Chapter two discusses the history of Children's Literature. I had never really thought much about the fact that children were viewed as lesser members of society and therefore there was little effort spent on creating entertainment for them. This saddens me.
I grew up in the 70's and 80's and my parents were very big into reading to us, and I grew up watching them read. My dad read science fiction books, by Isaac Asimov, and my mom was addicted to Johanna Lindsey. I always looked to reading as a form of entertainment, and still read, although right now, I'm just reading text books.
My question for others are, who do you think is most responsible for shifting the emphasis of literature to encompass children as well as adults?
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Ch.2. I find history, how it has affected our lives now, how we still use it or have dismissed it, very interesting. It was especially interesting to me to learn how children were considered small versions of adults and should act accordingly. I had known this about that era, but was not aware of how it played out in children’s literature. Thinking back to when I was young (late 70s), folktales and fairy tales were what we mostly read or heard read to us. We did try to liken ourselves to these characters we heard about. I think this is still true of today. Children will always try to find ways of explaining things that are hard for them to understand and literature is a wonderful way of exploring those ideas. In teaching my two at home and having lead other classrooms, I have found that these age old fables and fairytales coupled with the plethora of children’s literature that we have available to us now is the best mix. My question would be that of sorting through all we have available and finding the most appropriate books for our lessons.
Chapter 2- This was a very informative chapter because it discusses the history of literature. I thought it was amazing that 'stories' have been around since the 1400s.The chapter went through the different books that were published through the early years.I especially liked reading about the creation of Mother Goose rhymes. I still love reading nursery rhymes to my children. They love them too.
The chapter shows how powerful children's literature really is. To think that something that was created hundreds of years ago, is still interesting to us. As a matter of fact, I think we are more attracted to the older stories than the modern ones. The chapter also talks about the earlier illustrations to many of these stories. These are also very attractive to us. I think the illustrators took their time and added a lot of detail to the pictures. I do like a lot of the modern artwork but again, nothing really compares to some of the early work.
My question to you would be: Why are we so interested in the old children stories?
I think that both children and adults take an interest to children's literature. Especially a lot of the older stories. I think because people of all ages can relate to it in some way. The earlier books tend to use more advanced vocabulary and talked about events during that time but from a children's perspective. Which made it popular among children and adults!
Chapter Two was a bit of a struggle for me since history is not my forte. However, it was interesting to see how books for children have evolved. The fact that many children’s books, like William Caxton’s Reynart the Foxe, were published for adults but now are considered classical children’s books surprised me. However, I was able to connect most with the very end of the chapter where it outlines the years and how children and families have changed in regards to children’s literature. I look at my children and think back to my own childhood. I can see how different things are already and I don’t feel like it’s been that long since I was a child myself. Over the last few years, I have been watching my son learn to read and I can’t remember at his age being exposed to so many exciting ways of learning and so many exciting books. Just today, he saw my book I am reading for our reading log and said “I love this book, Mom!” and started to talk about the characters and plot. It’s amazing to see how far we have come in such a short time.
In the chapter and discussion on the podcast, it was hinted at about being careful to use certain books in our classrooms since they may not be allowed. As teachers, how will we know if the book is controversial? Will it be obvious? To me I view children’s book as opportunities to see new things and take them places untraveled so this makes me nervous to think that I may be reading a book for children and find out I may be offending a parent or breaking a school district rule.
To Tara M. I have often wondered about the "censorship" of the school districts. Who decides what literature is appropriate? Who makes those decisions, when it should be left to parents. I'm not sure if there is an approved list of literature to use or not in school districts, but I think if there isn't it won't be long until we see such things.
Chapter 2 helped me realize the numerous changes Children's lit has gone through over the years. I honestly never thought much about it and just thought stories changed as they updated to keep pace with technology. I didn't realize that the Puritan influence didn't provide children's stories. I knew we'd always had censorship but to see what has been on the list over the years is interesting.
The censorship really amazes me. The first time I read some of Mark Twain's stories, I was surprised by the racial comments but, even at a young age, I was able to put the language into the time-period. It was simply acceptable in the 1870's to use that language. To censor it now doesn't make sense. I think books should be explained, not censored.
