Grace Allport - BTEC Tech Award HSC - Component 1 - Learning Aim A
Muhammad Ali
Introduction
Muhammad Ali was born January 17th, 1942 and died June 3rd,
2016 (aged 74). He lived in Louisville, Kentucky, USA at the
time of racial segregation. Ali was a professional boxer in the
USA and had a successful boxing career throughout his life.
I am going to discussing Muhammad Ali’s life through three different life stages: early
childhood, adolescence and middle adulthood. Over his life stages, he has grown and
developed physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially.
Early childhood (3-8 years)
P – At a young age, Ali was playing with toys, using his fine and gross motor skills to play
with toys. Ali would have used his gross motor skills to play with his friends such as running
or skipping. At the start of his early childhood (ages three to four), Ali would have had better
upper body mobility which would of led to the development of catching a ball or waving his
hands around, which is part of his gross motor skills. As he when through the stages of early
childhood (ages four to five), his muscle strength and bone strength would of continued to
get stronger as he would have been able to walk up and down the stairs and would have
been able to run, skip and jump. At age four to five, Ali would be able to use his fine motor
skills in order to hold a pen and to hold small objects. At the age of five to six, Ali’s mobility
would have been the best it can be in this stage as he would be able to run faster and could
ride a bike with stables.
I – At age five, Ali would have learnt to communicate and developed his language by talking
and babbling to his family and newly made friends at school. At a young age, Ali wouldn’t
have had a fully developed brain yet so he would not remember certain things. At age four
to five, Ali would have been inquisitive about the world around him and engage in more
imaginative play with his friends. By age four, Ali would have had a limited vocabulary of
around 900 to 1,500 words, however would have been able to say short statements if asked
questions. By the time Ali had gone to school at age five, he would have known 2,100 to
2,200 word vocabulary. At ages five to six, his language development would be very good as
he would be able to speak fluently and understand grammar to build more complex
sentences. When Ali was a child, he didn't understand how society made distinctions about
race and how much those distinctions mattered.
E - Ali would have had a bond with his family as they are close to him and most important
to him. As a child, he would be independent when playing on his own. Ali would have no
preference of hair or clothes as he wouldn’t fully understand. Growing up, he may have
temper tantrums if he didn’t get what he wanted and may have had rapid mood swings. This
links into attachment as at this time in Ali’s life, he would have had a bond with his parents.
In early childhood, Ali may have had anxiety and preferencing when alone, afraid or
concerned. This was studied by Schaffer and Emerson, who developed three stages in which
a child or infant feels distressed or worried: stranger anxiety, separation anxiety and social
1
, Grace Allport - BTEC Tech Award HSC - Component 1 - Learning Aim A
referencing. By age four, Ali would have been in the multiple stage, where Ali may have felt
distressed due to the arrival of strangers (stranger anxiety). Ali may have had a social
preference to learn how to mirror adult behaviour (social referencing). Throughout early
childhood, Ali may have had separation anxiety when separated from his family, due to him
being distressed if he had a lack of comfort from people he knew. Ali would have developed
his emotions and would have learnt to express new emotions such as shyness, surprise,
euphoria, shame, guilt, pride, etc. Physical development can help the improvement of
emotional development because the brain is still growing into early childhood, allowing Ali
to set the stage for new emotions and feelings.
S – Muhammad Ali would have been playing with his friends and formed relationships such
as friendships. He would have built a relationship with his family and friends, in particular
his brother, and would learn to share things with him. At school (age five to eight), Ali
would have gone through multiple stages of play in order to socialise and learn with others.
In onlooker play, Ali would have been watching and learning but not joining in with other
people. In parallel play, Ali would have been copying and mimicking others. In associative
play, Ali would have become more interested in joining others and began to ask questions,
which would improve his social skills and language development, making them stronger. In
cooperative play, Ali would be confident to play with others and would be socially strong,
being able to have abstract and creative thinking and be able to talk to his new friends while
playing. School would helped with the process of socialisation because he would have met
new friends at school and teachers would of helped him interact with other students
Adolescence (9-18 years)
P – Muhammad Ali started boxing at a young age as it helped him be less afraid of fighting.
There would be a change in his hair, clothes, routines, etc. When Ali was aged nine to
fourteen, Ali would have gone through puberty, and this would of changed his body a lot. At
age thirteen to fourteen, an example of primary sexual characteristic would be that his
testes enlarge and produce sperm. A secondary sexual characteristic would be the growth of
facial hair, increased muscle and strength, a growth spurt and his voice box grows, making it
deeper. By taking on boxing, he would be very fit and healthy however he would have had a
risk of injury if something went wrong during his boxing. Ali would have had growth patterns
during adolescence and this would have changed his body, organs, skin, etc. His body would
have started to produce sex hormones at the beginning of puberty at age thirteen or later.
Intellectual development can help the improvement of physical development because in
adolescence, Ali can now learn how to take care of himself and how to treat his body right.
I - Ali was dyslexic, which led to difficulties in reading and writing at school and for much of
his life. During adolescence, Ali didn’t like going to school much. This may have affected him
because he would not be learning and may have had trouble understanding things at school.
