ETL402 Module 1.2 Reading and Research

Forum response and reflection:

I initially started the reading by Zipes (2006) thinking, “Wow this guy is really angry about something.. was he not read to as a kid??” but the further I got into it, the more it opened my mind to some realities of children’s books and the publishing industry. As a die-hard lover of The Baby Sitters Club, Nancy Drew and Goosebumps, it really shocked me that I’ve only just realised that these series all contain strategic and formulaic plots to hook in the reader with their clichés and cliff hangers, that quickly engage the reader then leave you wanting more.. literally like an addiction (could also make comment about how this is relative to electronic gaming also.. but I won’t).
Then to think as a teacher librarian, I am also encouraging students to borrow the latest/another book in the series. I have occasionally grappled with the notion that graphic novels (like the Tree Story, Diary of a Wimpy kid books etc) in my experiences aren’t considered ‘quality’ or ‘reflective’ children’s literature by parents and other teachers.. but it IS encouraging those non enthusiastic or lower ability readers to pick up a book and read. We are encouraging students to also read for pleasure, not just for educational or literary gain, right?

What a can of worms this week has opened! This is what I reflected on from this week’s module and readings:

Interestingly, Zipes (2009) expressed concerns over not the amount of books children are reading or how they are learning to read, instead the practice of teaching children to “misread” or “non-reflective reading”. He suggested that students are actively being taught and encouraged to consume texts quickly without thought or reflection to the moral messages, signs and meanings that are often deeply embed into literature (Zipes, 2009). Children are growing up as adults who lack empathy and treat others as objects to be exploited for personal gain (Zipes, 2009, p.31).

McLean (2013) concurs that children have now become “consumers” rather than readers, and as such have generated an entire populous of empowered tiny consumers that are literally in control of what is marketed and mass-produced to the population.

Children are the facilitators of what is written, produced and sold worldwide. From this fact, I found myself wondering.. Is the fundamental issue within this societal system of skill deficient citizens, money? And the desire to make more money? To make sense of how this occurs I made a (very simple) little flow chart for myself:

• Children want to read texts that are familiar and enjoyable
•  Authors will write books that children will want to read ($$$)
•  Publishers will continue to publish mass produced fictional texts that are “non-reflective” (but oh so addictive, I HAVE to buy the next book in the series!)
• Producers see a franchise opportunity and run with it.
• Children engage further with new form of media and purchase corresponding merchandise  (n.b. Walt Disney marketing empire built on Mickey Mouse ears sales)
• Author is encouraged to create more books in series ($$$)
• Teachers and Librarians desperately want to engage all students in reading, so we purchase whatever text it is that currently interests those reluctant readers, further enabling this desire to consume.

and so it continues..

 

References:

McLean, K. (2013). The future of children’s books in five trends [Slide show]. TOC Bologna 2013. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/BKGKristen/toc-bologna-2013-keynote

Zipes, J. (2009). Misreading children and the fate of the book. In Relentless progress: The reconfiguration of children’s literature, fairy tales, and storytelling. London: Routledge. Chapter 2, pp. 27-44. Retrieved from EBook Library.

 

 

 ETL402 Module 1.1 The child as developing literary subject

Task 1B: Inspired by a ‘love of reading’, develop a rationale for your principal to answer the question – Why read?

Rationale:

By browsing the student responses in Module 1.1 task 1B forum, I found particular key words repeatedly appearing and determined their meanings were clearly evaluated and defined through academic research undertaken by the authors. I have compiled a list of these key ideas I discovered below and briefly elaborated upon each to my own understanding, through current research and commentary.

A particular response also stood out to me in the forum responses; Parnell (2018) responded to a post and provided an interesting point of view from an article by Williams (2011):

“Principals respond to data-driven research and action.”

Parnell (2018) then went on to question whether we, as educators, can collect data to substantiate the value of the school library and measure student outcomes of student enjoyment of reading to therefore ‘prove’ this particular point?

This made me realise that as teachers and teacher librarians, we are continually justifying the purpose, value and significance of everything we do. I do believe however, that critical reflection upon our own pedagogies and practices is imperative, however, student engagement with reading is such a monumental and essential part of education and learning. Simply asking the question “Why should we read?” is similar to asking: “Why do we speak?” or “Why should we learn?”

