|
|
|||
In coordination with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOEHE) and a number of local NGOs, the Palestinian Ministry of Culture (MOC) developed the National Program for Developing Palestinian Children’s Literature: the “DPCL”.
The DPCL states of goals, strategies and policies concerning the development of children’s literature in Palestine. It constitutes the framework and guidelines for identifying and adopting related projects. The DPCL defines children’s literature as any creative product geared towards children, in the realm of stories, poetry, creative writing and theater. It also defines “the basic tenets for writing for children as creativity, freedom of expression and a structure of language that matches the developmental stages of the children…. Writing must meet the development needs of children on the personal, social, cognitive and moral levels, and take in account the various needs and interests of the child as an individual and as member of a group.”
The DPCL states that “folklore, cultural and natural environment and more specifically nature are an important source of inspiration in writing for children, however it should be seen as part of the human patrimonies and far from any chauvinism and fanaticism.” Special attention is given to the importance of fantasy in literature, as well the “procurement of pleasure and interest away from preaching and lecturing.” The DPCL states “Palestinian literature plays an important role in the educational process as a whole, is a major component in the national identity of Palestinian children, and in implanting the principles of democracy in Palestinian society.”
Among the objectives of this DPCL, one must note the importance of a literature of high quality, which shapes the personality of Palestinian children, strengthens national identity, develops creativity, participation and expression, entertains and enlarges horizons. Emphasis is also on making literature available to every Palestinian child regardless of his/her locality, gender, social psychological or physical situation and need.
After thorough discussions, workshops and a conference, the DPCL was revised and adopted by the MOC as a framework. After adoption of the framework, MOC asked all partners and related NGO’s to present proposals for activities related to the adopted goals and strategies.
The MOC studied the submitted proposals, and adopted eight. The overall goal of these proposals is to build children that are creative, able to criticize, analyze and express themselves. This is considered the best way to ensure a democratic society with community institutions that fulfill children’s literary needs and interests, and the achievement of attractive high quality of children’s books that are available to all children. DEVELOPING CHILDREN’S LITERATURE IN SCHOOLS, is a component within the DPCL. Developing Palestinian Children’s Literature ( DPCL): A National Program This document has been updated according to the recommendations of the conference held in Ramallah on 4/4/98 to discuss the goals, objectives and strategies of the DPCL. Introduction Through reading, a child strengthens his national identity because he is linked to his past, his present and his future, to his country and his people. Through books, the child not only learns about other cultures, but also identifies with other children from other cultures which enables him to become a real citizen of the world. Reading deepens awareness and his knowledge. Identifying self with different situations which he will judge and analyse, he will deepen his critical sense, widen his horizons, and most of all, he will learn to accept the differences between people, opinions and cultures which are the elements of a real democratic society. The continuous suffering of the Palestinian people for more than 50 years has hindered the possibility of developing systematic work on children’s literature. However, the Palestinian people have made the effort to overcome this problem. Palestinian efforts include initiatives by individuals and non-governmental institutions. Both sides did what they could within their capacities. However, such initiatives could not fill the needs in the field of children’s literature. The Palestinian child played a major role in Intifada. By the end of the Intifada, extensive attention was drawn to children. This situation triggered the start of the children’s literatary movement. Formulating a national program for children’s literature requires the involvement of all parties concerned with educational and cultural development. The Palestinian National Authority (PNA), represented by the MOC and MOEHE have a huge responsibility, coordinating developing and supporting such efforts. This process requires the coordination of all concerned frameworks, institutions and NGOs to achieve a national, integrated and comprehensive program. This program must complement and upgrade already existing efforts. Such a national program should place the importance of children’s literature among the educational and cultural priorities. In addition, this program shall study and examine earlier experiences (national and international) in the field of children’s literature. Children’s Literature According to DPCL program, children’s literature is defined as any creative product geared towards children in the realm of stories, poetry, creative writing and theater. Any of this literature can be published in books, journals and/or transmitted through audio-visual means of media. The basic tenets for writing for children are: creativity, freedom of expression and a structure of language that matches the developmental stages of children. It is important to