As we read at the beginning of the year, Corbally sustains that “children’s literature is didactic (teaches/preaches); even the best of children’s literature is didactic.” This conception became apparent in the last essay analysed in class, too. And, of course, it's also something that came to our minds when discussing taboo in the TV show 'Ren & Stimpy'. So, if we agree products for children are supposed to ‘teach’, what do you think they should teach? Or, the other way round: what do you think they should not teach? What topics are proper or improper when children are the target?
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17 comments:
In my opinion proper topics could be those concerning value education, in both implicit and explicit ways: unity, peace, happiness, hope, humility, trust, freedom, co-operation, honesty, courage, love, empathy, among many others.
Improper topics could be those that do not take into account the child's cognitive stage of development, being in that case of no didactic value.
I consider important that a child is given as much information as he can understand and "process", so that he can later on use it to become a critical social being.
LAURA DAMBOLENA
I totally agree with you angelica when you say kids use what they were told in the early infancy or childhood (TV or at home) to become a future critical social being...
children's literature or TV shows should be useful for kids to learn what is wright against what is wrong. didactic and interactive cartoons, such as elmo or mickey mouse or handy many, help kids to understand how to behave in each situation, how to solve different problems, etc. this TV programs are great because children can get involved in the situation and think with the characters of the show what they have to do.
taboo cartoons show the other side of life. I think that they are there to show that they exist too just for kids to have fun, in some way or other. but that would not happen without a parental guidance. parents or adults should be there with kids to "explain" or talk about what is good or bad, in didactic or not didactic TV shows.
LAURA DAMBOLENA
I agree with the last part of Angélica's opinion. We should give our students as much information as they can understand and process. However, I believe that the point is not what topics we can use to teach but how we use them. For example, the chapter of "Ren & Stimpy" we saw in class was absolutely disgusting for me. Anyway, the matter is not the topic but the way it was presented in that cartoon. If the same topic would teach in Csience, for example, the way in wich it would be explained could be completely different. Although it could be considered funny, in fact it is for many children, we, as teachers, must be careful about the way how we expose the topics to our students. To sum up, I convienced that we can teach any topic if we take into account our students' ages, background knowledge, social environment etc. and we have to adjust the topic to each group of students. And I firmily believe, that, as we discussed before about children's literature, everything we teach our students should have a moral or something valuable for them that makes them reflect.
BELÉN
I agree with Silvia, it is really important the way in which we present topics to children. If the topic seen in "Ren & Stimpy" is presented in a different way it could be useful for kids to understand certain processes that take place in our bodies. I remember watching a TV show for kids when I was a child (I think it was called Bickman's world, or something like that)in which those kind of themes were presented with the purpose of explaining the processes of our body. This is an example of how the same subject, when used in an appropriate context,can become useful.
Personally, I think it's not the topic but how you present it to your target audience; in this case children.Whatever be the topic, should be adapted for the target audience taking into account its level of maturity. As regards the cartoon "Ren& Stinky" the topic is not disgusting, but it is the way it was presented. The same topic could be used in a didactic way. Actually, Encuentro Channel has broadcasted a TV programme for children dealing with the same topic.It was explained through an imaginary journey inside the human body how these natural processes are produced. So, for me is not a matter of "What" but "How".
After reading my mates' comments I dare say there are certain points I personally agree with. I totally agree with Angelica when she says we should give our children as much information as they can understand and process depending on their age, but I don't think topics are not appropiate if they don't have a didactic value. As Laura says taboo cartoons are to show they exist too! Otherwise how would kids distinguish what is correct and what is not? I know by my daughter disgusting things make children laugh and they have fun watching them, but I make sure she understands those things are not appropiate in certain situations or contexts. Finally, I would like to make clear that taboo topics are not necessarily incorrect and must be explained in a subtle way for children to be aware of them and, as they grow they will be better instructed.
As Angelica first mentioned, there are many important values that should be present in children’s literature or tv shows for children. But I don’t want to repeat Angelica’s words or make a list of them. As regards the things that this programs or books shouldn’t teach, we have seen in some of the tv shows a lot of violence. I think that violence is part of human history and life, so I am not sure it is wrong to show violence to children. However, it is important to make clear the causes and consequences of these acts of violence and to have balance in the end, proving that peace and friendship are the most important condition to bring us happiness . In this way, children are given the opportunity to think and reflect about it.
