Stories and values
“It is easier to teach a child the difference between right and wrong through imaginative
stories because they speak to young people more eloquently than a teacher with a list of
rules”
“We don’t need lists of rights and wrongs, tables of do’s and don’ts: we need books, time and
silence. Thou shalt not is soon forgotten, but Once upon a time lasts forever”
Throughout history stories have been an important aspect of all cultures especially in
the transmission of values. The stories that we come in contact with help to shape who we
are. Louise Welbourne (2005) states that this is because “Stories (both secular and biblical)
are, and have always been, forms of engagement and communication that evoke response.
They are texts of one kind or another where interaction of the learners with the text can
activate prior knowledge; generate insight, experience and response. . . . Stories are a bridge
to one’s culture and tradition that deal with values, beliefs and practices about ultimate
questions, rather than a set of propositions” (Welbourne, 2005, p. 1). As Margery Hourihan
(1997) states “They are the most potent means by which perceptions, values and attitudes are
transmitted from one generation to the next” (p. 1).
The Harry Potter series offers itself as a potent means for the transmission of values
because they are stories which deal with the importance of having a set of personal values
which guide one’s choices. Carroll (2004) emphasises how important stories are in the
enculturation of values. She states that stories, such as The Hobbit, provide scope for the
imagination, and that imagination is one of the keys to virtue (pp. 10-12): “For whilst a child
may know what is right, the child must also have the desire to do what is right and this is
guided by imagination” (p. 12). She then quotes Kilpatrick, Wolfe and Wolfe (2004) who
contend that while our moral choices should be guided by reason they are, in practice, guided
to a greater degree by imagination (p. 23). The author of this thesis believes that the Harry
Potter series offers itself as a tool for the imagination, which can be constructive in
developing worthwhile values in our youth rather than being a hindrance to this development.
Renowned children’s literature scholar, Peter Hollindale, in his classic essay, Ideology
and the children’s book (1988), states that children’s books transmit cultural values. He
remarks that ideology works on three different levels in children’s books. There is explicit or
overt ideology, where the values and beliefs of the author are consciously disclosed in their work. Secondly, there is implicit or passive ideology, in which the author’s unexamined
assumptions, including values, are conveyed in their work and, thirdly, there are values and
beliefs from the dominant culture, displayed in the author’s work through aspects such as the
words they use and the rule systems that are part of their text. In reality a large part of any
book is written by the culture that the author writes from (Hollindale, pp. 14-15).
Stephens and McCallum (1998), in referring to the importance of retold stories, make
the statement that:
retold stories have important cultural functions. Under the guise of offering children
access to strange and exciting worlds removed from everyday experiences, they serve
to initiate children into aspects of a social heritage, transmitting many of a culture’s
central values and assumptions and a body of shared allusions and experiences
(p. 3).
They also comment that a retelling often becomes a re-version, “a narrative which has taken
apart its pre-texts and reassembled them as a version which is a new textual and ideological
configuration” (Stephens & McCallum, 1998, p. 4).
These observations are particularly relevant when one takes into account the number
of critics who have noted the literary traditions and themes from which the Harry Potter
series draws, particularly hero stories, and stories which themselves encourage certain
traditional moral perspectives (Kern, 2003, Killinger 2002, Granger, 2002, et al.). In this
regard it is plausible to see the Harry Potter stories as retold stories because of the way in
which they draw heavily from literary traditions, including their plots. They, like other retold
stories, can transmit the central values of a culture (Stephens & McCallum, p. 3).
Stories, both orally presented and in written form, including recounts, myths,
narrative, legends, parable and poetry, have been commonly used in the teaching of values to
children. Many critical works have been produced which comment on the use of story-books in both secular and religious Values Education. Maria Dibella and Julie Hamston (1989)
stress the need for teachers not only to teach procedural values through their daily interaction
with students, but also to specifically teach substantive values (p. 1). They provide guidelines
on the use of children’s literature in assisting in this task as they feel that literature provides
teachers with a solid basis to begin the exploration of values with their students (p. 2). They
stress that literature reflects themes that are relevant to human experience, therefore literature
is valuable in exploring experiences and values integral to human life (p. 2). By reading
literature the reader can reach a better understanding of themselves, those around them and
the society they live in (p. 2).
Literature enables children to:
• identify and clarify their values;
• reflect upon their own experiences;
• compare situations in stories with their own experiences;
• become involved in new experiences via the literary medium;
• come to terms with sensitive issues, by identifying with and relating to the characters
in a story (p. 2).
Colleen O’Sullivan states that story books are valuable in introducing aspects of
cultural life, which would include a culture’s beliefs and values, and that they provide a focus
for a variety of subject areas, including Religious Education (p. 10). Gina Burkart makes
particular mention of the use of stories in teaching morality and assisting in a child’s moral
development (Burkart, 2005, pp. 27-28). Bettelheim values the use of fairy tales in the moral
education of children (1989, p.5). Margot Hillel and Jill Holmes also feel that literature can
“provide children with an opportunity to fully explore concepts and issues so that not only the
meaning of a text is enhanced but their sense of the world is enriched” (1995, p. 2).
O’Sullivan suggests that Anglo-Saxon children’s literature is almost always attempting to
teach, instruct or promote a strong personal belief (1987, p. 43). Wendy Michaels and
Maureen Walsh (1990) also mention that many books provided to students uphold moral
values that are considered by that culture to be important to human beings (p. 58). This
perception of the importance of narratives in the transmission of values is also supported by
Jan Kiernan (2005) who provides a list of books that can be used to support the learning and
teaching of values connected with the Essential Learnings Framework (2002) being used in
Tasmania (pp. 66-81).
Paul Vitz (1990), drawing on psychological research, argues that “narrative material
is an essential component of effective moral education” (¶ 4). Referring to Theodore Sarbin’s
(1986) research Vitz claims “that a person’s life (or periods of it) can be interpreted as a story
and that this model has a rich relevance to social psychology. The story or narrative model
allows psychology to make contact with the historical context of individuals and with the
insights into human social behaviour found in stories” (¶ 13). This infers that since people
look at their own lives as a narrative they are able to relate to other narratives (¶ 12-15, ¶ 54).
Vitz’s analysis of research revealed that the use of narratives in teaching morals was far more
effective than simple instruction in moral rules and guidelines (¶ 16, ¶ 28). This is what
English author Philip Pullman (1996) refers to when he states that stories “teach the morality
we live by. They teach it much more effectively than moral precepts and instructions” (¶ 7).
Stories are a key component in the moral education of young people; they provide
guidance and assistance for children to understand how to live morally. These stories need to
be combined with other influences, including the example set by the adults they come in
contact with and the rules that bind their society together, for effective moral education to
occur.
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