Rationale
In the past few decades, civilian casualties in wars have increased. Half of those casualties are children. It is important for high school students to understand that over 2 million kids have died from wars; that over 8,000 of them are killed by landmines each year; that those who aren't killed, but are directly affected, are either severely wounded, recruited as child soldiers, raped, and/or orphaned (UNICEF). If they can watch primetime television, then reading about these atrocities should not be too explicit. Nonfiction texts such as Deborah Ellis' Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak and Shattered: Stories of Children and War by Jennifer Armstrong can be used to teach students about the horrors children of war face. Because texts such as these are first-hand accounts of their experiences, they are truthful and not swayed in any way by adults (Ricchiardi, 18).
At one point in high school, my students will take a survey course in World History. Rather than wait for my students to learn half-truths about the damage war can do to civilians, in particular children, I would rather expose them to this topic by way of children's literature. In many ways, using children's literature to teach students about the effects of war on humans is more logical than using the usual public school texts. Most school texts are adult-centered, portraying the events of war in a vague and biased matter, thereby failing to make connections with students (Brown, 39). Contrary to school texts, children's war stories are written from the perspective of a child, making it easier for students to relate to the characters. The child characters in these stories share their reactions and experiences of war with readers in an engaging, non-analytic manner. Critics may question whether students actually learn from these fictional texts. However, students can learn from any text as long as the instruction is focused and supplemental nonfiction texts are used to support fictional accounts.
By exposing my students to these experiences via children's fiction and nonfiction literature, I hope that they will achieve a broader view of the world. I expect that my students will develop sympathy for the plight of others as they learn about the horrors some children face. Along the way, I intend to teach my students to develop a critical eye for texts; improving their ability to make decisions about the validity and purpose of literature.
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