Children Literature in Dammam Case Study
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Children Literature in Dammam Case Study
There are a few definitions that help outline the actual scope of children literature; with many laymen simply assuming that children literature could be easily defined as kids’ books. It therefore comes as much surprise to them on learning that the aforementioned topic of discussion has different definitions and even more variant definitions of the constituent terms-literature and children (D’anguilli, 2004. In that respect therefore, this paper proceeds to discuss the topic of children literature at length. The focus area is Dammam, where the partaken research seeks to determine the significance of such literature in regards to short stories in particular. In addition to this, the paper looks into the views of parents and teachers in relation to the studied literature alongside the literature’s significance as per the different educational stages.
The question of what literature is has been raised by many scholars in this particular field of expertise; where they seek to determine whether all stories and books are considered literature. Children’s literature has been classically defined as any form of material produced for the entertainment and/or information of children as well as young adults. Children have always been found to enjoy and have much interest in folklore. Historically however, the earlier children’s books mainly comprised of religious, instructional books with the aim of improving and shaping their manners(Marrow, 2001. Children literature has greatly transformed over the years and has been slowly modernized to what is presented today. Until 1865, children literature had nothing more than select instructions and guidelines related to the expected mannerism. Following the set precedent by Charles Dodgson, the face of children’s literature took a new look, with little or no instructions being included in them. Literature created for children would be primarily meant for their entertainment and feature some educational elements in them. This is the literature style that has been taken and used to take, with most children’s literature being fun-filled to agreat extent.
Several personalities have disagreed with Hillman’s opinion that for a material to be taken as literature, it has to be of quality standards. Hillman’s inference has been largely disputed due to the simple fact that beauty predominantly lies in the eyes of the beholder. What might be of utmost quality to one may be merely pieces of stodgy writing to another. In the case of children, almost all books written for them are considered as literature. The only exceptions however are joke books, cartoon and non-fiction books that are not meant to be read from cover to cover such as encyclopedias. As much as it is true that some books are of better quality than others, such opinions are left to the discretion and preferences of each individual person. There are also those who consider children’s literature to span the age groups of 18 to 18 years. It is however rather apparent no students in junior or high school consider themselves as children, hence the unreliability with such viewpoints. Those dissenting from this classification opine that children’s literature cover the ages 1 to 13 years.
Children literature can be studied in a more specific context where further aspects of it are delved into with much more precision. Such insight is therefore considered a sociological study which acts as an umbrella concept that incorporates several other approaches in order to bring out the existing relationship between the society and the said literature. Children literature is definitely a crucial aspect in the studying pursuits of a child due to the rudimentary role it plays in initial stages of the children’s growth. The significance are meant to felt in both the intellectual and greater sociological sense, where a child is expected to get some form useful informational from such literature as well as needed nourishment for his or her age.
Literacy development is an aspect of basic education that has stirred much debate as well as discussion. There are those of the school of thought that the literacy development should begin at an early as possible while others oppose this notion; arguing that there is enough time later on in life for one to develop his or her literacy levels. Nonetheless, both parties are entitled to their respective opinions and even have the opportunity to share such views with the general public.
In order to understand the significance of the children literature, it is imperative to look at how such literature affects the society by how it affects the children first. Factors such parents, publishers, teachers and the government are seen to have notable role in the decisions regarding what kind of literature is to be produced to the children, hence the need to similarly look at how the related factors merge with the literature’s significance. With the focus being in Dammam, such insight is meant to discuss how children’s literature affects the nation.
Essentially, children’s literature is a social force as much as it is a social product. The literature provided for children is not similar, just as the children are different. The aspect of such literature being a social product is chiefly explained by the fact that the country’s government sets special censorship bodies that shape and determine the type of content being presented for the children. Studies conducted by Gabriele Thompson have emphasized the fact that literature (children’s) plays a vital role within social frameworks and is widely used as a tool for indoctrination and education. This therefore means that the literature availed to the children are determined in accordance to the society’s intended message, values and opinions. Furthermore, children’s literature in countries that very particular about what is being passed across is selected according to the book’s origin, their idea and themes as well as the books’ response to the criteria set by the censorship board. This approach is still held to date, with much importance being given to children and the various literatures presented to them.
