As some of the readings state or allude to, fantasy is often written off as not being as valuable or important as other genres. Not only do some people say fantasy in useless, worthless, and/or uneducational, but some teachers do not even encourage reading fantasy books. However, this is simply the furthest thing from the truth or what should be done in my opinion. Fantasy can be amazing for children to engage with and fantasy books can even help teach children they do not have to be scared of things like witches, monsters, ghosts, etc. and (going along with that) why “escaping reality” through reading can serve as a helpful and wonderful coping skill/mechanism. Let’s dive deeper into what I mean when I say all this though as I probably have not convinced everyone out there that fantasy is a valuable and worthwhile genre when it comes to teaching and learning!
First of all, teaching and reading using fantasy books help students be creative and cultivate and develop their creativity. I feel as though sometimes the education system and school squashes students’ amazing imaginations and creativity. Maybe this is actually why adults seem to be “so much less creative” in comparison to children. The ability of a child to think outside the box is quite amazing and I am always impressed by what students/children have to say (whether I am babysitting, teaching in the classroom setting, etc.). Teaching fantasy enriches and encourages creativity and elaboration too and I believe we must foster, enrich, and encourage this type of style in writing, reading, thinking, etc.
Another thing that I absolutely love (and that I realized after engaging with the readings) is the fact that fantasy books help students deal with reality. We teachers may never know the extent of stress our students face on a daily basis at home or the type of pressure that is on them. We may also never know exactly what home life is like for them. Furthermore, we do not know our students as well as we think we do sometimes. Yes, I am a big proponent of getting to know our students extremely well and keeping the whole child in mind (as students are people/children first) but sometimes we just will not know every little detail for various possible different reasons. So, then, one way to care for our students is by introducing them to the genre of fantasy. Fantasy books/novels can help students “escape reality” as the final article puts it, and cope with their stressors. Especially today, things are getting more and more stressful and demanding for children as well, and I believe nearly everyone needs a “good read” every now and then to just sit back and take time to yourself.
Another positive to teaching fantasy is the fact that our students may find a genre they actually thoroughly enjoy the most. Any text that gets my students to love reading and writing, I will take it! Reading and enjoying reading is something they can take with them for the rest of their lives! Reading is an amazing escape from reality, but especially the fantasy books we have within reach!
Overall, then, there are many benefits to teaching and reading fantasy. Because fantasy “breaks the rules of what we know” we can have fun with it! After all, reading should be fun and interactive/engaging, and the more fun reading is, the more students will read,and that “20 minutes required a night for homework” will turn into hours! Anything that makes my students pick up a book and read for that long has to be a winner! Wouldn’t you agree now?
Emma's Education 307 Class 