Japanese Manga - Helping children's reading?

Last Friday we had to create a poster for our lecture, or as our lecturer called it "A graphic organiser". Well it was for a creativity lecture, so I went all creative on it and ended up drawing Azusa from my one of my favorite anime and manga Series K-on (Featured on the right). She was holding her guitar and the information was dotted around her in musical notes. Well of course my lecturer thought this was fantastic, and throughout the break she then threw some very difficult questions at me about anime and manga.

According to my lecturer she watched a program on television which was all about how Japan's birthrate was dropping because middle aged men were all too involved in anime about teenage girls. This of course shocked me, but then again somehow it didn't really surprise me. The one thing I did make it clear to her was that Japan was a totally different culture and out ideologies and society wouldn't function over there. Anime and Manga is a huge part of the Japanese culture and is expanding past their borders and has been adapting itself into other countrie's socities.

However because this is a childcare blog, I have to relate it somehow to that don't I? Well I have some very perfect links. Anime and Manga is not just aimed at the older teenagers. Infact it has many genre's just as our fiction does, and even though it does seem to have the odd obsession with the female endowments, it only seems to tell the truth. Most people that you could bump into the street would pick up a Manga book, see that it has one or two lines about one character commenting on how another character's breasts look bigger than they were yesterday and their automatic reaction is to believe it is some form of hentai.

For those who don't know, hentai is the Japanese word for 'pervert' and is a genre of Japanese Manga and Anime pornography. I wouldn't Google it if I were you, unless of course you're into that sort of thing.

But one thing I have come across is that I have found Manga and Anime a great tool in the past for children. Japanese children read Manga from being able to walk and they are much better readers than we are. The one thing that makes Manga different is that the pictures are high quality and it allows children to easily identify what is actually happening. If you look at a Manga book that hasn't been translated into English or the language that you speak you can easily work out what is going on and have a rough idea what the characters are saying to one another.

So why don't we have that in Western Culture? I'm not saying give five year olds Manga that is set in high school and is about high school clubs and activities. Obviously you'd keep it age specific. However when you look at the reading material's that children are expected to learn from in 2014, they can't hold a candle to what Japanese children are reading. For example, on the left is a page from an Oxford Reading Tree book about "The Magic Key". A key which takes the children on wild adventures. My analysis of this page shows that there is not a lot going on in the pictures. Can you really tell that Chip is saying goodbye and thankyou, and that the pirated don't want them to go? Not to mention the illustrations lack any sense of adventure and action which children nowadays want and which keep them interested into the story. Would you really want to turn this page over and continue? Would you be interested in seeing what happens next? I know I wouldn't.

So now on the right I have put in a picture of a page from a Manga Called "Shugo Chara" which is about a girl in a Japanese Elementary School who has 3 magical character's called "Guardian Characters" which each represent who she wants to be in her heart. In this scene she has found an old observatory whilst looking for a lost friend and has decided to go inside. Typical Manga is printed in greyscale to allow for more emotion in the pictures, however you do get some in colour. You can clearly see the character's expression and worry on her face and you can see what is happening in the pictures alone. Anyone reading this would find it easy to estimate what was happening from just the pictures alone, not to mention even though it is simply entering a building, it has a sense of adventures and makes people want to turn the next page. Captivating an audience and keeping them held into the story. The whole idea of "I never put this book down".

This type of reading material is much more modern and to me is more suited for children on the 21st century. We are living in a world where the media has a firm grasp on children's childhood. There probably isn't one child living in the UK that hasn't heard of Peppa Pig, Ben 10, Thomas the Tank Engine or Bob the Builder. It is through the television and cartoons that children are captivated. A fact for those parents out there, did you know that Ben 10 (Which if you have a child, you've probably had to sit through the torture of) was influenced by Japanese Anime and Manga, hence why the character's have the 'Manga Eyes' that people associate with Japanese Mange and Anime.

If age appropriate Manga was selected for children's reading, I believe they would find it much easier to read. Not only do the illustrations allow children to physically see whats happening and associate the pictures with the text but it is in a modern format which children can correspond to. I know that the hardcore teachers will be like "No, this isn't literature, it should be Great Expectation and Romeo and Juliet that they read first" but I do honestly believe that those types of literature are not the best in the modern changing world.

Children change and evolve with society and so has entertainment. A hundred years ago children would have had books with no pictures in. Then illustrations came along and made it better. Then comic strips became comic books and they took off like a storm. Manga was created across the other side of the world and it has evolved with the times. You will see more children reading comics or magazines now than sitting down with a copy of War and Peace. So why can't we make it part of the curriculum and allow children to get what THEY want out of THEIR reading? I believe that we should allow children to read Manga or Comics, its far more interesting than the Oxford Reading Tree's materials.