note that illustrations are as important as text in children’s literature. Although there has been a wealth of children’s literature produced in the past century around the world, this does not replace the need for Palestinian literature. Palestinian literature is a major component in the national identity of Palestinian children. It also plays an important role in the educational process as a whole. At this stage, one must note that there is no Palestinian children’s literature per- se. Most of what is available has come to our hands through the translation of international texts. Arabic children’s literature has come mainly from Iraq and Egypt. Children’s Literature and the Child Psychological and educational aspects must be considered the most important guidelines when writing for children. The text must meet the developmental needs of children on personal, social, cognitive, and moral levels. Designing such literature must take into account the various needs and interests of the child as an individual and as member of a group. Folklore, cultural environment, natural environment and more specifically nature are an important source of inspiration in writing children’s literature. However, it should be seen as part of human heritage and far from any chauvinism and fanaticism. The realities of the Palestinian people constitute another important resource when writing for Palestinian children. It relates Palestinian children to their past and present and strengthens their identity. Last but not least, fantasy plays an important role in this literature; fantasy is an essential source of creativity. Fantasy enhances children’s creativity and fantasy sets no limits. Children’s Books The Israeli occupation has imposed a cultural siege on the Palestinian people. This siege has led to the deterioration of the quality of books in general, and children’s books in particular. For the past thirty years, the public libraries contained only a limited number of old books because of censorship. Also, some books had to be removed from shelves because they were blacklisted. As a result, the books which remained on shelves were in poor shape and did not encourage people to read. On the other hand, bringing foreign books involved censorship and very complicated procedures which discouraged anyone from importing books. In addition, book prices, if available, were very high and the average family could not afford it. High prices, and the extensive pressure on Palestinian society led to an absence of books from the shelves of private and public libraries, as well as bookshops. A study conducted in 1995 by Tamer’s institute indicated 1 book per 8 children in Palestine. In the families, only 22,9% of the families had a library in their homes. A field study conducted by the Ministry of Culture in 1998 identified only 97 libraries (or nuclei of a library) in the country. Reading habit Frequent and prolonged closures of schools during the Intifada had an extensive negative impact on literacy. The economic situation, and the opportunity to do only physical labour in Israel resulted in a devaluation of books and reading in some sectors of the Palestinian society. However, the recent closures which prohibit workers from working in Israel have recently created the opposite effect.. All of the factors listed above, have procluded development of a reading habit among Palestinian youngsters. One of the achievements of the PNA is its canceling of taxes on imported books. However, such an action cannot solve the problem entirely. Therefore, the DPCL has made its responsibility to revive the habit of reading among the Palestinian children. The DPCL will do so by improving the quality of children’s books and making these books available for all Palestinian children. Vision and Objectives The DPCL program is based on a general vision that takes in consideration the Palestinian child regardless of his locality, gender, social psychological or physical situation and needs; it can be summed up as follows: Towards a reading child, who has access to Palestinian, Arabic and international literature of high standards in content and form[1]. This literature should be written in a structure of language that suits the developmental stages of children. It should procure pleasure and interest to the child without preaching and lecturing. In light of this vision, the DPCL program will work to achieve the following objectives: 1. Develop a Palestinian literary movement that provides the Palestinian child with an interesting and entertaining literature.. This literature should reflect the needs realities and culture of the Palestinian child. It should attain a level and quality that enable it to take its place in the international literature for children.. 2. Shape the Palestinian child’s personality, strengthen his/her national identity develop his/her skills for participation and expression, entertain him/her, enlarge his/her horizons 3. Encourage creativity among the Palestinian children particularly in the field of writing and drawing 4. Instill the habit of reading among the Palestinian children. 5. Promote publishing of Arabic books and translation of international books which will give the Palestinian child the opportunity to be exposed to other cultures together with the strengthening of his national identity. 6. Develop the importance of the book, as one of the multiple sources of knowledge and make it available to each Palestinian child. 