Development

The present chapter is devoted to a disquisition upon human development and its intimate relation to the acquisition of knowledge. By 'development' we signify those mutations over time which adhere to an orderly design and conduce to the preservation of existence. Such changes are of a progressive nature—eschewing the sudden or spasmodic—and transpire throughout the entire duration of life, rather than manifesting at a singular juncture. Though this matter is of paramount import to the pedagogue, it remains, as the aforementioned scenario illustrates, a subject of spirited disputation. All too often, the phenomenon of development is accepted as a matter of course. In preceding chapters, divers principles of learning were elucidated; yet, these do not exist in a vacuum. Indeed, one might preface every canon of learning with the proviso: 'Presuming a commensurate degree of development...' To cite an instance: in our discourse upon the formation of memory networks, we observed that students establish links between items of information. The capacity to effect such unions improves with maturation. Students of more advanced years possess more extensive networks of memory and are thereby enabled to forge connections which are beyond the grasp of their younger counterparts.