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Urie Bronfenbrenner

Urie Bronfenbrenner Quotes

Psychologist

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Famous Urie Bronfenbrenner Quotes

“If the children and youth of a nation are afforded opportunity to develop their capacities to the fullest, if they are given the knowledge to understand the world and the wisdom to change it, then the prospects for the future are bright. In contrast, a society which neglects its children, however well it may function in other respects, risks eventual disorganization and demise.”

IfsWorldWellsMayChildrenOpportunityGivenNationsEducationRiskYouthCapacityFunctionNeglectContrastProspectsDemiseDisorganization
Book:2 Wrlds Childhood
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“We as a nation need to be reeducated about the necessary and sufficient conditions for making human beings human. We need to be reeducated not as parents--but as workers, neighbors, and friends; and as members of the organizations, committees, boards--and, especially, the informal networks that control our social institutions and thereby determine the conditions of life for our families and their children.”

NeedsHumansChildrenNationsSocialParentHuman BeingsEducationSocietyConditionsMembersOrganizationInstitutionsWorkersDetermineNeighborOur FamilyBoardsSufficientCommitteesBeing HumanSocial InstitutionsNeighbors And Friends
Author:Urie Bronfenbrenner
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“Witness the American ideal: the Self-Made Man. But there is no such person. If we can stand on our own two feet, it is because others have raised us up. If, as adults, we can lay claim to competence and compassion, it only means that other human beings have been willing and enabled to commit their competence and compassion to us--through infancy, childhood, and adolescence, right up to this very moment.”

IfsMenHumansMeanPersonsHas BeensMadeTwoSelfMomentsHuman BeingsCompassionFeetChildhoodWillingAdultsIdealsClaimsLaysRaisedCommitWitnessAdolescenceCompetenceInfancySelf MadeSelf Made Man
Author:Urie Bronfenbrenner
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“In today's world parents find themselves at the mercy of a society which imposes pressures and priorities that allow neither timenor place for meaningful activities and relations between children and adults, which downgrade the role of parents and the functions of parenthood, and which prevent the parent from doing things he wants to do as a guide, friend, and companion to his children.”

WorldWantChildrenTodayParentRolesActivityAdultsMercyFunctionRelationPressureGuidesPrioritiesMeaningfulCompanionParenthoodToday's World
Book:2 Wrlds Childhood
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“If the Russians have gone too far in subjecting the child and his peer group to conformity to a single set of values imposed by the adult society, perhaps we have reached the point of diminishing returns in allowing excessive autonomy and in failing to utilize the constructive potential of the peer group in developing social responsibility and consideration for others.”

IfsChildrenValuesSocialResponsibilityGoneFailingGroupsReturnAdultsDevelopingConsiderationConformityAllowingPeersSocial ResponsibilityAutonomyConstructivePeer GroupConsideration For OthersDiminishing Returns
Book:2 Wrlds Childhood
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“Thus if we know a child has had sufficient opportunity to observe and acquire a behavioral sequence, and we know he is physically capable of performing the act but does not do so, then it is reasonable to assume that it is motivation which is lacking. The appropriate countermeasure then involves increasing the subjective value of the desired act relative to any competing response tendencies he might have, rather than having the model senselessly repeat an already redundant sequence of behavior.”

IfsKnowsChildrenDoeMightMotivationValuesOpportunityBehaviorCapableModelsAssumingResponseTendenciesPerformingSufficientRepeatsReasonableAcquireAppropriateRelativeLackingCompetingSubjectiveSequenceRedundant
Book:2 Wrlds Childhood
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“In order to develop normally, a child requires progressively more complex joint activity with one or more adults who have an irrational emotional relationship with the child. Somebody's got to be crazy about that kid. That's number one. First, last and always.”

FirstsChildrenKidsLastsOrderNumbersPsychologyCrazyEmotionalActivityAdultsComplexesDevelopingIrrationalJointsRaising ChildrenBeing CrazyLoving ChildrenEmotional Relationship
Author:Urie Bronfenbrenner
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“In the United States, it is now possible for a person eighteen years of age, female as well as male, to graduate from high school, college, or university without ever having cared for, or even held, a baby; without ever having looked after someone who was old, ill, or lonely; or without ever having comforted or assisted another human being who really needed help... No society can long sustain itself unless its members have learned the sensitivities, motivations, and skills involved in assisting and caring for other human beings.”

YearsHumansWellsPersonsLongStatesHelpingAgeSchoolMotivationHuman BeingsUnitedUnited StatesCollegeBabyNeededInvolvedSkillsMembersHigh SchoolFemaleMalesUniversityCaringGraduatesSensitivityEighteenCaring For OthersAssistingGraduating High SchoolNeeded Help
Author:Urie Bronfenbrenner
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“One of the most significant effects of age-segregation in our society has been the isolation of children from the world of work. Whereas in the past children not only saw what their parents did for a living but even shared substantially in the task, many children nowadays have only a vague notion of the nature of the parent's job, and have had little or no opportunity to observe the parent, or for that matter any other adult, when he is fully engaged in his work.”

WorldChildrenLittlesHas BeensMatterAgeJobsPastOpportunityParentSawsEffectsAdultsTasksNotionSignificantEngagedIsolationOur SocietyVagueSegregation
Book:Two worlds of childhood: U.S. and U.S.S.R.
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“In the planning and designing of new communities, housing projects, and urban renewal, the planners both private and public, need to give explicit consideration to the kind of world that is being created for the children who will be growing up in these settings. Particular attention should be given to the opportunities which the environment presents or precludes for involvement of children both older and younger than themselves.”

WorldNeedsGivingShouldKindChildrenOpportunityGivenCommunityCitiesAttentionGrowing UpEnvironmentGrowingDesignParticularProjectsPlanningSettingSettingsConsiderationUrbanHousingRenewalInvolvementExplicitPlannersUrban PlanningCity PlanningUrban Renewal
Book:Two worlds of childhood: U.S. and U.S.S.R.
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“Like the sorcerer of old, the television set casts its magic spell, freezing speech and action and turning the living into silent statues so long as the enchantment lasts. The primary danger of the television screen lies not so much in the behavior it produces as the behavior it prevents — the talks, the games, the family festivities and arguments.”

PeopleChildrenLongCharacterActionLastsLyingTurnsGamesProcessMagicDangerProduceTelevisionCommunicationSpeechBehaviorSilentCastsScreensPrimariesSpellsStatuesEnchantmentTurn OffFreezingFestivities
Author:Urie Bronfenbrenner
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