In the Arab world such as Dammam, tales are a powerful means of regulating the way of life in one tribe and the established relationship between that tribe and other tribes. Unlike the olden days however, such tales are no longer being told orally due to the advent of immense technological advancement. The print media has today made publication of all related material one of the easiest forms of relaying information, hence the general trend to pass such Arabic tales through written literature. The disappearance of oral tradition in this country-as well as the larger region, has consequently affected the spread of such tales. Reading by children or even reading to children has not become as widespread in the region, as the people’s literacy levels remain low. It can therefore be inferred that the literature being provided to the children is of much significance as its proper dissemination means the further spread of the people’s cultural tales.
Children’s literature is also seen as a social force, where studies depict it as being a powerful education means for the young ones. Nations such as Dammam not only use the children’s literature to entertain them, but also make them aware of the challenges facing the Arab nations. Critics of children literature have all been seen to agree with the use of such material by Dammam to spread Islamic morals that mainly urge them to live exemplary lives in accordance to the respective teachings. It hasbeen noted that many of the writers of children literature in the Arab nations perceive the spread of Islamic values as their main purpose. In a 2002 study, it was concluded that religion, politics and morals formed the pillars of most of the children literature in Dammam. Arab nations-in general, are seen to give much emphasis on the mentioned topics as a means to justifying and giving legitimacy to a form of literature that has been subjected to much literary shame and stigma. It can therefore be inferred that to the Arabic people, children’s literature has a more important purpose than mere entertainment of the subject matter. The material offered to the children in form of literature is primarily meant to enlighten the readers on actual issues that exist in the real world. In addition to this, such literature is seen as a platform for sharing the people’s culture and traditions that have passed down through generations, as well as the important Islamic values that have to continuously reiterated to the young ones and the elderly one.
Short stories are a further classification of literature, where they could be in relation to both adult and children literature. These are basically interesting tales that have been compressed into relatively few pages rather than in an entire novel. In the case of children literature, short stories are usually used in giving the children short-but educative and entertaining, stories about various issues. Short stories are also seen to entail all the necessary constituents of any proper standard story; with the only difference being its shortened length. In many cases, children’s books are compilations of several short stories that talk about various things.
According to one research team on Dammam literature for kids, two main questions were raised in order to get a comprehensive understanding of children’s literature in the nation. These two questions sought to determine the literary characteristic of children’s stories in the nation, and the cultural characteristics of children’s literature in Dammam. The approach used in completing this task was that of content analysis, where a theme or theory is used to analyze a series of texts or just one text (Marrow, 2001). The resultant findings indicated that very few of the literature used literary techniques to attract the readers, with majority of the books being written for instruction and educational purposes. It was also found that little illustrations in the necessary forms were used to add onto the written texts. This therefore meant that most of the children’s books are illustrated and not picture books.
Three main groups were also found to form the culture of the Saudi people: family, childhood and religion. Further analysis of the Saudi culture came up with more information on the children’s literature, denoting that there existing numerous misrepresentations of the people’s culture in most of the analyzed literature. Out of this finding, it could be inferred that most of the publisher and writers fail to undertake proper research and studies of the Saudi culture before bringing out the respective stories. A clear distinction between religious and non-religious stories could also be drawn, where children are portrayed as either stupid or ideal, and women being assigned more traditional roles in most of the books.
Literacy instructions at the early stages of childhood have had various terms in its description, ranging from early reading to emerging literacy (Gunning, 2008). The best way that a parent or guardian can give their young ones an advantage in reading and writing is through teaching their children various literacy skills early in life. Though not the only one, pre-reading skills has been noted as the major early literacy skill established in children. The act of reading to children while still young exposes them to languages which in turn lead to social and educational advantages. This shows the need to start reading to your young ones while they are still infants. Scientific research has indicated that reading aloud to children each day increases the child’s brain capacity for literacy skills and language. (Xue, 2002). This is regarded as the most influential thing one can do in preparing his or her child for future learning.