I was reading the all the previous comments, and I must say that I agree with all of them. In my personal opinion, the most important thing to bear mind is the importance of teaching values through tv show programs or books. Because in our society values, in general, are one of the things that must be recovered. But apart from that, what Karina mentioned is also important, not only what, but also how the values are going to be presented.
Giselle Albim
Guadalupe Bustingorri
I agree with Angelica. I think that it is crucial to teach values through interesting topics. As regards what Karina has said, the way in which teachers present certain values is important, too.
Taking into accout what Florencia mentioned before, it is true that violence is part of our society, so we can deal with it in a didactic and meaningful way, so as to spread among our students a sense of no violence.
Guadalupe Bustingorri
I agree with the idea that TV shows and cartoons for children should teach value education. Apart from the ones listed by Angelica, I would like to add the importance of teaching children about self-esteem and respecting others as well the importance of taking care of the environment. I also agree with Karina who has said that it's not the topic but how you present it to children. In my opinion, this is key to produce a good effect on children. I remember I used to watch a cartoon called `the magic school bus´. The cartoon was about a teacher who took her class on educational trips with a magical school bus which could go anywhere. It could go to space, inside the human body, etc. I not only learned a lot but also I used to have a lot of fun.
CRISTIAN MATAS
After reading all my mate’s comments I can come to the conclusion that “what” and “how” are key elements in any children literature or TV show but, they are not the only points to take into consideration. Literature or TV shows shouldn’t teach by itself because there should always be a parental guidance, as Laura said. We should remember that behind any book or program there is an adult’s ideology and, in some of the cases, the creators want to teach and, in others, they only want to entertain. Then, adults are responsible for choosing what children read or watch and be aware of how topics are presented in each case. If not, we will always blame the TV or books for the message they give but we don’t reflect upon our own responsibility. In other words, any topic can be useful to teach but, it depends on the purpose we, as adults, have in mind and, of course, children’s stage.
I suppose that tv show should teach values. There are many topics which should be developed according to the children´s level of maturity. It´s important how the theme is presented because children copy what they see and hear. As regards taboo topics I agree with Silvina because all topics should be explained in order to clarify children´s ideas. Many topics are difficult to comprehend so kids could misunderstand the meaning of them. Nancy Nieto
Well, I totally agree with the opinions of all my partners! Nowadays, we live inside a violent society that has lost all the values, and if this wasn´t enough, when we turn the television on for our children to be entertained only few programmes can do this. Most of the programmes show obscenities!!! It is true that children laugh at these obscenities y sometimes they reproduce with their friends. These shows should try certain topics from other point of view that will not generate conflict on kids. And I think that is not neccesary for the female host to be provocative dressed or naked when they want to teach singing a kid!!!
I read my classmates´comments and I agree with all of them. I think there are many topics that should be included in tv shows for children or in children´s literature, for example love, peace, etc. It is also important the way in which these topics are presented because as Nancy said, children copy what they hear and watch. Topics should be adapted for children in order to make them understand the topics.
GISELA KOVAL
I agree with all my mates who said that topics for children should be related to values. I personally think that it is interesting talking about values in the classroom, specially at primary school because as we all may know there's a lack of values in our society in general. By chosing topics related to values not only for readings but also for activities in general, we will be giving an extra and interesting purpose to our daily work.
GISELA KOVAL
In my opinion, I agree with my mates in the fact that products for children should transmit values. Personally I think, that certain cartoons do not reflect meaningful messages and even adults should think before hand about what they want to express throug those products taking into account their audience. In this case, children of different ages.
I totally agree with the opinions of my partners that television programmes should broadcast in their shows values of peace, friendship, respect to adults and brotherly love. The television in general should ban to transmit certain programmes that include obsenities, violence and an offensive humour at the prime time in which kids are able to watch the tv. For instance, programmes of fights should be prohibited because later kids try to imitate certain violent movements at home and at school!!! Television should educate the audience, not entertain only.
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