I really love children, not in the "To Catch a Predator" way, but everything about them makes me smile. There's something about them, the innocence mixed with the honesty its so brutally pure. They have potential to grow, yet are sensitive in every aspect. I do not believe Puritans were alone in believing in incorporating God in everything they do, but they have a drive to constantly put effort into upbringing children. I forget where I read it, but someone was researching why adults and humans in a general sense care for children so much. It was found that the reason we invest in our children is because that is our sole possession, and our only representation in the afterlife. What makes us as humans want to continue living and spread our legacy to the world even after we die? Even in times of War, between the most gruesome enemies, there is a basic human principle that children should be off limits. Why do they get this preferential treatment and immunity? Just some questions. Now for some reflection.
It's interesting to see how there has been a shift in recent years from children learning through literature to children learning through television and internet. One person I'm going to talk about this semester I feel is my niece Yara. I've been able to watch her progress over the course of the last year and can see how she picks up language from Dora and certain words that we read to her from her leapfrog books. Children are so different because you need to catch their attention completely to be able to teach them methods. Children really are "Blank Slates" and we need to fill them up accordingly. The methods which we choose will be continually revolutionized to adjust to the ever growing technologies of the future.
There have been interesting studies, like the one found here, that talk about biological action in the brain during interactions with children and infants. This seems like something important to consider when we talk about the creation of "childhood". How much might our biological reactions have to do with our cultural creations?
ReplyDeleteI think what you said regarding the representation our younger generations provide through us is very interesting. Looking back at the puritans, they took much pride in educating their children using children’s literature to provide both spiritual and educational growth, hoping to prepare them for afterlife. Looking at the expansion of children’s literature as a genre within our technology based 21st century, the role of children’s literature has shifted in my opinion dramatically. With the new technological advances our modern era offers, multimedia has changed the form literature is accessible to us. Not only has media changed the form of literature, but also allows us to view children’s literature on a global level, bringing us varieties of stories from other countries modified into our own language.
ReplyDeleteThat was an interesting article Jaddy (written on my birthday woo!) I think it hits the nail on the head when it says that mothers often mis cues by babies after giving birth, my sister used to miss things that even I could see (i.e cold hands, crying, etc.)
ReplyDeleteAnd Danning what was the first "global" work you remember as a child? They used to incorporate the story of Sadako and the 1000 paper cranes to my class as a child and I remember keenly picking up on this foreign culture excitedly.