Discuss The Influence Of Children's Literature On Urban Education

There is a relentless struggle for improvement in the area of urban education. According to the annual dropout report prepared by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), the dropout rate for those living in urban areas are roughly fifty percent higher than those living in rural areas. Moreover, there seems to be little to no improvement when looking at the standardized tests which reflect a chronic concern for low performance. The education system in these big cities seem to have undergone a collapse and unfortunately, there is no way to pin point one particular issue and resolve it that way. There are many factors that play a role in this matter. Some of these issues consists of socio-economic differences—where children do not

Here is where children’s literature plays an important role in urban education. “For decades, research has concluded that children's books not only provide great pleasure to readers, but they can also play a significant role in children's academic, social, and literacy success” (Hoewisch). Author, Allison Hoewisch, makes an important observation and acknowledges that children’s books have an enormous potential in regards to improving education. Although this method seems quite simple, children’s literature is a device that many people seem to disregard or not quite fully understand the positive influence it can have. Children’s literature should be utilized more often not only in a school setting, but at home as well. Three reasons why children’s literature can positively impact the students in urban communities are: the character’s in these books have a potential to become positive role models for the students, it help students learn to cope with family and other environmental stressors that they may face daily, and it teaches young students about their own culture as well as other cultures as

Dropout rates and crime rates are high in the cities and these students may witness those they look up to, do things that can potentially encourage them to do the same in the future. Moreover, parents may not be there with the student and to help and guide the students because of their strict working schedule. During my civic engagement experience, I had a student who mentioned that he never went to the library or to a book store because his parents were always working and his brother was always hanging out with his friends. Although this is just one case, there are many students in similar situations. Therefore, encouraging children to read can have a positive influence when it comes to role models. Role models are important because they help guide children and inspire them to improve. When children read the stories and learn about what different characters do to overcome a situation, these characters have a great potential to become role models. Especially when the student can relate to the character and the situations that occur, the influence will have a greater impact. These fictional role models can demonstrate students strong and positive attributes, such as leadership, courage, selflessness, and most importantly determining what is right from wrong. The student may find the character inspiring and in the real world, that is what role models do: they inspire us. This is one