Week 2: Kimberly Kusturin Thoughts on week 2 readings focusing on Freud & Erikson

From the start of this week’s reading, I found it very interesting.  The example of the elevator was very relatable to me.  I have been in that situation before where you all stand in awkward silence.  Even more, I can relate to the person who wants to test the theory by saying “hi there.”  I do this literally every morning at work.  I say “hello, good morning” every day to over 60 kids that walk through my door and some adults.  I, on a good day, get 5 to 15 hellos’, give or take, back and that includes the adults.  Some kids, when they see that they are nearing where I stand will look down or walk faster.  After 8 months of school I would have liked that number to be much higher.  Although I do have a few that try to say hi before I do.  I will do my best to make that number higher by June.

So, when reading this week’s chapter I recognized some phrases and terms I have heard or used, not knowing when and by whom they came from.  I took a few early childhood classes years back and I think that’s where some of my knowledge of some of these theories come from. As well as working closely with my school social worker and psychologist for the population of students I work with.  There were many theories to read by many of the most well known in this field.  Some things I understood where they were coming from and can see their points but some were just too technical for me and I didn’t understand their thinking.  Table 2.4 on page 47 is a great comparison table for each man's theory.  The two that stuck out to me the most were Freud born in 1856 and Erikson born in 1902.  I wanted to look up their ages to see if that would help me understand the times in which their theories were made and the years these men grew up in.  There is a 46-year difference between the two men not to mention a huge difference in time and culture as well as countries and I wonder how much of their societies and cultures their own theories influenced them growing up.  Did they develop as their theories suggest?

Freud and Erikson point out how important childhood and the stages of development are and it is vital to personality development.  I have worked in a regular ed and a special ed preschool for a couple of years and I saw firsthand how true Freud and Erikson were on the importance of the early stages of one’s life. Both theories have somewhat similar but Erikson broke it down a little more than Freud.  Freud’s idea was called Psychoanalytical Theory which focused on the power of one’s unconscious mind (page 29).  He believed we possess ideas and impulses that we are not aware of but it comes out in our behavior.  Freud breaks his theory into 5 stages, the last being the Genital Stage from age 12 and older.  Erikson theory called the Psychosocial Theory (which I like better then Freud’s theory), breaking down the age groups further to include all stages of life in more depth (12-18, 18-25, 25-65 and 65 and older).  I especially like that 25-65, he considered middle age. 

Both men agree each stage have conflicts and struggles which Erikson calls the Identity Crisis (page 33).  Freud's conflict focuses on pleasure centers (pleasure seeking) or sex (page 30) while Erikson's theory takes a psychosocial approach for a lack of a better term.  Society and acceptance is what Erikson feels our whole lives are shaped by those needs.  Freud focused on the sexual development as his focus throughout his stages. I find Erikson’s theory more relatable and understandable.  And knowing the time in which they grew up makes sense.   

One other person I’d like to talk about is Albert Bandura (page 40).  I honestly have never heard of him till I read about him in this chapter.  But his Social Cognitive Learning theory is something I use.  I work in a special ed self-contained classroom.  There are 6 students and 3 have Autism, one had LD and behavioral issues, one has severe ADHD and cannot be medicated due to a medical issue and lastly, one student who is slower than his peers and is a hearing student with two deaf parents which is his only issue.  All of them are so smart and Bandura’s theory on modeling, observational learning and social learning is what I use on an almost daily basis with these students.  My class is considered by my district to be a life skills class and these are critical concepts in our classroom.