Thursday, April 12, 2012
Sara Schwebel, an Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina, has developed a new slant on education, a unique approach to enhancing literacy, verbal communications and other linguistic skills in children. In her guide, Child Sized History, younger readers find a new way to conceptualize America's historical past. Her book spans American history, is both educational and entertaining, and features topics such as American Indians, war, and slavery.
Talking with radio host Allen Cardoza of Answers for the Family, she shared the academic efforts of teachers who make use of historic novels within the classroom. Historical novels, she explained, make students conscious of how past events can relate to the present.
Schwebel mentioned how historic novels are different from the usual textbooks. While textbooks are commonly revised after public debates, historical novels have endured. They are seen as legacies of the past. In fact, many present troubling interpretations of American life in the past are revealed in historical novels.
She recalled how many of the books she enjoyed as a child were still taught in schools. For more than 30 years, the same children's historic novels like Johnny Tremain, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry have been taught across the United States.
Appreciated for their literary quality and for their historic insights, these historic novels continue to stimulate creativity in kids. These classics transport them from the American past. They also begin inviting them to speculate about the future. As works of historic interpretation, nonetheless, many are startlingly anachronistic with present historiography and social ideals, notably with regard to race.
Academics that make use of historic novels within the classroom will help students acknowledge and interpret historical narrative and sensitize them to how the past has influenced the ethical and ideological ideals of our present.
Talking with radio host Allen Cardoza of Answers for the Family, she shared the academic efforts of teachers who make use of historic novels within the classroom. Historical novels, she explained, make students conscious of how past events can relate to the present.
Schwebel mentioned how historic novels are different from the usual textbooks. While textbooks are commonly revised after public debates, historical novels have endured. They are seen as legacies of the past. In fact, many present troubling interpretations of American life in the past are revealed in historical novels.
She recalled how many of the books she enjoyed as a child were still taught in schools. For more than 30 years, the same children's historic novels like Johnny Tremain, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry have been taught across the United States.
Appreciated for their literary quality and for their historic insights, these historic novels continue to stimulate creativity in kids. These classics transport them from the American past. They also begin inviting them to speculate about the future. As works of historic interpretation, nonetheless, many are startlingly anachronistic with present historiography and social ideals, notably with regard to race.
Academics that make use of historic novels within the classroom will help students acknowledge and interpret historical narrative and sensitize them to how the past has influenced the ethical and ideological ideals of our present.
About the Author:
Learn more about Sara Schwebel. Stop by Allen Cardoza's site where you can listen to the entire interview about Child Sized History.