I enjoy history and looking at children's literature from a historical perspective and viewing how it has evolved, oral stories to present, illustrations, evolving stories, etc is very interesting. I think I've gained a greater appreciation for children's books while reading this chapter.
My question to you would be: Why are we so interested in the old children stories?
Laura, I think it's because these older stories create a bond with the past. If we are talking to a child who is having trouble telling the truth, the story about "The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf" is very appropriate. We remember when we heard the story and how it impacted us. Also, you can discuss this older story with your parents or others and everyone can follow along. Everyone knows who Robin Hood and King Arthur are. However, if I were to talk to my parents about "Harry Potter" or another recent story, they wouldn't be able to relate -- neither would many others of the last generation.
Jacque Schawe Chapter 2-Blog In Chapter 2, of the Children’s literature book made me realize what the books were like in the past and how they have changed for the better for our future. It was very interesting to see how the stories were often told around the campfires and like the adventures of people and also so mythology as well. The folktales and legends are still a favorite of mine. I recently read the Aesop fables and fell down laughing of how funny they were with the tricks that they played on each other. Poetry is often a favorite of students. The early illustration books I think are still really neat; it is interesting to see how these have changed with watercolors and also with digital photography. Then in time came along fantasy books and adventure books which is one of my favorites also. This chapter really sums up where we have been and where the books are know. I think reading is always a need for all students especially growing up and into adulthood. It always created something new for me to think about as well.
I agree with you, I think that people of all ages should read children’s books. I have found that sometimes, I like the children’s books better. It seems the children’s books are colorful and have new fresh ideas sometimes.
Laura T had asked “Why are we so interested in the old children stories?” For me, the answer is that we have to learn from our past to take us to the future. Reading old children’s books helps us to identify with our ancestors and what better way to connect but by being swept away in a book from the past. Connections occur when reading the text and looking at the illustrations in the books.
Chapter 2~ This chapter was very interesting by showing how literature has changed overtime. I was not aware of how children were not allowed to read back then. I thought this was very sad. I couldn’t imagine our world now not having books. I also found all the stories from the past interesting. Those stories have generated our world today.
I struggled with this chapter because I’m not much of a history person, but overall it was very interesting. I was saddened that children were not allowed to read. I think about my kids that I work with and look at their different lifestyles and wonder how many of them grew up with books. I know that some of them did not just because of their reading levels. I think kids struggle to read because there are so many other distractions out there. I just hope that parents continue to encourage their children to read.
My question is: Why is it when you are teaching a good lesson you have parent’s question the meaning behind it?
That is a very good question and I’m sure there are different answers from a wide variety of people. My answer would be from the home. The child learns so much about the world from their up bringing. If reading is not done at home, then the child will not respond to reading outside the home. I had to laugh as I was writing this response. My child just asked us to read to him before he went to bed. He loves books, but this is what we have encouraged him to do, is pick a book so we can read it to him. Reading is what creates imagination.
"My question is: Why is it when you are teaching a good lesson you have parent’s question the meaning behind it?"
This is very frustrating, I agree. I feel that like literature used to be, socially we all held to the same ideals, customs, morals etc. and nowadays each individual person has their own set of ideals that they adhere to. Therefore, when teaching a good lesson everything is relative. What we, the teacher, may consider a "good lesson" may not be considered that way by parents (or certain individual parents). Perhaps, as we become professional teachers, we should seek parental support the best we can.
I knew something was not quite right at the other blog. here's what I wrote
LindaM said... reply to Mary Gere
Mary,thank you for the encouragement. Friday, in english, the kids were to finish reading a story out of their literature book. I decided to take the bull by the horns and although my supervisor walked past us a few times making me wonder what she was thinking, I read out loud to him and we discussed each section, looked up words and put the word into a real life 'things'. Thanks again. I'm going to keep it up.
