After reading “Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us” by Linda Christensen, I found that it had some conflicting statements with Chapter 5 in The Joy of Children’s Literature. Chapter 5 seems to glorify the folktale, which quite often puts certain people in certain unflattering roles. Christensen emphasizes heavily the use of stereotypical roles in literally all of society, including traditional stories like Cinderella and Peter Pan. So should we be teaching our children, and for us teachers our students, to love and know these classic stories…or to never encounter them at all?
This topic has always left me wondering what side of the spectrum I should agree with, and as a future teacher and even-more-in-the-future mother, some would think that I should be deciding which side to choose. But I choose neither; instead, I choose to read these stories to my children and students but to also recognize the somewhat damaging stereotypes sometimes found in classic stories and fairytales.
As Chapter Five said, folklore can be a very important piece of any culture and to discontinue the teaching of them in schools would be disabling a piece of culture. I realize that Christensen was not exactly suggesting this, but she does say, “…I hope to move [my students] into action” (7). What action is she suggesting? How far does she want us to go? I’m certainly not prepared to never watch Disney movies again, nor am I ready to give up on the magic that is in every fairytale and folklore I’ve ever read. I can much more easily relate to the chapter in The Joy of Children’s Literature; I think these old classic stories are virtually harmless and a vital piece of many cultures.
I absolutely agree with you! I said it in class and I'll say it again: I love Disney because that is what I grew up with, If I ever have kids I would allow them to watch Disney as well. I think one of the key points here is to recognize the issues with cartoons and folklore instead to trying to deny that there are problems, then take action.
ReplyDeleteWatching cartoons and movies or reading with children, and then having a discussion is a great way to begin in my opinion. Teachers and parents should ask questions and use stereotypical cartoons and messages as a gateway for discussion. Do kids enjoy these books/movies and why? What do they say about men, women, or children and do they agree? Can everyone relate to the book/movie or are some people left out? Is it realistic? If we allow kids to discuss and answer these questions then we can begin to understand how they are seeing the world, and if their view is becoming skewed, then take action to resolve that.
Next would be the "taking action" step. I feel that As a teacher I would have an obligation to find literature and learning material that all of my students can relate to. I will do my best to counteract stereotypical material with diverse material. We could compare stereotypical literature with a more modern, fresh story so students can be aware of everything that is out there. One of my favorite assignments in elementary school was to take a traditional story and then reinvent it with a new twist. I chose to use Cinderella. I made the evil stepsisters nice, switched from step-mother to step-father,and in the end, instead of Cinderella going off to live with the prince in his castle, they decided to take a break from royal life and live in the village with everyone else. It is assignments like these that get kids thinking about what constitutes a "happy ending"