7. Implant the principles of democracy in the Palestinian society Proposed Strategies The suggested strategies for the DPCL program are based on the already existing efforts and initiatives. The strategies are presented as follows: · Develop criteria for good children’s literature. · Plan and run training programs for writers, illustrators, librarians, teachers, children activity leaders and parents. · Organize activities to teach children creative writing through schools, cultural centers, summer camps ... · Formation of a children writers union. · Introduce children’s literature in school curriculum. · Teach Arabic language through children’s literature · Create links between schools and cultural institutions in order to present children’s literature in an vivid and attractive way (theater, cinema..). · Teach courses in Children’s Literature at local universities. · Establish and develop libraries for children. · Support promising initiatives carried out by individuals and institutions (profit and nonprofit) in the areas of publishing, distributing and marketing children’s books. · Increase the number and better the quality of children’s books in local book fares. Also, make Palestinian children’s books available in Arab and international book fares. · Support translation efforts of children’s literature into /from Arabic. · Support research and critical studies in the area of children’s literature. · Establish a resource center for children’s books. · Document all existing Palestinian literature related to children. · Develop a proposal for copyright of children’s books. · Hold a periodical conference for children’s literature to exchange ideas and information, and follow up on the progress of DPCL. · Increase the number of meetings and seminars among all those who work in the field of children’s literature. · Increase the number of meetings between children and people working in the field of children’s literature. · Establish the themes and genres that really interest children (problem of magazines) · Present children’s literature to children through different genres of arts · MOEHE facilitates the introduction of books and magazines in schools. · Adopt child to child training programs. · Participation of children in the collection of folkstories. · Encourage Palestinian media to include more programs geared towards children’s literature and develop theater, TV and radio programs based on children’s literature.. · Run activities to enhance reading among Palestinian children.. · Organize national reading campaigns. · Allocate prizes for creativity in the area of children’s literature. · Allocate a prize for children’s literature as part of the Palestinian Prizes for Art and Literature. DPCL program and the National Plan of Action for the Palestinian Child (NPA) The DPCL is a natural development of the goals and objectives of the NPA for Culture.. As mentioned in the plan, literature gives our child access to other cultures while strengthening their national identity. Literature also helps the Palestinian children to upgrade their knowledge about issues related to society, science, environment, and health. In addition, literature is a tool to develop their awareness, skills, and creativity. On the other hand, the NPA states that the MOC should adopt a policy of support, rather than direct implementation of issues related to culture. Furthermore, the MOC sees the role of NGO’s as one that meets the social, cultural, and humane needs of the Palestinian people.. In light of the need for an effective coordination among all involved institutions and projects (already existing and new ), the following preliminary steps are needed: 1. The MOC should (and did) accredit this outline and place it among its priorities regarding children’s culture. 2. This prepared outline should be (and was) distributed to all concerned institutions prior to holding a conference. The aim of this conference is to announce the birth of the DPCL program, discuss its outlines, and call for all concerned parties to submit projects and participate in making it work. 3. The plan in its final form (with the projects that would have been submitted), will then be submitted to MOC for adoption. The plan will then be integrated in the NPA as a priority for Palestinian Children’s Culture. 4. MOC will follow up the implementation of the funded proposals through a dual agreement with the involved partners The program systematically addresses the main sectors of children literature: libraries, schools, kindergartens, parents and more generally media and society. It works at the grassroots level. Direct impact and achievements are expected to have a snowball effect on the various projects or activities which support each other, thus planting the seed of real impact in Palestinian society. The creation of the Resource Center for children’s literature by the Tamer Institute resulted in a coordination of efforts leading to the acceptance of Palestine as a member of the International Board of Books for Youth (Ibby). The Resource Center organized several meetings, training, and round-tables on children’s literature, supported libraries and published a newsletter. In the field of book production, the Resource Center focused on the development of the skills of writers and illustrators. Between 2000-2003, young illustrators joined 252 hours of training in over 75 workshops, meetings and round-table discussions on children’s literature and workshops on creative writing. These books are of a much higher quality than those produced before 1994. These books are richer in content, have broadened the subjects of children’s books in Palestine, and deal with issues of diversity, gender, tolerance, friendship, joy and fantasy. In the library sector, 73 children’s libraries were established by the MOC, and this has established the basis for real development of the sector. It has also established a minimum criteria for services, including the