why is the study of literature important for children? ETL402 reflection

Attempting to reflect on a heavy reading load and two very challenging pieces of assessment, I find two significant ideas in particular will remain with me from this summer semester course, ETL402 Literature Across the Curriculum:

  1. the power of stories
  2. the importance of the transaction between reader and text

Haven’s (2007) evidence for the importance of story, story reading, and storytelling and its impact on the brain development and education of children, reinforced for me the imperative that the role of the Teacher Librarian in schools must be maintained and embellished. Story is an essential element of education – narrative structure is a powerful inquiry that opens up an important relationship between the role of the Teacher Librarian and the students within their school, and the possibilities of significant collaborations with teaching staff from all key learning areas – based around quality literature.

This revelation was then deepened by an exploration into the values of children’s literature:

  • literature develops social awareness – it can highlight important social and moral concerns (Harris, 1990)
  • literature offers vicarious experiences – it helps children deal with their problems
  • literature reinforces the narrative as a way of thinking (Huck, Hepler, Hickman, & Kiefer, 1976)
  • literature develops the imagination (Gaiman, 2013)
  • literature reveals literary and artistic preferences – picturebooks develop visual literacy – the power of the postmodern picturebook
  • literature provides reading for background knowledge in curricular areas
  • literature develops thinking skills

The power behind this understanding is that stories are a better (more effective and efficient) way to teach and to communicate (Haven, 2007). The bottom line here is that stories are remembered – they are a more efficient and more accurate way to support and sustain learning with a higher accuracy in recall (Haven, 2007). Better than any other way! This transaction between reader and text provides a new and powerful experience in life (Rosenblatt, 1956).

Returning to the blog posts that I have written in this course:

reminds me of just how much work is involved in getting to know our library collection and using it to support learning in my school through collaboration with classroom teachers. This is an ongoing challenge and requires diligent effort.

Also, an assumption hidden in the Marcoux and Loertscher reading (Marcoux & Loertscher, 2009) that “all Pre-K-12 classroom teachers are knowledgeable in building reading skills” made me pause for consideration. It is my view that many faculty areas do not actively participate in engaging students in reading and are unaware of the missed opportunity that lies hidden within the focus of the second assignment – the power of literary learning. The continued preoccupation with marching through a content dense curriculum without a focus on powerful and engaging literature, in a wide variety of formats and delivery methods, is a significant missed opportunity for engagement with our students.

I found the readings on Digital Literature of particular interest as we begin the 2016 school year. Budget decisions as we juggle the provision of literature in print and digital formats must be patron driven, and I continue to question the cost vs benefit of establishing eBook platforms. The challenge also continues to clarify the role of the Teacher Librarian in the acquisition of new literacies particular to the networked, hyperlinked and interactive model of communication and information transmission, and the trends in interactive media (Friedlander, 2013).

Looking forward into the 2016 school year and beyond, another challenge emerges as this course concludes… convincing staff from all curriculums that the literature we invest in has significant potential for learning in their key learning area, and student engagement, support of adolescent reading skills, development of thinking skills, use of technology for learning… and so much more… can be incorporated into literary learning if they are willing to give it a try.

 

References:

Friedlander, A. (November 26, 2013) Ten trends in interactive media for children from dust or Magic, Retrieved from http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2013/ten-trends-in-interactive-media-for-children-from-dust-or-magic/

Gaiman, N. (2013, Oct 16). Why our futures depend on libraries, reading, and imagination. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming

Harris, V.J. (1990) Benefits of Children’s Literature. In The Journal of Negro Education. Vol. 59, No. 4 (Autumn, 1990), pp. 538-539

Haven, K. F. (2007). Story proof: the science behind the startling power of story. Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited. Retrieved from EBook Library

Hogg, D. (2015a) Who will be the drivers of change? [online] Retrieved from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/debhoggoz/2015/11/10/who-will-be-the-drivers-of-change/

Hogg, D. (2015b) Key elements of children’s literature. [online] Retrieved from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/debhoggoz/2015/11/29/key-elements-of-childrens-literature/

Hogg, D. (2015c)  Evaluating the quality of children’s literature. [online] Retrieved from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/debhoggoz/2016/01/10/evaluating-the-quality-of-childrens-literature/

Hogg, D. (2015d) Digging deep into the picturebook collection. [online] Retrieved from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/debhoggoz/2016/01/20/digging-deep-into-the-picturebook-collection/

Huck, C. S., Hepler, S. I., Hickman, J., & Kiefer, B. Z. (1976). Children’s literature in the elementary world. Harcourt: Brace, Jovanovich.

Marcoux, E., & Loertscher, D. V. (2009). The role of a school library in a school’s reading program. Teacher Librarian, 37(1), 8–14,84.

Rosenblatt, L.M. (1956) “The Acid Test for Literature Teaching.” English Journal Vol. 45 No.2 (1956), pp. 66–74.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *