It would take a skillful, facilitator of learning to get children to understand these concepts but it is viable in the learning environment. One way would be through dialogue and that would entail a class discussion as to who a real hero is. From this type of discussion many interesting, diverse and humorous comments will be elicited which will be both enlightening and engaging for the class. A good facilitator ECE could also address the world of make believe and how different things are in reality and why we must make the distinction for both worlds-one the imagination and the other - the logical brain-or in another words, juxtaposing the world of fantasy versus the world of reality for the young child. Another way that the early childhood educator could get the lesson learned from facilitating such an activity as Superhero play is to discuss the importance of the strengths and weaknesses of an individual. Virtues such as courage, physical strength and power but also appreciate the power of the mind and will, wisdom and persistence; that is staying the course and meeting one's goals no matter what are ways to get children engaged in discussion. Once again, the notion of making sacrifices in life is an important agent for learning. An effective ECE could discuss what makes a Superhero so special. Did he or she need to make sacrifices in life to attain some modicum of success? If so, what were the sacrifices and how did they impact the Superhero? Additionally the concept of recognizing the importance for standing up for what one believes as true and the value of doing the right thing as opposed to peer pressure or being lured by what one watches on television. (Shipley, 2008, p.214)
An ECE could also explore the topic of what is acceptable behavior and what is not. Drawing from examples in real life situations of whether the child has actually experienced or heard about, the ECE could present a case for young children about why it is wrong to be aggressive and lack compassion for someone who may not be as fortunate as they are. In many tales, Superheroes demonstrate the characteristics of compassion and empathy for others even their arch enemies. By having a lesson on values such as being empathetic, how to treat others such as friends, pets etc would also be a constructive way to incorporate Superhero play because it demonstrates acceptable as opposed to unacceptable behavior.
I really liked the points you made here about ways to discuss topics with the children. There really good ideas and I would definitely use them when talking about the idea of superheroes with children.
ReplyDeleteEspecially about what is acceptable and not, for me I think this is a big one that needs to be talked about. For some children they don’t know their own strength and what they think is okay could be harmful to another child.
I think it’s good to talk about compassion and empathy in the classroom, not even just for superhereo play, but for other areas in the classroom as well. Compassion and empathy are good things to know for life.