18th June 2014 9:00
By Blue Tutors
Atheist Richard Dawkins has become involved in another controversy, having made comments to the effect that it may not be beneficial for children to read fairy tales. He cautioned against telling children classic yarns about fairies and monsters, warning that it may inculcate them with the notion that supernatural forces are real. His comments have been met with widespread criticism from religious people to atheists alike, who point out the benefit of encouraging children’s imagination, in addition to the transmission of stories as a bonding experience. But what can we as tutors learn from this debate?
Firstly, imagination has a significant role to play in lessons, however concrete the topics we are teaching. Whether we are teaching literature and asking a student to picture the context and era in which the story takes place, or maths where we are asking students to imagine the relationship between complex numbers, it is necessary for student to have the skill to picture something more than they can see with their eyes. The process of learning to do this begins very early on, and reading to children – asking them to use their imagination – plays a crucial role in helping them to develop those skills.
We should also continue to encourage students to read fantasy as they grow up. Fairy tales can be powerful agents of communication points about social and cultural history, which can be understood by students in a new light as they approach them with the benefit of age and experience. Many fairy stories are useful for helping students to understand social understandings, perhaps in the Victorian age, or for understanding literary devices. Maurice Sendak’s ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ and ‘Outside Over There’ are often found in GCSE classrooms with good reason – they can be appreciated and used as teaching aids on a number of levels. However we choose to do it, it is important that tutors encourage students’ imaginations.