August 30, 2008 2:22 PM LindaM said... I can see where literature can influence children in their lives. In fact, I wrote a story for children with Down's. I am trying to get it published. I Originally thought of the idea because there are so many mentally handicapped people in the world, who seem to only have books written for little kids. The stories were fine, language was good, words were good, but the pictures I felt, needed addressed. I worked with a 16 year old who had Down's and I wondered if it ever bothered her to read the same books the kinder kids read. It is a poem titled "I Can Too" that goes through various accomplishments encourageing the "child" to be proud. I want to put photo's of different teens and adults they could relate to.
August 30, 2008 2:34 PM LindaM said... Just to add a thought to my last blog. Before working with this gal, I only saw the entertainment in reading. I love reading true stories about different times and people and I do see where I have learned, now. This may be a 'duh' moment to you all, but I just found it interesting that so ofter, I will see something in someone else when I miss the same in me.
It was interesting that children were viewed as small adults until recently. I wish they would have gone into more detail about the originals of these classic stories. I just love them. My kids love the version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears where the bears eat Goldilocks for being such a naughty little girl. They made the stories that were meant to be moral guides for children to be very boring and dreadful.
I have never thought about the connection of history with children’s literature, so like Chapter 1, I learned a lot in this chapter as well. What I found most interesting is that it took such a long period of time for the shift to be to books for enjoyment, from instructional books. And when they did, those books quickly become most popular – which shouldn’t be surprising considering the life most children led at that time. They gave children the chance to escape from being little adults and be the children they really were.
I am still a fan of fairytales and feel that even though they are imaginary stories, children and relate and learn a lot from them. These stories require you to open your mind and imagination, and I think this allows you to be open to new ideas and learn new skills at the same time.
The censorship portion of the chapter was also very interesting to me. I like to think that I am open to new ideas and things that I am unfamiliar with so I don’t agree that books should be banned. I believe that some literature is only appropriate for certain ages however.
I’m curious though…does a teacher have the authority to choose whatever they feel is appropriate for their class? Or is there a form of censorship in the school system as far as book choice?
Laura - I think that we are still interested in old children's stories, fairytales especially, because they continue to be relevant today. Surprisingly, the morals are still important for today's children - even those written hundreds of years ago.
20 comments:
Chapter two discusses the history of Children's Literature. I had never really thought much about the fact that children were viewed as lesser members of society and therefore there was little effort spent on creating entertainment for them. This saddens me.
I grew up in the 70's and 80's and my parents were very big into reading to us, and I grew up watching them read. My dad read science fiction books, by Isaac Asimov, and my mom was addicted to Johanna Lindsey. I always looked to reading as a form of entertainment, and still read, although right now, I'm just reading text books.
My question for others are, who do you think is most responsible for shifting the emphasis of literature to encompass children as well as adults?
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Ch.2. I find history, how it has affected our lives now, how we still use it or have dismissed it, very interesting. It was especially interesting to me to learn how children were considered small versions of adults and should act accordingly. I had known this about that era, but was not aware of how it played out in children’s literature. Thinking back to when I was young (late 70s), folktales and fairy tales were what we mostly read or heard read to us. We did try to liken ourselves to these characters we heard about. I think this is still true of today. Children will always try to find ways of explaining things that are hard for them to understand and literature is a wonderful way of exploring those ideas. In teaching my two at home and having lead other classrooms, I have found that these age old fables and fairytales coupled with the plethora of children’s literature that we have available to us now is the best mix. My question would be that of sorting through all we have available and finding the most appropriate books for our lessons.
Chapter 2-
This was a very informative chapter because it discusses the history of literature. I thought it was amazing that 'stories' have been around since the 1400s.The chapter went through the different books that were published through the early years.I especially liked reading about the creation of Mother Goose rhymes. I still love reading nursery rhymes to my children. They love them too.
The chapter shows how powerful children's literature really is. To think that something that was created hundreds of years ago, is still interesting to us. As a matter of fact, I think we are more attracted to the older stories than the modern ones. The chapter also talks about the earlier illustrations to many of these stories. These are also very attractive to us. I think the illustrators took their time and added a lot of detail to the pictures. I do like a lot of the modern artwork but again, nothing really compares to some of the early work.
My question to you would be: Why are we so interested in the old children stories?