So thats my thoughts on Manga when it comes down to children. This is one of the many points I couldn't get my lecturer to understand at all... she was definately old school. I personally believe this is the way forward and any future children of mine will be allowed to read what they want within reason and as long as it is appropriate for the reading level. And seriously, don't Google hentai. I'm not being responsible for anything you may find... 

Children out with parents... weekdays?

Yesterday it was Valentines Day, and I had a lecture in the afternoon. Yesterday was Friday and to me it was a normal working day, it wasn't the half term holidays in my area and as far as I am aware there wasn't any schools on training days. So, how come when I walked into McDonalds to grab a cheeseburger for lunch I saw so many school aged children?

There must be a few people out there that pass children that are clearly school aged in the street at random times in the day and thought "Wait, why are they not in school?". I seem to be doing it more and more often since I went into the career of childcare. Back when I was a child if I has a day off school because I was sick, then it was a case of staying in bed, watching the Powerpuff Girls, Johnny Bravo and Scooby Doo on Cartoon Network, eating soup and getting better for the next day. I wouldn't be taken to McDonalds for lunch, or being treated to new clothes. So why everyday I walk up the high street during the week do I always see at least ten school aged children with parnts or grandparents?

Seriously, does your child's education not matter to you? I see it all the time and frankly it annoys me. Now I know that there are children out there that do attend special schools and every school timetable is different, but the children I am on about are the ones that look like any average school child. I've even seen them dressed in full school uniform before as if they've just come out of school, or were on the way to school and happened to forget to actually attend.

As a training teacher, I can not understand how parents can keep their children off school claiming they are ill and then somehow find themselves at McDonalds or at the children's play area. Am I just being old fashioned in that if you were well enough to eat at McDonalds or play out, then you are well enough to go to school? Do we have a generation of parents who just don't know when to say "no"?

I know that parents love their children, but there should be a limit to what you let them get away with. And to those parents out there that seriously think "oh, its just one day, what harm can it do?" then I say right now that you have no idea. At GCSE level, if a student misses one day of school then it can lead to a whole grade's difference in their overall GCSE results. Can you honestly say that you would rather your child have a D in maths instead of a C because they claimed to have an Ear Ache and you wanted to treat them to McDonalds?

Now I understand having young children out of school at certain times as some childcare settings only provide half days and youo might have to go shopping around your work shifts. Thats perfectly fine, I'm talking about when you see parents with a child which looks around the age of nine or ten years old and they are having a laugh and having time together. I'm sorry, but isn't that what weekends are for? Teachers and childcare practitioners do not work their arses off to give your child a good education and provide the best possible care they can for them, just for you to take your child away and sit in McDonalds thoring a 'sicky'.

I feel very strong against this issue that I have observed. I think that parents who knowingly take their children out of school on mandatory school days should face the consequences. Truant officers are never seen in shopping areas or on high streets anymore. But if they were I bet that most schools would be seeing more and more 100% attendance in their classrooms. Its one of those delicate issues, I would sometimes like to challenge those parents whose child is with them and not in school and ask why, but unforuntely we are living in the society of "I know whats best for my child and not you". Well in this case, I strongly believe that all children that are physically able to attend school should do so and being treated to McDonalds and happily skipping around Tesco is not accpetable when you're meant to be sick.

Ok, I'll leave this rant here. I'm just fed up of seeing parents allowing children to truant from school and then actively letting them do what the hell they like in public.

Valentines, What is Love?

Well a lot has happened since I last posted. Mainly I've been very busy with university work,
however today I had 2 nice surprises. First of all my morning lecture was cancelled due to my lecturer being ill, I hope she recovers soon as it's not like her to take a day off. The second if getting my first ever Valentines card through the post. Yes thats right in the 21 years I've been on this planet I've finally got one, and it actually kind of scared me yet made me smile. (Mainly because I have no idea who its from, and it was posted so said person has my address.... still to work out who its from..).

But anyways, because it is Valentines Day, I thought I'd looking into the side of what love actually is. I'm going to link this into my usual topics of course and look at something which has become a modern issue in the modern world and that is relationships and children.

There are many relationships in the world, from marriage, to civil partnerships to just simple living together. First of all, just to make it crystal clear before I continue. I have no issue with any type of relationship whatsoever. I am not biased towards any particular relationship. However when it comes to children at home I do strongly believe that a relationship between two parents is needed. Children from families that do not have parents who love each other or love them do not fare well in their life.

For example it can be complicated when children are involved in a divorce. It is even worse when their parents don't get on and constantly argue. I know from personal experience that this never fares well and that it can lead to big complications in any child's holistic and social development. When one parents tells a child one thing and the other parents tells the child the opposite it is confusing and can often be hard for the child to determine which is right. I found it hard which side to side with as a child. I never knew if I should do what my father said, or do what my mother said. When I was younger my parents didn't speak after their divorce, and as far as I ama ware they still do not speak now. Most of the vital communication and issues were relayed through my grandparents as they were 'neutral ground' and I often felt like I was shunted between parents like a railway truck that needed putting into a siding on a night.

