In chapter 1 we talked about values of literature for children, promoting child development through literature and children's response to literature.
Reading to children creates a love of books. Books are a major means of transmitting literary heritage from one generation to the next. It gives children a look at the past. They experience folktales and lives of previous generations. Literature also helps us understand and value cultural heritage. It is important to create an appreciation of the heritage of ethnic minorities in American culture and society. These various experiences of literature result in personal development in children as well as a pleasure of reading.
Children learn in stages, some faster than others, but they all must pass through each stage to become a mature adult. These stages are language development, cognitive development, personality development, and social development. Poetry collections are a good source for language development. In cognitive development, children's literature is effective for developing the operations associated with thinking. They are observing, comparing, classifying, hypothesizing, organizing, summarizing, applying, and criticizing. Personality development is also achieved through literature. For example books show children it is OK to be different from their families.
Everyone has different values and of those values some are more important than others to different people. My most important values are love and family. I can't choose just one because I feel they are connected and to me you can not have one without the other. Love and family were taught to me mainly by my parents and grandparents. They are what I aspire to be like on a day to day basis. Unfortunately when I was younger I took them for granted. It wasn't until I married and had my own family that I truly understood the values of love and family. It is too late to thank my grandparents for instilling these values in me, but I cherish the time I spend with my parents now more than I ever have.
The values of love and family can be taught in many ways. The best way is lead by example. People learn love and family by witnessing it first hand. Invite someone who may not have a great family life to have dinner with your family. It is surprising how many people haven't ever sat down as an entire family and enjoyed a meal. The more these values are observed and experienced first hand the quicker it will be come a part of an individuals value system.
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I like what you said about inviting some one to have a meal wiht your family because that is very true. To that person it would probably be the best thing they have had in a long time.
ReplyDeleteI have seen this firsthand with my husband's family. They never had get togethers or even a sit down dinner. This is an everyday thing in my family and after being married for almost four years my husband is finally getting the idea with our kids.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that love and family are two extremely important values. I grew up in what some might call a dysfunctional family, but I love them to death. People around us could see our love for each other. My parents always invited people into their home especially kids who felt like they had nowhere else to go. I think at one time besides my family of seven we had like six other kids living with us. It was great and it made them feel loved.
ReplyDeleteI like what you said about leading by example to teach values first hand. I think most children learn their inital values by watching parrents and siblings. A family meal is the perfect setting for children to develope values.
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