Sunday Afternoon

I recently went to the East Lansing Public Library to pick up some children's books. I was so encouraged to see so many families there on a Sunday afternoon! I wandered through the picture book section, and looked at every shelf, scoping out appealing titles. Along side me were so many other kids, grabbing books and running excitedly towards their parents with their new found treasure. I'm so glad that parents agree that it is important to enrich their child's life through literature. Some children are reluctant to read, and this could be because the parents do not encourage them. By taking them to the library, and showing them how many books there are to choose from and all the other children who are reading, could spark an interest! My favorite moment was a dad telling his son that his mother found him a Spiderman book. He yelled "Awesome mom you're the best!" and ran across the library to grab his book to read. Moments like these remind me of why I want to be a teacher. I hope that I can encourage kids to be excited to read and appreciate the literature. For there are no greater adventures one can take than through reading a book.

A Whole New Light

The nostalgia of re-visiting a memory from your childhood is not limited to those that are concrete, such as photo albums or home videos. There is a sense of familiarity that comes with pulling out an old book, or even popping in an old movie that you could recite line for line, because you watched it so many times when you were 7 years old. However I always find myself laughing at a joke I never understood before, or re-reading lines that never even registered on my radar as a child.

This idea is reflective of the fact that as we grow up, the world changes our view on almost everything. Even a book, which is written in ink, which unchanging words, and messages can have different meanings to different people at different points in life. A Family of Readers explains this idea through a term called accumulated power, meaning that a books meaning grows and changes with time even though the book itself never actually changes (page 74). The book also includes a story of a mother describing her experience with a book she reads to her children. While they are reading the same book, she and her children have much different experiences with it. Her children are seeing it from the perspective of a person with little worldly experience, and she is reading it from the point of view of a woman who was a child and now has children of her own, therefore changing how she relates to the characters (page 75).

This idea is one that dawned on me a few years ago, when I decided to re-watch the old Mary-Kate and Ashley movies that I loved so much as a little girl. However after the credits rolled, I almost immediately regretted my decision. I had such fond memories of what good movies they were, and how entertained I was by them. But now my perspective is tainted. The jokes I once found so funny no longer amuse me, and I have been forced to second guess my outlook on the books, movies, and TV shows alike. I now question re-visiting old, nostalgic materials in fear of ruining what once meant so much to me.

Are children the new head of the household?

According to an article from Brands and Branding Intelligence, an organization about branding, Children influence almost 80 percent of parents’ brand purchasing decisions, and Fifty-eight percent of children across the globe claim they tell their parents what to buy.  This is extremely significant since most children do not actually make the purchase someone else is the buyer.  So how did children become the head of the house?

My first thought is the breakdown of the family.  With divorce rates climbing every year, part-time parents are easily convinced to spoil their child.  Children also realize that they can pit their parents against one another in order to get what they want.  The part-time parents don’t want to be seen as “the mean one” or for “new dad” to buy their kids nicer things. 

Another thought that comes to mind is the idea of “keeping up with the Jones’” which doesn’t fall solely on children or teenagers.  The idea consumerism and constantly having the newest and the best stuff is a product of our parents and our culture.  Adults buy into the same game when they make purchasing decision, so when their children want something because so-and-so has it parents are willing to cave.  Parents will cave because the number one way they compete is who has the best family. 

Finally kids are picky and don’t like to try new things easily, so its understandable if parents get sucked into a brand because otherwise their child won’t eat or do their homework or whatever it is they’re being stubborn about.  I think the old adage goes “spoil the rod not the child” maybe we are being too soft on children.  Children shouldn’t grow up getting whatever they want they learn to work for it, but unfortunately it would seem today’s kids do.

Eliminating stereotypical literature = Eliminating Stereotypes?

In class we discussed and seemed to agree that often, books (and other media, for that matter) often perpetuate stereotypes and have the potential to send messages that may easily be interpreted in certain ways that may cause children to make generalizations or develop stereotypical understandings about the world.

However, as Sarah noted in her post, parents, teachers, siblings, and other role models can have a large impact and can ultimately affect how children view the world and develop their understandings of how society works.

As future teachers or parents, I feel that it is not our responsibility or even in our best interest to completely eliminate books such as Cinderella or the other stereotypical books we have discussed in class. These books seem to perpetuate the stereotypical roles of girls and boys, typically projecting females as nice, pretty, polite, well-mannered, etc.; while males were viewed as rough, masculine, heroes, etc. To me, rather than stripping children of these ideas and secluding these types of books from their literature, it would be more beneficial to introduce these books and integrate them with other books that confront and challenge these stereotypes. This would provide a true view of the world as the way it is and help the children understand that there are various types of roles for each gender.

For example, one could read the original Cinderella, then read the alternative book that we talked about in class where the opposite sort of event happens (the princess saves the prince and then rejects his offer for a date, etc). I think it's important to select literature that shows representations of both genders performing all types of roles and jobs. If children are introduced to a male playing a role such as a teacher, dancer, or nurse, or a female as a professional athlete, doctor, or CEO, and these are portrayed as normal, they will likely accept this with no problem.

I think that children growing up today actually will be better suited to reject stereotypes and accept individuals who may play different or rare roles because of the way society as a whole is becoming more accepting. For example, while it is still not the most common situation, it is becoming much more acceptable and "normal" for a dad to be a stay-at-home dad and a woman to be a CEO or manager of a business. If we can point these instances out to children, through books and in the real world, I think we can help dispel gender stereotypes and let children develop broad and accepting understandings of gender. As we have said, literature can have a huge impact on the way children understand themselves and their world. If we were to completely eliminate certain types of literature due to the fact that we believe they are perpetrating stereotypes, we would strip children of this important piece of knowledge. As long as parents, teachers, or other individuals can facilitate a discussion to help children understand that gender stereotypes are limiting and meaningless, I see no harm in exposing children to all types of literature (within good reason and judgment).