Why Can't She Remember That : Reflection

In Terry Meier's, Why Can't She Remember That?, Meier explains that everyone's use of language differs. Regardless of what cultural background you are from, children will always be the most influenced. What I thought was super interesting was how she "observed and studied" a few children and how each one used language in a powerful way. For example the differences between Marisa, a Spanish speaking preschooler in a mixed community, to Lindsey, an English speaking little girl from a white middle class community. Each girl spoke in their own way, regardless from how different their backgrounds were they both showed that they understood what they themselves were saying and the response they would get from it. Right at the beginning I thought, "Where does this knowledge and awareness come from, where did they learn all of this?"

Meier emphasizes that by reading books, a child's vocabulary grows. Not only do they learn words but also about cultures, relationships, and gender roles. I automatically thought of when I was a little girl there was a series of books that I read in which the stories were about a family of bears. Each book had a moral of the story and each one was a good thing (siblings should get along, always brushing your teeth, loving one another, no fighting, etc..). Right when I read this article I was amazed. How did I never realize that these books were showing me not only an intriguing story that would keep me entertain but also values and "rules" of life. And what's amazing is that as a child you never realize these things that are hinted at. For example how the mother and daughter bear in the book were always cooking while the father and son were outside fixing up a little bird house or doing handy work. Little messages like these teach us as kids that women are suppose to be inside cooking while the men are outside doing all the dirty work. They are secretly giving us the message about our gender roles. It's a real eye opener.

What I find most interesting is does this happen worldwide as well? Do children in other countries pick up on these things, not only in book and stories but also on tv or by just watching their parents? Or do they learn differently, is literature not nearly as important wherever they are compared to the United States? It's definitely something to think about.














 https://www.earlymoments.com/Promoting-Literacy-and-a-Love-of-Reading/Why-Reading-to-Children-is-Important/