training of librarians, the quality of books, and the equipping and furnishing of libraries. The library seems to be a place where parents feel it is safe to send their children in time of crisis. In many areas, it is the only place where children can still go, during closures. When a village is closed, teachers, doctors, engineers and others tend to increase their activity in their home village, especially in the library, which they consider an important achievement. In several cases, the Ministry’s input to the development of a library was simply the spark that initiated the process; these libraries subsequently were enlarged, and equipped through community efforts. When a library was established in the Youth Club, which typically excludes females, girls won entry into the Club through the library. The current situation slows libraries’ efforts to form a real network. Joint festivals, and visits between librarians and children from different libraries are no longer possible. However, libraries have strengthened their ties with the local community and maintain basic contact with libraries within their district. The introduction of Internet in all libraries will improve networking. Ties between schools and libraries are improving. Classes are visiting libraries with their teachers, librarians visit schools for reading, teachers train librarians in children’s literature and common activities, and ties are expected to grow as teacher training n children’s literature is implemented. In the Educational Sector. This program included two projects in the educational sector: Training Kindergarten Teachers in Children’s Literature, and Developing Children’s Literature in Schools. The “Training of kindergarten teachers in children’s Literature” is still in the initial stages. Only five groups of 25 kindergarten teachers were trained between 2000 and 2003 in West Bank and Gaza, but pilot training evaluation meetings demonstrate the great benefit kindergarten teachers expect this training to have. Many of the teachers discovered children’s literature through this training. All of them feel the large range of activities encouraged through this training really help them improve the quality of the time they spend with children.
Developing children’s literature in schools This project enriches teachers’ capacity to use children’s literature in the classroom, and develops teachers’ capacity to create activities around children books that bring the book and the concepts it portrays to life. A range of innovative approaches are used to achieve this, including art activities, cross reading, discussion, creative writing, organization of exhibitions, drama, games, linguistic games….
The 35 children’s books used in this project cover subjects which would be difficult to raise without its portrayal in “a story”, ie diversity, tolerance, accepting the other, being different, respecting nature, dealing with life and death. Gender is an important issue and in many of these books, women are leaders or heroes. World classics and local books were selected.
These books are read individually or by groups. In group discussions, every child can express freely his opinion and has to respect opinions expressed by peers. He/she argues his/her viewpoint, but must also accept that his opinion may not prevail. Expressing one’s feelings and opinions takes place in different manners and with various cultural supports (acting, discussing, drawing, writing, inventing, organizing exhibitions..). The primary recommendations for teachers in the training material are to respect children’s opinions… Accept all answers… ask questions and allow all questions and answers.
The above mentioned documents, the Training Material and the two teacher’s books produced, all stress the importance of reading and introducing Children’s Literature in schools, as a means of assuring our children’s most basic rights.
Indeed, various experiences have proved that language skills are better developed through reading an enjoyable story, and that children who like to read are the most successful adults. On the other hand, the activities proposed help children to identify with new situations, characters and values, which are different from those they meet daily. This allows the opportunity to compare between the two situations, to discuss and raise questions. These are important goals that assist our children in develop positive values, understand themselves, others, issues around the world and the importance of dialogue. In other words, they learn to become creative thinkers, build tolerance and democracy. This project is directly related to more than 14 articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Article 17 recognizes all the benefits of children’s books and stipulates that States Parties shall “encourage the production and dissemination of children books”. It also stresses the importance of the right of the child to have access to information and material from a diversity of cultural, national and international sources.
Introducing children literature in schools is the best guarantee for reaching the largest number of children, regardless of origin, with equal opportunities for all, while respecting the diversity of identity and culture which are related to articles 1, 30, 29. The main objectives of introducing children’s literature in schools are: the improvement of the quality of education through teacher training, development of the children to reach their full potential, respect for cultural identity, language and nationality, developing values and life skills, tolerance, diversity, equality of sexes, respect of nature and environmental concerns; these relate to articles 6, 27, 28, 29.
