The Future of Education
Revisiting Traditional Folk Tales in the 21st Century
Vildan Özdemir, Mersin University Faculty of Education Department of English Language Teaching (Turkey)
Orhan Özdemir, Mersin University (Turkey)
Abstract
It is a fact that tales have played a crucial role in the construction of moral values for the humanity. However, the 21st century has introduced different norms in terms of tales and their characters. In this context, the didactic role of the tales has gained another dimension, gradually leaving a gap as for its function in the educational setting. With the emergence of information technologies, the interpretation of tales has changed for the sake of presenting a more varied entertainment for children. Unfortunately such tendencies toward children’s needs have posed threats to the real function of the moral teachings that can be drawn from tales. This study aims to present suggestions to update the 21st century tales so that they can meet the expectations of the children in terms of changing values in order to strike a balance between the past and the present. To bridge the gap, taking the input the children receive from ICT into consideration, there is a need to provide educational context essential for contemporary life as well as moral values tales give. Therefore, it is the responsibility of educators, families and authors to revisit and reinterpret the tales in order to meet the needs of today’s children.
Key words: function of tales, 21st century tales, ICT
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