The nature versus nurture debate will always be an aspect in all of the various opinions

and theories of philosophers and educators (Berk, 2013). I believe that to a certain extent, we
already contain a genetic makeup of what we would have the potential to be able to achieve
(nature) and what our behaviors we will possess (nurture). However, through the combination of
resources and interactions that we are exposed to, our embedded gifts and personalities will be
manifested.
Urie Bronfenbrenner is one of a few theorists that I admire. His famous ecological
systems theory explains how society as a whole influences a childs overall development.
Because of his research, we are now aware of the fact that a childs parents, peers, social settings
(mall, church, school, Boy/ Girl scouts, the YMCA, etc.) all have a variety of influences on him
or her. Therefore, when the child becomes an adult, these influences would have had a profound
effect on how this childs personality will be formed.
Another phenomenal theorist is Jean Piaget. What he brought to the field of child
development was the process of how children think and learn. When the child has the
opportunity to engage within their environment, they are creating experiences form which they
will learn how to assimilate and accommodate (Siegler & Alibali, 2005). In other words, the
more children are exposed to a variety educational manipulatives and social contexts, the more
they would be able to store information away in their memory bank, and then process it in such
a way that should a need arise, they would know how to adapt to the situation (equilibration).
Last, but not least, Lev Vygotsky. Like the previous theorists, Vygotsky viewed the way
children learn in interacting within the environment, primarily by socializing as well as how they
think (Berk, 2013). Children derive from various cultural backgrounds, therefore conditioning

them in every aspect in how to interact with others is extremely important. The most prevalent
form in how children learn and communicate is through play (Van Hoorn, Nourot, Scales, &
Alward, 2011). Play is the foundation in which language, socialization, and problem solving,
among others, develop. According to Vygotsky, children advance themselves through dramatic
play by way of imitating what they see and hear (Berk, 2013).
I believe children learn best by other children as well as when adults model the
appropriate behaviors. This is why teachers, parents, and specialists need to allow for inclusion
of all students in classrooms, regardless of handicap and / or intellectual disabilities. Having all
inclusion classrooms would benefit them by them being able to interact with their fellow
classmates. Inclusion materials that contain Braille and other various textures could assist blind
children. Having tables / desks, hand bars and ramps will help children with handicaps. There are
numerous ways to modify a classroom for students with disabilities.