Childhood & Globalization conference

A conference on Childhood & Globalization: An International Colloquium will be held next week (Sept 13-17) on the campuses of Illinois State University and Illinois Wesleyan University with participants from Russian State University for the Humanities (RGGU) in Moscow.  We're looking forward to interesting presentations and conversations on thinking about children's literature and childhood from a global perspective.

Students in my ENG 470 course will be attending the evening session: Childhood in Image and Sound at ISU on Wednesday night as our class meeting.  I will be the moderator on a panel with Sonja Fritzsche and Rebecca Gearhart from IWU and Oksana Gavrishina from RGGU.

On Friday morning (Sept. 17), I will be speaking on "Globalizing Childhood through Children's New Media" on a panel with Marina Balina and Scott Sheridan from IWU.  RGGU professors Anja Tippner and Oksana Gavrishina will moderate.

Here's a link to the Colloquium Program (in .pdf format) as well as a press release from IWU.

I'm looking forward to interesting conversations!

Study habits vs. Effective studying styles

Do you study in the same place?  Do you move around?  Do you find quizzes difficult?  A recent article in The New York Times reports that some study habits that many experts thought were the best may not be. In "Research Upends Traditional Thinking on Study Habits,"  Benedict Carey reviewed research on how people study and found materials that might change how everyone from kindergartens to college students to professionals study.  For instance, reviewing information in different places at different times -- rather than going to the same place to study each time -- actually helps people retain better.  We are quite aware of our surroundings and they factors in to how well we learn materials.

Also, quizzes -- which happen quite often in my courses -- are quite beneficial for helping students learn. Carey writes, "That’s one reason cognitive scientists see testing itself — or practice tests and quizzes — as a powerful tool of learning, rather than merely assessment."  Testing, it seems forces one to think about a topic and learn it well.  "The more mental sweat it takes to dig it out, the more securely it will be subsequently anchored," Carey notes.

However, the article does report that motivation is important tool for understanding material as well. Whether it's impressing parents or an admirer or working hard for a raise, motivation helps raise the bar.

So perhaps we should all move around as we study -- the library, the kitchen table, the couch, the coffee shop. Just be ready for a possible quiz the next day in class.

Canadians' report on boys and comics

Is it good or appropriate for boys to read comics?  Is reading comics really 'reading'?  The debate continues with the Canadian Council on Learning weighing in with a report last month about the positive experience of kids reading comics.  The report specifically notes: "Despite their controversial past, comics have become a pervasive and undeniable aspect of popular culture. It is clear that they appeal to younger readers—particularly boys—who are often resistant to reading."

The report, "More than just funny books: Comics and prose literacy for boys", observes that boys are interested in and read about different subjects than what are traditionally considered 'reading.' The authors write, "Boys also tend to prefer visual media, such as the internet, newspapers and magazines, that focus on sports, electronics and video games. Yet, while boys show clear preferences for specific reading material these genres and media are generally under-represented or even unavailable in school libraries, a reflection of the views of teachers and librarians who judge such material inappropriate."

The Carolina Online Journal, based in Charlotte, did a follow up report and found librarians who were dismissive of comics, and a few who understood their appeal. In the article that's published today, Hal Young also interviewed a psychologist who's concerned about the limited role models in comics when transferred to film while a special education teacher understood that comics are much broader in scope than they initially may appear.  The teacher cited Max Axiom: Super Scientist comics as some that have particular appeal while also teaching about science.

It seems that the question continues of what constitutes 'real' or 'appropriate' reading. Yet, the problem remains that boys continue to lag behind girls in reading scores.  Here are a few links on the difference in reading skills of boys and girls:

• Reading is for the boys (and girls)!
• 4th grade girls perform better than 4th grade boys in 2006 U.S. Dept of Education study
• A 2010 Center on Education Policy report found that "Boys lagged behind girls in reading in every state"
• And some ideas on helping boys become better readers, particularly in middle school

The curious debate about comic books continues as boys still struggle with reading and could benefit from looking at texts with images.

Thanks to Chester Comix for the link to the Carolina article.

Value of an English Major

Here an article from the Chicago Tribune that English and philosophy majors have merit and may actually end up being valuable "You're majoring in what?"

Here's a few lists of famous English majors:

• from Hawai'i Pacific University
• from the University of Nebraska-Kearney
• from IRCC
• from Central Washington University

ENG 470 Info

The course syllabi for ENG 470: Topics in Children's Literature: Children's Visual Culture from Picture Books to New Media is now posted on the web page for ENG 470.  You can find it in the grey bar above, in the second line. I've also posted the Presentation Schedule for the course.