested in taking this class when it comes to choosing courses next year, child development will be there as an elective, taught by Mrs. Sorzano once again.