Reading for pleasure, the creation of various art and cultural activities around books, and participating in the cultural life of the community through activities related to books, satisfy directly article 31 of the Convention.
Reading books related to health issues, nature and environmental issues, disability, use of drugs, conflict resolution, and discussing and creating activities around these books are the richest way to raise children’s awareness on these issues; these respond to articles 23, 24, 29, 33.
Discussing controversial issues raised through books, and learning to accept other people’s opinions, knowing how to convince others while respecting other’s opinions, prepares for successful implementation of Article 15, which upholds the rights of the child to freedom of association and to freedom of peaceful assembly. It directly relates to articles 1, 12, 13, 14, 29, which uphold freedom of thought, pinion and expression. While reading, one cannot prevent one’s mind from comparing information we read with one’s life and therefore, understanding the differences as well as the common ground. Through reading, differences stop being slogans, and we understand and relate to them from the viewpoint of the “other”. One cannot prevent one’s mind from relating to the different heroes in the story; to identify one’s self with some of the heroes, to particular situations, to different times. So many characters we read about become more intimate then friends. Through reading, we understand that each human being is a totally unique being and yet, in essence, so alike to all human beings.
Reading broadens the subjects we are exposed to. During the pilot training of this project, trainees discussed “The Changeling”, the Nobel Prize Winning book by Selma Lagerlof. Most trainees identified with the mother of a lost child who adopted the son of a troll. They made the connection between the story and a situation of having a war prisoner or having to take care of a severely handicapped child. Immediately the discussion shifted to a human level, the trainees could no longer treat the matter as slogans. They had felt what the mother of the lost child had felt, they had felt her compassion for the troll and they all felt that she was right to adopt him, even if many admitted that they couldn’t have been so generous. However, they all admired such generosity. The teachers that were involved in this pilot training also said that after this discussion, they would be better able to transfer this concept to their students Reading broadens one’s horizons; it surpasses all frontiers of time and space. Reading encourages understanding and one’s identification with other cultures. It is a bridge between people and the best ally to building understanding, tolerance and peace.
Reading improves children’s knowledge and life skills. Researchers have proven that reading children are the children who are most successful in their adult lives. However, reading is a habit which is best established when very young. Reading therefore becomes a strong asset for a country’s social and economic development, and should be introduced in the first years of a childs’ life.
Group discussion on books, and creative activities related to books are the best way to achieve maximum benefit from all the positive aspects of reading. This facilitates team work, dialogue respect for others and different opinions, and problem solving through team work and discussion. All of these are prerequisites for the achievement of a democratic society, and create citizens that fully participate as members of their society.
Through training, teachers not only learn to implement creative activities around children books, but how to choose new children books and create new activities to be implemented in the classroom. This is a step forward toward an ongoing participatory approach in curriculum design.
Teachers and supervisors involved in this project’s pilot training demonstrated that the project had a positive effect on other areas of curriculum. Activities on children books were introduced with civic education curriculum from third grade, as well as in the project “school child friendly”. Children’s story books were also used to teach scientific topics.
Through the involvement of parents and the local community in activities, this training contributes to a more positive and involved society.
With the support of the Swedish Institution Diakonia, 5 groups of 110 Trainees completed a one-year Training Program run by Dr. Ulla Lungvist, a Swedish expert in Children Literature. Three training groups of teachers or supervisors from MOEHE and two groups of individuals (writers, educators, librarians, translators, journalists) received high-level training on issues related to children’s literature.
This course covered: critical analysis of children’s literature; attitudes towards children’s literature, and development of teachers’ capacity to create activities which bring children’s books and their concepts to life.
Upon completion of the training, each group conducted evaluation meetings on the training course and the books used during the training. All the trainees gave an excellent rating for the quality of the training, how much they enjoyed the training, and the wide horizons opened to them through this training. Teachers said the training was especially useful because it allowed them to create activities children love. However, they recommended the publication of an activity guide to facilitate implementation of activities.
