Why books? And why feelings?
The essential reason for reading is to respond in our own individual way to what the author has to say and to share the ideas, thoughts and emotions of the characters. Of course we need to read the lines, but we need also to read between and beyond the lines. What matters most is the engagement with the text, the affective response that all avid readers of whatever age run to books to experience.
It is a paramount responsibility for teachers to help children to become critical readers who can discriminate between the shallow and the multi-layered, to use their inferential skills to respond to the deeper meaning of texts. Such readers respond wholeheartedly to the emotional impact of a book, and consider the range of attitudes conveyed by particular characters. They understand how different viewpoints are conveyed by the author, and they perceive the underlying issues in a text.
It is every child's entitlement to feast on books that stimulate thought and raise vital questions, that get them engrossed in stories, 'hooked on books' that stir the emotions and help them better understand themselves as well as others. Needless to say, there should also be time for using books across the curriculum, for locating and retrieving information from non-fiction books. However, as Margaret Meek reminds us, although 'it is useful to get information, it is crucial to grow as a person'.
Fiction helps us to make sense of our lives and have greater knowledge of others. It
- allows us to stand in someone else's shoes and see the world from a different viewpoint;
- has the power to transport us to different worlds in different places, different times, different cultures from our own, so that we gain understanding of how others live, have lived and might live in the future;
- encourages us to grapple with social and moral dilemmas, to rethink our preconceptions and engage with new ideas;
- broadens and deepens our imaginative responses; and
- teaches us how narrative works so we can gain ever more pleasure from our dialogues with a range of authors.
As James Britton so crucially observed, 'We never cease to long for more lives than the one we have; in the role of spectator we can participate in an infinite number'. Narratives engage us totally as thinking, feeling human beings. Literature alone has the immense power to ensure that we all grow into fully enriched adults socially, politically, intellectually and emotionally.
To this end, teachers can keep books in high focus by
- arranging visits to local libraries,
- inviting authors, illustrators and storytellers into schools,
- writing to authors,
- celebrating an 'author of the week',
- running a book club or a story club,
- featuring regular bookshares, and
- keeping a 'review corner' up-to-date.
But perhaps the most important thing of all is to ensure that at least once a day children experience the thrill of listening and responding to stories - the best that are on offer - so that they learn to develop their own tastes and passions.
Why feelings?
To grow emotionally children need to come to terms with their own complex emotional make-up, they need to feel secure enough to take risks and become able to express positive and negative feelings openly with others. Myths about boys being tough and never crying need to be dispelled for a start!
Children need to know that anyone at any age can feel afraid, sad, guilty, embarrassed, disappointed, angry, or upset. They need to acquire a battery of tools to help them cope with the overwhelming emotions that will sweep over them at times. To do so, children need to talk together about their experiences, for example feeling afraid of the dark, moving schools, being ill, families separating, pets dying, new babies arriving on the scene, being bullied, being let down, or behaving badly themselves.
Through books children can ponder about problematic situations and compare the reactions of characters with their own emotions and experiences. In class, they can discuss how characters feel, why characters react in the way they do, what they as readers expected to happen, what they themselves would have done, said, thought in the same situation, what their mum might have said, what they would like to happen next, how they would like the story to end, what can be done in school to prevent/redeem a difficult situation.
Regular discussions arising from books encourage children to find positive ways of helping themselves and others to feel welcome, valued and successful.