Exploring the use of outdoor play to support children's development in Essay

Exploring the use of outdoor play to support children's development in a nursery in Beckton - Essay Example One strategy seen as such is outdoor play. How useful, beneficial and challenging it is are the issues this study seeks to answer. 2.2. Significance This study can be significant in varied ways: It can be an impetus for the development of outdoor play as a vital strategy in providing meaningful early learning experiences to children; It can provide useful insights for policy making and curriculum development in nursery and pre-elementary education; and It can provide useful information for education stakeholders (school, family, community) in making use of outdoor play to promote the child’s total development. 2.3. Motivation Providing children with the best possible learning experiences that would make them enjoy schooling is what motivated the researcher to work on this topic. Knowing that children love to play, the researcher finds it interestingly relevant to explore the use of outdoor play to support children’s development, especially so that outdoor play had tradi tionally been the main strategy of nursery education (Lindon 2001, p. 125). As such underlying this study is the belief that a well-planned and well-supervised outdoor play would spell a big difference in children’s early development. 2.4. ... Introduction Learning should bring out the best in every individual. It should be enjoying and desirable especially learning in early years – the child’s formative years. Thus nursery schools must provide young children with meaningful learning experiences that would exploit their very nature – love for play. Play is inherent to a child’s growing-up. It helps develop the child physically, socially, psychologically, mentally and emotionally. This long-held belief has been affirmed consistently for years, showing how outdoor play supports the children’s development and what beneficial effects and challenges it entails. 3.2. Outdoor Play: Looking Back The central role of outdoor play in developing life skills in children may be traced back to Plato and Aristotle, with Plato defining the nursery stage (3 to 6 years) as the child’s period for playing and hearing children’s story and fairy tales; whereas Aristotle cited the need for children to be active and energetic as best acquired through outdoor play. (Frost 2010, pp. 10, 12) This antiquated view is consistently confirmed by later scholars essentially implying outdoor play as the best humane way of seeking one’s self-identity, worth and friendship. Since 19th century when childhood has been established as a distinct period of human life, the value of outdoor play to the child’s total development has been furthered. Noteworthy are the works of â€Å"Jean Jacques Rosseau, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Friedrich Froebel, Patty Smith Hill, Rachel McMillan and Margaret McMillan† (Wellhousen 2002, p. x). Their recognition of the educational importance of outdoor play – pioneered by Froebel and continued by Margaret McMillan (Thomas & Harding 2011, p. 13) – have made outdoor play together with

In the context of environmental toxicology, what does 'heavy metal' Essay

In the context of environmental toxicology, what does 'heavy metal' actually mean - Essay Example However, this assumption has no fundamental basis on the available toxicological or chemical data. Legal regulations have specified an inventory of heavy metals applied in various situations. There is no definition that is authoritative in literatures that are relevant. There is a tendency of assuming that all heavy metals in conjunction with their compounds have properties that are highly eco-toxic or toxic. Arguably, this assumption has no prove in toxicological or chemical data. Hence, the term heavy metal is misleading and meaningless. Furthermore, the word metal is also misused in legislation and toxicological data. In these literatures it is used to mean a metal that is pure and the entire species chemical in which it occurs. This is untrue because, all pure metals can not exhibit similar toxicological and chemical properties. For purposes of avoiding the term heavy metal, there is need for reclassification of the periodic table as people refer to the term heavy metal as mislea ding and meaningless. The change in classification should mirror individuals understanding of toxicity chemical basis and provide room for the prediction of toxic impacts. Classification of heavy metals The increased worry on environmental pollution reduction has triggered the continued literature and research on heavy metals toxicology (Rabajczyk et al., 2011). Heavy metals emit their toxic substances through the formation of complexes with compounds that are organic. These eventually results to formation of modified biological molecules that lose their functioning ability. The outcome is affected cell malfunction or death. The most common heavy metals that form organic compounds that are complex are such as oxygen, sulfur and nitrogen. Classification of heavy metals is done depending on which class it lies. For example class A belong to the hard metals, class be identifies soft metals and lastly we have the intermediate metals. Heavy metals such as Mercury, Lead and cadmium fall u nder class B which represents soft metals. On the other hand chromium is an intermediate metal. The classification of these metals varies depending on their chemical formula. How Heavy Metal Occurs in the Environment Through causes that are both anthropogenic and natural, heavy metals find their way into the environment. The major emission causes are human sources such as mining operations. Heavy metals are exposed into the environment in forms that are both inorganic and organic. Anthropogenic sources of emissions occur from both point and non-point sources such as industrial areas such as present and previous sites of mining, smelters and foundries and by-products and traffics combustion. The pollution of the environment by heavy metals is acute in mining locations and it decreases as the distance widens from those mining sites. The heavy metals are often leached into the soil and ground water. Those in sloppy areas find their way into the water bodies through surface runoff. The heavy metals eventually attach themselves to the sediments whilst some leak into the waters underground resulting to their contamination. Underground and surface water sources heavy metal contamination leads to soil pollution. Exposure of the heavy metals to air and rain is via dumping on the surface soil. Pollution of Agricultural soils results to the uptake of the heavy metals by plants resulting to their accumulation in the plant tissues. These consequently happen to those marine animals and domestic