After a year of portfolio, study visits and professional placement, I’m back to some good old course work in ETL514 (formerly ETL402).
I’m nearly (somehow) twenty years from finishing my Master of Teaching degree and all the theory that went with that; important theories on childhood development, learning models, literacy insturction and more which are vital in forming pedagogy and personal philosophy which guide best practice. These are some first thoughts in considering the child as the developing subject in literacy.
Today, reading Burke’s (2008) “Theories on childhood,” from The encyclopedia of children and childhood in history and society, the consideration of the child at the heart of literacy instruction was brought to the fore. Burke unpacks a whole lot in this article, but importantly asks budding TLs and educators to conjure up what sort of notion one has of children and childhood, and how that might inform both literacy instruction and the place of literature for children. There are so many ideas I take for granted, such as the plurality of childhoods- that a childhood in one time, place and culture will not resemble one in another time, place and culture- are relatively new; that experiences of childhood and the way it is understood will vary from individual to individual even in similar states.
As educators in Australia, our modes of instruction are informed by state government departments of education and what they believe to be the most effective, supported and tested models. These models change over time and from government to government. Whole language models have given way to systematic and explicit teaching of synthetic phonics supplmented by increasingly structured explorations of recommended literature. While a state government’s idea of childhood may be difficult to locate, politically driven governments seem to prefer a hard stance on literacy instruction, particularly when literacy is determined to be weakening.
There is wiggle room for teachers. If we have a pluarlity of childhoods, we most certainly have a plurality of learning needs. Urban Australian classrooms contain multitudes of languages spoken at home, backgrounds, cultures and attitudes towards learning. The choice of literature used in comprehension and to foster enjoyment of reading most certainly occupies much of that wiggle room. Though there are prescribed texts, for a motivated educator there is still choice.
When choosing literature, TLs and classroom teachers must continue to give consideration to the child. We must consider best practice in this regard, too. We must consider the backgrounds and cultures and experiences of our students. They must be represented and challenged and engaged. We are still considering the specifics of childhood, aren’t we? Who are they and where do we wish to take them?
Our recommended read from Australian Writers’ Centre, “7 Trends in Children’s and YA publishing” is now nearly five years old, but many of these trends persist, including the increase in graphic novels as a format, complex issues in the middle grade novels, both fiction and non-fiction addressing climate change and the increase in natural disasters, and escapist fiction, particularly in YA. From my own observations, I see the topic of neurodiversity and anxiety in children being addressed in ficiton across all age groups.
The direction which children’s literature might go in has become very difficult to predict over the last few weeks. The direction which the US is going is worrying for people who value diverse voices, open discussion, honesty and rigour in social sciences and history. Publishing houses are not insusceptible to the whimsy of oligarchs who have moved from the shadows into the limelight. I hope that publishing will continue to publish books in diverse voices, introducing ambiguities and moral dilemmas which sustain open-minded engagement with characters and stories, and celebrate the Earth as our only home in need of stewardship and vision.
And this is why teachers must keep reading children’s literature and why TLs are so vital. What was once good will still be good sometimes, but the classroom needs to work from contemporary literature, too. Children’s publishing is healthy, responsive, and with a broad scope of topics and themes and reading ages. TLs are the ones to speak to about meeting students where they are and moving them joyfully along to next stages of literacy.
Australian Writers’ Centre Team. (2020, July 17). 7 trends in children’s and YA publishing. AWC: Australian Writers’ Centre. https://www.writerscentre.com.au/blog/7-trends-in-childrens-and-ya-publishing/
Barone, D. M. (2011). Children’s literature in the classroom: Engaging lifelong readers. Guilford Press.
