In her book Genie: A Psycholinguistic Study of a Modern-Day Wild Child, Susan Curtiss (1977) described a girl (whom Curtiss called Genie to protect her privacy) who had been raised with little exposure to language. Convinced that his daughter was retarded and unmanageable, Genie's father kept her almost constantly confined to a small room in the house. Genie's life was one of physical abuse, neglect, and isolation from the outside world. The family rarely spoke to her, and she had no access to either television or radio. Finally, when Genie was 13, she, her mother, and an older brother left the home that Genie's father had made so unbearable. Shortly after, social services authorities became aware of Genie's situation and hospitalized her for severe malnutrition. At the time, Genie had only two words in her speaking vocabulary and understood fewer than 20 words. In more nurturing care over the next 41/2 years, Genie gradually learned many more words, but she never did acquire the grammar of a typical 4- or 5-year-old. Which one of the following concepts does this situation best illustrate?
a. Universality
b. A sensitive period
c. The role of maturation
d. The role of temperament
Question 2
Ms. Fernandez is a first year teacher who wants to maintain good classroom management, but also wants her students to learn in a caring community Which of the following might you include in your recommendations to her?
a. Keep your focus on teacher control.
b. Minimize student autonomy.
c. Develop positive relationships with students.
d. Begin by avoiding one-on-one interactions with students.