At adolescence, Ali would be willing to push more boundaries of difficulty. Ali would have
the ability to recall and remember more things. Ali would be able to think of new ideas and
questions new possibilities, such as when he started boxing. Ali would have abstract
thinking and creative thinking in order to solve problems or create something new. Social
2
Muhammad Ali
Introduction
Muhammad Ali was born January 17th, 1942 and died June 3rd,
2016 (aged 74). He lived in Louisville, Kentucky, USA at the
time of racial segregation. Ali was a professional boxer in the
USA and had a successful boxing career throughout his life.
I am going to discussing Muhammad Ali’s life through three different life stages: early
childhood, adolescence and middle adulthood. Over his life stages, he has grown and
developed physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially.
Early childhood (3-8 years)
P – At a young age, Ali was playing with toys, using his fine and gross motor skills to play
with toys. Ali would have used his gross motor skills to play with his friends such as running
or skipping. At the start of his early childhood (ages three to four), Ali would have had better
upper body mobility which would of led to the development of catching a ball or waving his
hands around, which is part of his gross motor skills. As he when through the stages of early
childhood (ages four to five), his muscle strength and bone strength would of continued to
get stronger as he would have been able to walk up and down the stairs and would have
been able to run, skip and jump. At age four to five, Ali would be able to use his fine motor
skills in order to hold a pen and to hold small objects. At the age of five to six, Ali’s mobility
would have been the best it can be in this stage as he would be able to run faster and could
ride a bike with stables.
I – At age five, Ali would have learnt to communicate and developed his language by talking
and babbling to his family and newly made friends at school. At a young age, Ali wouldn’t
have had a fully developed brain yet so he would not remember certain things. At age four
to five, Ali would have been inquisitive about the world around him and engage in more
imaginative play with his friends. By age four, Ali would have had a limited vocabulary of
around 900 to 1,500 words, however would have been able to say short statements if asked
questions. By the time Ali had gone to school at age five, he would have known 2,100 to
2,200 word vocabulary. At ages five to six, his language development would be very good as
he would be able to speak fluently and understand grammar to build more complex
sentences. When Ali was a child, he didn't understand how society made distinctions about
race and how much those distinctions mattered.
E - Ali would have had a bond with his family as they are close to him and most important
to him. As a child, he would be independent when playing on his own. Ali would have no
preference of hair or clothes as he wouldn’t fully understand. Growing up, he may have
temper tantrums if he didn’t get what he wanted and may have had rapid mood swings. This
links into attachment as at this time in Ali’s life, he would have had a bond with his parents.
In early childhood, Ali may have had anxiety and preferencing when alone, afraid or
concerned. This was studied by Schaffer and Emerson, who developed three stages in which
a child or infant feels distressed or worried: stranger anxiety, separation anxiety and social
1
, Grace Allport - BTEC Tech Award HSC - Component 1 - Learning Aim A
referencing. By age four, Ali would have been in the multiple stage, where Ali may have felt
distressed due to the arrival of strangers (stranger anxiety). Ali may have had a social
preference to learn how to mirror adult behaviour (social referencing). Throughout early
childhood, Ali may have had separation anxiety when separated from his family, due to him
being distressed if he had a lack of comfort from people he knew. Ali would have developed
his emotions and would have learnt to express new emotions such as shyness, surprise,
euphoria, shame, guilt, pride, etc. Physical development can help the improvement of
emotional development because the brain is still growing into early childhood, allowing Ali
to set the stage for new emotions and feelings.
S – Muhammad Ali would have been playing with his friends and formed relationships such
as friendships. He would have built a relationship with his family and friends, in particular
his brother, and would learn to share things with him. At school (age five to eight), Ali
would have gone through multiple stages of play in order to socialise and learn with others.
In onlooker play, Ali would have been watching and learning but not joining in with other
people. In parallel play, Ali would have been copying and mimicking others. In associative
play, Ali would have become more interested in joining others and began to ask questions,
which would improve his social skills and language development, making them stronger. In
cooperative play, Ali would be confident to play with others and would be socially strong,
being able to have abstract and creative thinking and be able to talk to his new friends while
playing. School would helped with the process of socialisation because he would have met
new friends at school and teachers would of helped him interact with other students
Adolescence (9-18 years)
P – Muhammad Ali started boxing at a young age as it helped him be less afraid of fighting.
There would be a change in his hair, clothes, routines, etc. When Ali was aged nine to
fourteen, Ali would have gone through puberty, and this would of changed his body a lot. At
age thirteen to fourteen, an example of primary sexual characteristic would be that his
testes enlarge and produce sperm. A secondary sexual characteristic would be the growth of
facial hair, increased muscle and strength, a growth spurt and his voice box grows, making it
deeper. By taking on boxing, he would be very fit and healthy however he would have had a
risk of injury if something went wrong during his boxing. Ali would have had growth patterns
during adolescence and this would have changed his body, organs, skin, etc. His body would
have started to produce sex hormones at the beginning of puberty at age thirteen or later.
Intellectual development can help the improvement of physical development because in
adolescence, Ali can now learn how to take care of himself and how to treat his body right.
I - Ali was dyslexic, which led to difficulties in reading and writing at school and for much of
his life. During adolescence, Ali didn’t like going to school much. This may have affected him
because he would not be learning and may have had trouble understanding things at school.
At adolescence, Ali would be willing to push more boundaries of difficulty. Ali would have
the ability to recall and remember more things. Ali would be able to think of new ideas and
questions new possibilities, such as when he started boxing. Ali would have abstract
thinking and creative thinking in order to solve problems or create something new. Social
2