Ember d-
I think that both children and adults take an interest to children's literature. Especially a lot of the older stories. I think because people of all ages can relate to it in some way. The earlier books tend to use more advanced vocabulary and talked about events during that time but from a children's perspective. Which made it popular among children and adults!
Chapter Two was a bit of a struggle for me since history is not my forte. However, it was interesting to see how books for children have evolved. The fact that many children’s books, like William Caxton’s Reynart the Foxe, were published for adults but now are considered classical children’s books surprised me. However, I was able to connect most with the very end of the chapter where it outlines the years and how children and families have changed in regards to children’s literature. I look at my children and think back to my own childhood. I can see how different things are already and I don’t feel like it’s been that long since I was a child myself. Over the last few years, I have been watching my son learn to read and I can’t remember at his age being exposed to so many exciting ways of learning and so many exciting books. Just today, he saw my book I am reading for our reading log and said “I love this book, Mom!” and started to talk about the characters and plot. It’s amazing to see how far we have come in such a short time.
In the chapter and discussion on the podcast, it was hinted at about being careful to use certain books in our classrooms since they may not be allowed. As teachers, how will we know if the book is controversial? Will it be obvious? To me I view children’s book as opportunities to see new things and take them places untraveled so this makes me nervous to think that I may be reading a book for children and find out I may be offending a parent or breaking a school district rule.
To Tara M.
I have often wondered about the "censorship" of the school districts. Who decides what literature is appropriate? Who makes those decisions, when it should be left to parents. I'm not sure if there is an approved list of literature to use or not in school districts, but I think if there isn't it won't be long until we see such things.
Chapter 2 helped me realize the numerous changes Children's lit has gone through over the years. I honestly never thought much about it and just thought stories changed as they updated to keep pace with technology. I didn't realize that the Puritan influence didn't provide children's stories. I knew we'd always had censorship but to see what has been on the list over the years is interesting.
The censorship really amazes me. The first time I read some of Mark Twain's stories, I was surprised by the racial comments but, even at a young age, I was able to put the language into the time-period. It was simply acceptable in the 1870's to use that language. To censor it now doesn't make sense. I think books should be explained, not censored.
I enjoy history and looking at children's literature from a historical perspective and viewing how it has evolved, oral stories to present, illustrations, evolving stories, etc is very interesting. I think I've gained a greater appreciation for children's books while reading this chapter.
My question to you would be: Why are we so interested in the old children stories?
Laura, I think it's because these older stories create a bond with the past. If we are talking to a child who is having trouble telling the truth, the story about "The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf" is very appropriate. We remember when we heard the story and how it impacted us. Also, you can discuss this older story with your parents or others and everyone can follow along. Everyone knows who Robin Hood and King Arthur are. However, if I were to talk to my parents about "Harry Potter" or another recent story, they wouldn't be able to relate -- neither would many others of the last generation.
Jacque Schawe
Chapter 2-Blog
In Chapter 2, of the Children’s literature book made me realize what the books were like in the past and how they have changed for the better for our future. It was very interesting to see how the stories were often told around the campfires and like the adventures of people and also so mythology as well. The folktales and legends are still a favorite of mine. I recently read the Aesop fables and fell down laughing of how funny they were with the tricks that they played on each other. Poetry is often a favorite of students. The early illustration books I think are still really neat; it is interesting to see how these have changed with watercolors and also with digital photography. Then in time came along fantasy books and adventure books which is one of my favorites also. This chapter really sums up where we have been and where the books are know. I think reading is always a need for all students especially growing up and into adulthood. It always created something new for me to think about as well.
I agree with you, I think that people of all ages should read children’s books. I have found that sometimes, I like the children’s books better. It seems the children’s books are colorful and have new fresh ideas sometimes.
Laura T had asked “Why are we so interested in the old children stories?” For me, the answer is that we have to learn from our past to take us to the future. Reading old children’s books helps us to identify with our ancestors and what better way to connect but by being swept away in a book from the past. Connections occur when reading the text and looking at the illustrations in the books.
Chapter 2~
This chapter was very interesting by showing how literature has changed overtime. I was not aware of how children were not allowed to read back then. I thought this was very sad. I couldn’t imagine our world now not having books. I also found all the stories from the past interesting. Those stories have generated our world today.