 

The key terms I afore mentioned are as follows:

• Improvement of student reading and comprehension levels. Haven (2007) suggests that stories can enhance student memory retention and therefore can develop student literacy skills through the use of visual language and activating prior student knowledge on particular topics through the use of sensory details.
• Development of empathy and social skills/relationships. Books like Wonder by R.J. Palacio encourages discussion about bullying, fitting in, acceptance and differences etc., children are able to safely experience other people’s struggles and broaden their worldview through effective literature (Gaiman, 2013).
• Students are able to develop understanding and make meaning of their world through important “real world” themes in texts such as war, refugees/asylum seekers, death, divorce, change, racism etc.
• Develop problem solving and higher order thinking skills. Research has proven that reading science fiction and non-fiction texts can greatly improve student ability to comprehend their natural and social worlds and increase student capability in digital and printed literacies (White, 2011).
• For pleasure. When children read for pleasure they get “hooked” onto books, increasing the amount of reading partaken, which can increase student literacy skills such as vocabulary, writing style, spelling, grammar and comprehension (Clark & Rumbold, 2006, p.9).

 

References:

Clark, C. & Rumbold, K. (2006). Reading for pleasure: A research overview. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED496343.pdf

Haven, K. F. (2007). We’ve reached the research results. Story proof: the science behind the startling power of story. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Parnell, E. (2018). Will that convince a principal? in response to Mackenzie (2018) Why read? Retrieved from https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/contentWrapper.jsp?course_id=_35069_1&displayName=Module+1&href=https%3A%2F%2Finteract2.csu.edu.au%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fcontent%2FlistContentEditable.jsp%3Fcontent_id%3D_2139531_1%26course_id%3D_35069_1&cR2XilcGYOo=MngjgMw4v1wL6xbrpYhniftANqZ8JapzoRAYMQTty4Q%3D

White, L. (2011). The place of non-fiction texts in today’s primary school. Synergy Vol. 9.1. Retrieved from https://www.slav.vic.edu.au/synergy/volume-9-number-1-2011/research/124-the-place-of-non-fiction-texts-in-todays-primary-school.html

Williams, I. (2011). Is it time to stop advocating for teacher librarians? Access, 25(4), 3. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/911088405?accountid=10344

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

 

ETL402 Module 1.1 What are the key elements for a definition of children’s literature?

Task 1A: Present 3 or 4 key qualities to define children’s literature.

Before reading this Module, I believed that children’s literature was simply literature written generally by adults, specifically for children. The qualities to define children’s literature I defined by a few key terms:

Engagement – the text attempts to or successfully engages the reader through the use of illustrations, language, theme etc.
Enjoyment – the text must be suitable to the child’s interests and ability level for comprehensive understanding and more importantly, overall enjoyment.
Purpose – what relevance does the text have to the child? and what will they learn/receive from reading this?

After reading through the information in Module 1, I also began researching other definitions of children’s literature.

Winch (2006) defined literature as “the expression of the human need to communicate, as readers and/or writers, as speakers and/or listeners, using or transgressing particular conventions and narrative modes.”

On a blog I came across a particular sentence that stuck with me:

“Children’s literature assumes a teachable audience.” (Auxier, J. 2011)

By this, Auxier refers to the idea that the audience of children’s literature is an information-absorbing sponge, still informing his or her own opinion and understanding of the world, of which the author is acutely aware. We can apply this definition to all types of children’s literature, be it fictional, factual, poetry, picture books or narratives. The author is aware that the reader is still constructing their own opinions and creating new experiences, which we need to be sensitive of and help the reader create, reflect upon or find meaning from the literature and apply it to their world.

I can therefore digress that in a literal sense, literature for children is written to traditionally communicate certain underlying themes, ideas, morals and messages. It enables young people to develop their sense of understanding of not only themselves, but also the world around them and how they fit into this particularly complex landscape.

 

References

Auxier, J. (2011) The Scop. [Blog]. Towards a Definition of Children’s Literature. Retrieved https://www.thescop.com/the-scop/2011/07/toward-a-definition-of-childrens-literature

Winch, G. (2006). What is children’s literature? In G. Winch, R. Ross-Johnston, M. Holliday, L. Ljungdahl & P. March (Eds.), Literacy : reading, writing and children’s literature (3rd ed.) (pp. 393-420). South Melbourne, Vic : Oxford University Press.