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 * Sharon Harris September 9, 2011**

**Chapter 1- Home, School and Community Influences on Children’s Lives**


 * ** Information from the Text ** ||  ** Personal Reflections **  ||
 * ** Main Ideas: The academic success of children as well as their perceptions and attitudes towards learning are shaped in the following social settings: home, school and community. During the early years the home has a strong influence over children, while during the preschool and kindergarten years school has an increasing influence, and community influence grows in the primary years. ** || ** This finding supports the notion that we are a product of our environment suggesting that are our thoughts and perceptions are developed in the incubators of home, school and community. ** ||
 * ** Age Levels and Influence, pg. 14 **
 * “The community, home, school, peers and media exert a greater or lesser influence on children’s learning depending on the age of the child concerned.” ** || ** When I was growing up the most powerful influence in my life through high school was my home. The only person that I strove to please was my mother. Her expectations pertaining my behavior, and academic performance were established and it was my responsibility to perform as expected. As result, I had a healthy fear of non compliance. Unfortunately, many of today’s youth do not revere their parents, so you can’t expect them to revere their teachers. ** ||
 * ** Federal Agencies as Special-Interest Groups, pg. 18 **
 * “Standardized tests have become common in schools, and in recent years, we have seen even greater use of tests because of the NCLB Act.” ** || ** Although there is now a great deal of emphasis on standardized tests this is nothing new. As someone that was educated in the New York Public School system during the 1970’s students were required to pass the various Regents exams in various subject in order to graduate from high school. Students that did not meet the requirement received high school certificates not a diploma. ** ||
 * ** Peer Group Influence, pg. 9 **
 * “The peer group can influence what the child values, knows, wears, eats and, learns.” ** || ** The power of the peers can be seen in the middle school setting. These youth are more concerned with their peer perceptions than anyone else. This power is especially difficult to combat in youth with parents or guardians that are not actively involved in their education. For those youth, the primary reason for attending school is to socialize. Therefore, they come to school unprepared i.e., no books, pen, or pencils, and are out of uniform even when a uniform is required. ** ||
 * ** “I wonder why adolescents are apathetic about learning.” ** || ** “Maybe because they are seduced by the riches and notoriety of those they look up to. Specifically, celebrities, athletes. In addition, if they reside in crime infested communities, where murder is rampant, education is low on the list of priorities. ** ||