I struggled with this chapter because I’m not much of a history person, but overall it was very interesting. I was saddened that children were not allowed to read. I think about my kids that I work with and look at their different lifestyles and wonder how many of them grew up with books. I know that some of them did not just because of their reading levels. I think kids struggle to read because there are so many other distractions out there. I just hope that parents continue to encourage their children to read.
My question is: Why is it when you are teaching a good lesson you have parent’s question the meaning behind it?
In response to Ember~
That is a very good question and I’m sure there are different answers from a wide variety of people. My answer would be from the home. The child learns so much about the world from their up bringing. If reading is not done at home, then the child will not respond to reading outside the home. I had to laugh as I was writing this response. My child just asked us to read to him before he went to bed. He loves books, but this is what we have encouraged him to do, is pick a book so we can read it to him. Reading is what creates imagination.
Response to Ch.2 Blog
In response to Vanessa C
"My question is: Why is it when you are teaching a good lesson you have parent’s question the meaning behind it?"
This is very frustrating, I agree. I feel that like literature used to be, socially we all held to the same ideals, customs, morals etc. and nowadays each individual person has their own set of ideals that they adhere to. Therefore, when teaching a good lesson everything is relative. What we, the teacher, may consider a "good lesson" may not be considered that way by parents (or certain individual parents). Perhaps, as we become professional teachers, we should seek parental support the best we can.
I knew something was not quite right at the other blog. here's what I wrote
LindaM said...
reply to Mary Gere
Mary,thank you for the encouragement. Friday, in english, the kids were to finish reading a story out of their literature book. I decided to take the bull by the horns and although my supervisor walked past us a few times making me wonder what she was thinking, I read out loud to him and we discussed each section, looked up words and put the word into a real life 'things'. Thanks again. I'm going to keep it up.
August 30, 2008 2:22 PM
LindaM said...
I can see where literature can influence children in their lives. In fact, I wrote a story for children with Down's. I am trying to get it published. I Originally thought of the idea because there are so many mentally handicapped people in the world, who seem to only have books written for little kids. The stories were fine, language was good, words were good, but the pictures I felt, needed addressed. I worked with a 16 year old who had Down's and I wondered if it ever bothered her to read the same books the kinder kids read.
It is a poem titled "I Can Too" that goes through various accomplishments encourageing the "child" to be proud. I want to put photo's of different teens and adults they could relate to.
August 30, 2008 2:34 PM
LindaM said...
Just to add a thought to my last blog. Before working with this gal, I only saw the entertainment in reading. I love reading true stories about different times and people and I do see where I have learned, now.
This may be a 'duh' moment to you all, but I just found it interesting that so ofter, I will see something in someone else when I miss the same in me.
August 30, 2008 2:38 PM
It was interesting that children were viewed as small adults until recently. I wish they would have gone into more detail about the originals of these classic stories. I just love them. My kids love the version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears where the bears eat Goldilocks for being such a naughty little girl. They made the stories that were meant to be moral guides for children to be very boring and dreadful.
I have never thought about the connection of history with children’s literature, so like Chapter 1, I learned a lot in this chapter as well. What I found most interesting is that it took such a long period of time for the shift to be to books for enjoyment, from instructional books. And when they did, those books quickly become most popular – which shouldn’t be surprising considering the life most children led at that time. They gave children the chance to escape from being little adults and be the children they really were.
I am still a fan of fairytales and feel that even though they are imaginary stories, children and relate and learn a lot from them. These stories require you to open your mind and imagination, and I think this allows you to be open to new ideas and learn new skills at the same time.
The censorship portion of the chapter was also very interesting to me. I like to think that I am open to new ideas and things that I am unfamiliar with so I don’t agree that books should be banned. I believe that some literature is only appropriate for certain ages however.
I’m curious though…does a teacher have the authority to choose whatever they feel is appropriate for their class? Or is there a form of censorship in the school system as far as book choice?
Laura - I think that we are still interested in old children's stories, fairytales especially, because they continue to be relevant today. Surprisingly, the morals are still important for today's children - even those written hundreds of years ago.
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