Many children prepare themselves in terms of reading way before they enter school. Early literacy in its holistic state involves the knowledge of a child in reading and writing a bit earlier than they actually manage to read and write. According to Xue, early literacy can be depicted in a toddler seeking his favorite book, a baby chewing on a book and preschoolers who memorize a story and tell it to someone else. These early literacy skills have the potential to be initiated within the first five years of a child. This turns out to be contrary to the old myth that a child’s reading skills depends on the appropriate first grade teacher. In fact, it can be correctly deduced that a child’s reading success depends on how much he or she trained on reading before joining a school. The foundation of a child’s future in learning to read properly is laid on prior exposure to books and language (Marrow, 2001). However, one ought not to confuse early literacy for the actual teaching of a child how to read.
There is an ever-growing body of evidence that supports the need and importance for parental involvement in education. Such involvement in children’s education by parents has been termed as an essential aspect for the relationship between children, schools and families (). Parental involvement covers a wide array of activities at school as well as at home, hence the finding that it has a positive influence on children’s education. As such, parents are able to be in connection with both the child and the teacher in as far as the education program is concerned. In the absence of such parental involvement however, a state of disconnection will emerge, where parents will not have as much say and involvement in their children’s education as it is required; therefore leaving the teacher and the larger education system to deal with what the children learn or don’t learn.
In the case of Dammam, there is a disconnection between the children, teachers and parents. Women are basically given the traditional role of looking after the affairs of the home and therefore unable to properly engage in activities outside their culturally set limits. Fathers are on the other hand seen to have little or no time for their children, or simply entrusting the teachers with their children. The parents have in turn had to proper opportunity to air their views on what the children get to learn in their literature.
The crucial role of teachers in this case cannot be forgotten. As a matter of fact, education policy makers in the local levels have recognized this and are now formulating strategies that can relate to this fact (Gunning, 2008). According to a series of studies, it has been confirmed that good, effective teachers are of more value than certain curriculum materials. This therefore means that investing in suitable teachers through hiring or contract use is necessary. With effective teachers, it is possible for a child to overcome the missing gap of having not had early literacy instructions and become more skilled. Such teachers do this through the use of various elementary literacy instructions which happen to be effective (D’anguilli, 2004). Teachers have a pivotal role in what the children get to learn; seeing that they form part of the censorship boards that determine what the children get exposed to. It can therefore be concluded that the teachers accept what the children get taught in the selected literature.
Conclusion
Evidently, early education for children is a critical issue that ought to be dealt with diligently. It is for this reason therefore that children have their own special form of literature that is perceived to be most suitable for them. This literature has further been subjected to different modes of communication and subject matter; countries such as Dammam moving from the norm and using children’s literature to primarily given instruction and educate. Such use of children’s literature is seen to be different from the norm, which is basically entertainment and education. Dammam is one of the many Arabic nations located in the Middle East and subject to most of the attributes related to the Arabic nations; with one such characteristic being the use of children literature to enlighten the young ones on actual issues being dealt with the world. The nation also uses the literature to greatly spread the Islamic morals in order to help shape the children’s beliefs and habits.
References
D’angiulli, A., Siegel, L. S., & Maggi, S. (2004). Literacy Instruction, SES, and Word‐Reading Achievement in English‐Language Learners and Children with English as a First Language: A Longitudinal Study. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 19(4), 202-213.
Deasy, R. J. (2002). Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development: ERIC.
Gunning, T. G. (2008). Creating literacy instruction for all students: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
Morrow, L. (2001). Literacy development in the early years. Needham Heights, MA.
Xue, Y. (2002). The influence of early literacy instruction on children’s learning in kindergarten: University of Michiga
Children Literature in Dammam Case Study
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