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From: Susan C. Griffith <griffisc>
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 15:29:55 +0000
It is getting very close to the last day of July and I have yet to have my say about classics in children's literature. I know I think of them as something older and as something that is passed on from generation to generation within the private worlds of families and within the public world of the education system. I welcome the debate about what is a classic because it makes me think about what values are important to me and what values are promoted by the culture. A classic to me is one that spurs readers imagination and makes them examine their own values and those of the culture they live in--this seems to be different from what I will call the "canon idea" of a classic--which seems to want to promote the values of the culture, rather than question their viability and vitalness. (Of course, these ideas reflect my value that thinking deeply about these things is important.)
One book that does that for me is -Tuck Everlasting- by Natalie Babbit. In what I consider to be our death?nying culture, it raises real questions about everlasting life in a way that imaginatively opens new ways of looking at one of life's central mysteries. It is also a masterful adventure story replete with images based in senses.
Another book that does this for me is -Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry- by Mildred Taylor. Here is a family with the most solid of the oft-promoted modern notion of family values--they love each other, stick together, contribute to their community, are constructive and creative. And yet, because they are African-American their lives are constricted, devalued, and threatened. They are forced to live apart from each other when they only want to be together. With the story told from Cassie's point of view--we see the situation afresh, as it has unfolded time and again in countless lives in this country and culture beginning hundreds of years ago and continuing till today. Each time I read this, and when my students do,they must question their own stance and their own part in a culture with racism twisted in its roots. They also see the strength that the love and support of family brings and the difference it can make in individual lives.
At the end of this month I am no longer thinking about "What is a classic?" but instead, "What do I want to be a classic?"--I see now that defining classics is an ongoing cultural process and I, for one, am most interested in being part of the dialogue.
---------------------Susan C. Griffith susan.griffith at bc.edu Lesley College
Received on Wed 30 Jul 1997 10:29:55 AM CDT
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 15:29:55 +0000
It is getting very close to the last day of July and I have yet to have my say about classics in children's literature. I know I think of them as something older and as something that is passed on from generation to generation within the private worlds of families and within the public world of the education system. I welcome the debate about what is a classic because it makes me think about what values are important to me and what values are promoted by the culture. A classic to me is one that spurs readers imagination and makes them examine their own values and those of the culture they live in--this seems to be different from what I will call the "canon idea" of a classic--which seems to want to promote the values of the culture, rather than question their viability and vitalness. (Of course, these ideas reflect my value that thinking deeply about these things is important.)
One book that does that for me is -Tuck Everlasting- by Natalie Babbit. In what I consider to be our death?nying culture, it raises real questions about everlasting life in a way that imaginatively opens new ways of looking at one of life's central mysteries. It is also a masterful adventure story replete with images based in senses.
Another book that does this for me is -Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry- by Mildred Taylor. Here is a family with the most solid of the oft-promoted modern notion of family values--they love each other, stick together, contribute to their community, are constructive and creative. And yet, because they are African-American their lives are constricted, devalued, and threatened. They are forced to live apart from each other when they only want to be together. With the story told from Cassie's point of view--we see the situation afresh, as it has unfolded time and again in countless lives in this country and culture beginning hundreds of years ago and continuing till today. Each time I read this, and when my students do,they must question their own stance and their own part in a culture with racism twisted in its roots. They also see the strength that the love and support of family brings and the difference it can make in individual lives.
At the end of this month I am no longer thinking about "What is a classic?" but instead, "What do I want to be a classic?"--I see now that defining classics is an ongoing cultural process and I, for one, am most interested in being part of the dialogue.
---------------------Susan C. Griffith susan.griffith at bc.edu Lesley College
Received on Wed 30 Jul 1997 10:29:55 AM CDT
