Reading the first assigned literature “Theories of Childhood”
(Burke, 2008), was an interesting and at times challenging read. I have never
considered what the term ‘childhood’ means, though it is a concept that I have
constructed personally from my time life experience, from being a child, a
teacher and a parent. I had never considered the idea that ‘childhood’ as a
concept is relatively new. When considering the lives of children in the past,
I merely considered that they were different to childhood’s now for a variety
of reasons.
Certainly, I have defined childhood according to parameters
based on biological facts such as physical and mental development from birth to
18. I have considered it as a time of learning and development in preparation
for participating as a functional adult, according to the cultural norms of the
society the child belongs. I have considered it is a time of wonder, awe and
imagination. Where the belief that anything is possible is greater than the
belief that something cannot be achieved. I have considered it as a time when
the person is most vulnerable and needs to be and should be protected from
trauma, bullying, violence. I have considered it to be the time where a person
prepares and develops for participating in society as an adult.
Looking at my children and their development over the past 4
and 2 years respectively, it has been a time of physical, emotional and social
development. It has been a time for developing security, love and a strong
emotional connection, where my children feel safe and secure to be the
personalities that they are.
It has been a time for developing an understanding of our
cultural moral norms. For my 2 year old, recently it has been a time of
discussion about the morals of not hitting, biting, pulling of hair. We have discussions
that physical violence is not acceptable. For my 4 year old it has been a time
for discussion of many abstract moral concepts: lying, stealing, bullying,
exclusion: that emotional and intellectual violence is not right. A time for the
development of life skills in my four year old. From setting the table, putting
away her clothes and toys, preparing a meal, dressing oneself, organization of
personal and family belongings. A time for the development of literacy and
numeracy skills.
Reading this article, as well as Guldberg’s chapter on
Childhood in historical perspective (2009), brought me to the following
understandings.
*Phillipe Aries in his book ‘Centuries of Childhood’ put
forward the theory that in Medieval society there was no concept of childhood,
that children were treated as miniature adults. Lloyd DeMause and his associates
controversially theorise that over time parental response to children has
gradually moved from abusive and cruel to nurturing and affectionate. Whilst I
do agree and understand that society has changed significantly over the past
two thousand years, as a mother I find it difficult to accept that parents,
regardless of the time period they lived in, did not love and nurture their
infants. Of all mammals, our children are born the most defenseless with the
longest period of growth needed before separation from adult assistance is
possible. We are born vulnerable and I believe a parents instinct is generally
to protect and provide for our children from birth as they grow. Children are
the future of every culture and where higher infant mortality rates exist,
surely that must mean that surviving children are even more valued? So I don’t believe that the concept or theory
of ‘childhood’ and what a child experiences as ‘childhood’ is only tied to the
value a parent attaches to their child. Rather, the value and status that the
parent’s community attaches to the child as a member of that community, defines
what childhood is for that community. Which helps explain why the childhood of
a ten year old in Australia or Canada, is very different to the childhood experienced
by a ten year old living in the slums in Calcutta or a refugee camp in the
Sudan; why children now do not go off to work in appalling labour conditions at
the age of 7, but are in school instead. Our community has attached a different
value and status to children different to other communities. Does this mean we
value our child more than them? I would be hesitant to say so.
“childhood itself, the social and cultural
expectations of the child, and its roles and responsibilities or stages of
legitimacy can be understood very differently according to any contextual
worldview.” (Burke 2008)
*I found the concept that childhood could be defined as a
state of being less literate than the adult population an interesting one, that
does not cater for low levels of literacy in socio-economically depressed
communities, indigenous communities and migrant communities. This would mean
certain pockets and members of our society could be judged as ‘child-like’ in
their ability to operate within a literate society. Following on from that
could be the supposition that children who are more information literate than
their adult counterparts have ‘surpassed’ aspects of childhood and are therefore
operating as adults.
*Which leads to an interesting line of thought. What exactly
is childhood in a 21st century literate society? What implication
does that have for us as educational professionals and the skills and content
we are developing and delivering within our schools? What does it mean to be
literate in today’s adult world, and how do we go about developing that within
our students? What literature is vital and important for children as they move
through childhood? Do we still share nursery rhymes, fairy tales, folktales,
fables, proverbs for the development of the understanding of imagination as
well as traditionally understood concepts of morality? Do we read for the
purpose of teaching morals, rules, behavior and curriculum or do we read to
fire the imagination, for enjoyment, for the love of reading? How intrinsically
should literature be entwined with childhood?
In an increasingly global world, is it possible to
have ‘one common childhood’ definition based on a global perspective of
childhood, or is it still more a culturally subjective term based on culture,
ethnography, anthropology, gender, accessibility, class and geographical
location(Burke, 2008)? Is it as Postman suggests “that the information and communications revolution at the turn of the
twenty-first century has delivered the end of childhood, since the relational
distance between the adult and the child has been terminally altered by the
spread and crucial adoption by children of information and communications
technologies.”?
What are the literature implications for this?
Lots to think about! What a thought provoking way to
start the next unit of study.
Bibliography
Burke, C. (2008). Theories of Childhood in Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in
History and Society retrieved http://www.faqs.org/childhood/So-Th/Theories-of-Childhood.html.
Guldberg, H. (2009). Reclaiming childhood: freedom and play in an age of fear:
Taylor & Francis.pp 46-56 Chapter 3 , Childhood in historical perspective
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