After the evaluation meetings, in the second stage of the project, 9 members of the training groups (three from each MOEHE training group), assisted by three local experts in Children Literature, developed course material in preparation for wide spread training of Palestinian teachers. The Training Material and the Teacher’s book were completed and printed.
In February 2003, a meeting was organized inaugurating the Training of the Teachers in West Bank and Gaza, with high officials and staff from both ministries, partners and donors.
During the period 2003-2004, 133 groups of teachers were trained and two evaluation meetings were organized. In evaluation meetings, participants noted the development of positive attitudes towards children’s literature, especially towards the importance of reading for pleasure. The importance of books which do not preach or explicitly state a morale message, was highlighted. The focus became use of stories to discuss and raise issues amongst children. The books used during the training received a strong positive rating, with emphasis on the important issues raised in these books. Teachers appreciated the fact that this training encourages children’s learning through discussion and comprehension, rather than through memorization. They also appreciated the large range of books, which they said provides an opportunity to expand children’s educational and cultural boundaries beyond a somewhat rigid curriculum. The great potential for parent and community involvement was discussed; reading days and festivals, and several other activities were organized and had an important impact on parents, and the school community. Participants emphasized that the activities promoted by the training were important because they - Deepen children’s awareness of self - Deepen children’s awareness of their Palestinian identity - Develop the concept of children as citizens of the world - Enhance the development of positive values and life skills - Encourage discussion and respect of others opinions - Encourage appreciation of creativity and diversity - Deepen language skills. The following material is currently available:
1) The Training material (120 pages) is used by trainers in teacher training. It focuses mainly on attitudes towards children’s literature, analysis and critique of children’s literature, and on activities in class for promoting children’s reading. During the training, trainees work extensively on 21 titles, for discussion, analysing and creating reading promotion activities. This training material is detailed and clear (detailing all the steps of the training with specific recommendations for trainers) to be sure that neither the spirit, nor the information is lost from one group to another, even in times of crisis when centralised follow up is more difficult. 2) The Teachers Book: (174 pages) is divided into two parts: * Articles on Children’s Literature: (55 pages.) These articles urge readers to think about controversial issues. There might be different point of views and they are intended to provoke discussion. ** Models for Activities teachers can implement in their classroom and that they can use as models for creating and developing other activities. (119 p.): In addition to the training itself, the group chose 5 local books, and 10 of the most highly appreciated international books used in the pilot training and designed a number of activities the teacher can try with his/her students, before designing activities of their own from books of their choice. Teachers can also adapt these activities to other books, other age ranges, levels or interests of the students and hence use these activities as models.
The activities are based on different exercises: drawing or art activities, drama, creative writing, research, organizing exhibitions, poetry writing, discussing… but they all aim at developing creativity, life skills, and positive values and attitude in children. They all ameliorate the general atmosphere in the classroom into a creative atmosphere where solidarity, teamwork and peaceful discussions prevail. They introduce laughter as well as deep discussions on serious problems and issues in the classroom. They give children a chance to learn how to dialogue, respectfully express differences of opinions and develop their own self-identity. Throughout the project, a new compilation of titles and related activities created by the teachers themselves will be published every year, to enrich the range of available applications and create a library of teacher’s guides (activity guides on new books). Annex 3 details some examples of the activities designed in the teachers’ book.
3) The second teacher’s book will be published at the end of 2004. The second teacher’s book will also be divided in two parts, and will be characterized by locally produced articles on children’s literature. The second part of the book also will constitute a new development (as compared to the first book), as it will be produced by the 150 trainers that trained teachers during the first 18 months of project implementation. It will also take in consideration all of the innovative activities created by the teachers during the training.
4) The books: The success of the overall project requires children’s access to a range of high quality children’s literature with sufficient numbers of copies to implement activities. Several donors (UNICEF, the British Council, DIFID, Sida) and local NGOs, mainly the Tamer Institute, Ogarit and the Palestinian Red Crescent provided school libraries with 10,000 copies of each of the 35 titles. Norad is offering 9 new titles. Other consulates and organizations have informally promised to fund new titles. [1] Conforming to standards that will be agreed on. |
|||