But anyways, the one thing I just wanted to outline in this entry is that no matter if you are a single parents, married, divorced or living with your boyfriend or girlfriend. The children you have or may have are important and they need love to cherish and prosper. Ensure that you know that you love them no matter what and even if their mummy or daddy leaves, that they still love them and its not their fault. There are a lot of children out there who's parents divorce and they think that its their fault that one of their parents have left. This can make any child feel lonely and shatter their self-esteem. The truth is, it is never their fault. Relationships can sometimes fail, but if there are children you should always lets them know that both parents love them unconditionally and regardless of any circumstances.

Also, if a relationship does breakdown or fail and custody of children is divided in any way or precentage then it is vital that the parents or guardians of the child co-operate with each other. There has been many cases that I've seen and heard about where the child has no idea whether mummy or daddy is picking them up from school and they have no idea which house they are going home to. Remember that schools, nurseries and after-school clubs are not there to act as a 'hand over' service to your ex partner. Also when it comes to the child's health, well-being and even parents evenings. Go together and act civil. Just because you broke up doesn't mean you are worst enemies. Parents with children who are no longer together should come together when their child needs them to be and be the parents you should be.

To sum it up, to all parents out there. Let your children know you love them, in your own way. Even if those children are from a previous relationship and be a decent human being. Don't let them see you argue or bicker with your ex-partner and when they need you be there and show the love you have for them.

Happy Valentines Day.

Formal assessments and testing of 4 year olds? Really?!

Recently I looked at the UK's government plans to extend school hours to nine hours a day, from 9am to 6pm every day for five days a week. I looked into the effects this would have on the children, parents, practitioners and general culture and household lifestyle. However it seems tha recently the Michael Gove, the UK's Secetary of State for Education is once again putting his nose into our Education system and messing it up again with yet more plans.

This time he wants to have children assessed and tested at the age of four and five. After reading an article published by the BBC yesterday I have once again decided to look at this in detail and pull it apart. (Link to article).

So first of all, Gove thinks it is a good idea to have children sit through mini-exams and tests so that teachers can establish "the level of cognitive development that they're at". So, you're telling me Gove that teachers are going to take time out of their planning and lessons that are crucuial at early years to sit a thirty four year old children down on individual tables, give them a pencil and an exam paper and expect them to do it? They're four years old, not fourteen! For crying out loud, its like you didn't even think this through. Most four year old children are just coming up from Nursery and are used to playing around and some don't even know how to spell their own name correctly and you want to test them with an exam before they even start school?

Please someone tell me its just not me that thinks that is a stupid idea that will never work. He claims that we should test children to see what their cognitive development is at. But he does realise that throughout nursery and pre-school the Early Years Foundation Stafe (EYFS) which is the Early Years Curriculum framework already establishes and sets that? The EYFS has areas that through observations of play and activities helps practitioners already determine what age and stage a child's cognitive development is at. Then those same observations, assessments and files that are painstakingly written at the end of a child's time at nursery are passed along to the child's school.

As a early years teacher, you are passed a file with information on what the child has achieved, what he or she can do and how well they can perform tasks. So then you carry that on in your class as the EYFS is still in affect for children upto the age of five and continues into Year 1 of primary school. You already have the data that you need to ensure the children in your class have the best possible development and get what they need each day. But Gove wants the children to sit down and be tested as well, which is going to waste time, money and effort gathering data and statistics that we already have available!

Not to mention at such a young age children are not going to sit still and concentrate to see if they can spell "Dinosaur" or "Mississippi". They're not that bothered about working out what six times three is and why the sky is blue. Its not a true test of their cognitive ability. Most children at the age of four and five are just learning basic phonics and basic mathematics. I'm talking counting to twenty and then Gove expects them to be able to sit through a test?

I think that as a country we are pushing children too bloody hard! We start their education from the moment they are born. They are expected to know certain things and hit certain targets by certain ages or else they are labelled as "behind" or "failing". We over-diagnose them with ADHD and other disorders when they are just trying to be themselves and now we're planning to keep them in school for 45 hours a week and sit them through a series of tasks and exams when they're only four years old? Most other countries such as Finland, Germany and even Japan doesn't have their children start school until they are seven years old and they have some of the best education systems in the world!

Gove stated in an interview "What we need to do is to ensure that schools that are helping the most disadvantaged children in the most difficult areas are rewarded most generously for the work they do in order to advance social justice.". I understand that he wants to help children that live in 'difficult areas' however testing them at the age of four is not the way. Keeping them in school for nine hours a day and tiring them out and turning them into mindless drones is just not the way to do this.

