Lia Simon

Human infants and children are simultaneously the most adept learners, yet the least able to care for themselves. This course will wrestle with understanding how children’s development is shaped by human capacities and by the ways in which family, friends, and the larger community influence the maturational process. Through lectures, discussions, activities, and first-hand observations of children at the Child Study Center, we will examine children’s social, cognitive, emotional, perceptual, physical, and language development and try to understand how they relate to one another from conception (or before!) through early adolescence. Special attention will be given to public policy issues related to education, parenting, and children’s rights in the international community.