So to back up my claims against Gove, I'm going to bore you all to death and throw some childcare legislation down his throat... The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) states: "Article 29 (Goals of education):Children’s education should develop each child’s personality, talents and abilities to the fullest.". So someone please explain to me how testing children at the age of four is developing the children's personality, talents and abilities to the fullest? Because we all know that if a child is tested and they fail the test they will be labelled as having "Less cognitive development" over the "Standards" and this could seriously damage the child's self-esteem and then this doesn't allow children to have the motivation and esteem to gain what the UNCRC states they should gain from an educational system. 

So basically, Gove has not only decided to extand school hours and term times to ridicolous times which risks their safety and jeposides their time to develop their social interactions with their family; but also he has decided that we need to put young children hardly able to spell their names by testing them and seeing what they can do, wasting time when we already have the data that we need. So then Gove, why are you putting our future generations education at risk just so that the numbers on your desk seem a little bit better? Children will be children they are not statistics. 

I have often said and will stick by it, that politicians that have no experience with children or our education system shouldn't be coming up with new policies and ideas when they haven't been out there and seen how it can affect the children, teachers, parents and our day to day lifestyle. If these policies go ahead then the Conservatives are going to lose the voters of families and teachers across the country and we're going to have a culture where children are over-worked and they have no idea how to climb a tree or be a child and don't have the vital social developments to actually participate in the modern society that we have today. I'm going to end this now, because I could go on forever but I think that this has said enough for the time being...

The reason I chose to go into Childcare.

One question that people always seem to ask is "So, why did you choose to go into Childcare". Well the answer to this is, for me, quite complicated. Four years ago back in 2010, we lost a family member and then everyone started falling out. Therefore as my parents have been divorced now since I was four years old, I had to move in with my mother. When I previously lived with my grandfather.

So I had to make a choice. I had just done badly at my A-Levels in Geography, English Languge and Computing only achieveing C's and an E. However that wasn't enough to get me into University. Back then I wanted to go into teaching in secondary school. So I applied to do a CACHE Level 3 Diploma in Childcare And Education at the college in my mother's town.

Of course being a boy I was the minority in the class. To start off with there was two men including me, but the other male in my class had to quit due to personal problems. But I cracked on. Throughout the two years at College I made some amazing friends who I still talk with now. They have both moved on too, one is working in Austria caring for children at a Holiday resort and another is working hard with special needs children in a school back in the UK.

However, throughout College I was constantly asked if I was gay. I have no idea why anyone would assume this, because I am not gay in the slightest. I have nothing against people who are homosexual or bisexual, but I am a little annoyed that when a man works in childcare they are automatically assumed to be gay.

One of the reaons why I chose to enter into a female dominated career is because I want to make a difference. I chose childcare because it allowed me to gain the skills and qualifications I need to enter teaching. However back when I started I was only focused on getting into a school and teaching. Over the two years at College I got to see a different side and started to love working with the younger children. I have been in classrooms of year one students (Aged 5-6) and loved working with them. At that age the children look upto you (Physically and mentally...) and just want to know more about the world around them.

I've been through numerous placements and throughout college I was the only male member of staff int he entire school. Therefore I was well known across the entire school even by the year groups who I had no contact with. The children seemed to be fascinated with me, because they had never see a man working in their school before and especially working with the younger children in key stage one.

When I work with children and I teach them something new, there is a certain feeling that I can't describe. Its like a sense of pride mixed with a sense of enjoyment and accomplishment. When a child finally starts to learn from you and you know that you have taught them something they will remember for their entire life and pass it onto their future generations, it makes you feel kind of special.

For example, there was once a young girl in one of my year one classes and she was having trouble reading. Her mother and father wouldn't read with her at home and she was on the lowest level of the Oxford Reading Tree. Just for those that don't know, the lowest level is basically "The Cat sat on the mat". For a five year old half way through Year 1 she was really struggling and she was falling behind. The school thought she was Dyslexic, but then I started to work with her. Over the space of just under four months I helped her and supported her with her reading and her work in class and when I left she was reading independatly when only a few weeks ago she needed constant prompting and support.

The day that she opened her reading book and began to read the words outloud without my support, that was the day that I walked around with the biggest smile on my face. I had achieved something and its a wonderful feeling when you know that knowledge is going to make a difference to someones life.

The sense of achievement and accomplishment you get when working with young children is the best feeling anyone can ever have. Its like when your child says their first word, its remarkable. However most people often say "What were you smoking when you chose to work with young children?", well to answer that I wasn't smoking anything at all. I wanted to make a difference to the children that I teach and care for. 

So basically when it comes down to it, the reason I work with children is because I want to make a difference to all the children I care and teach. I want them to be in a better postion in their life than I was when growing up. Making a difference and creating the perfect world for all of our children is my goal in childcare!