The Value of Summer Reading

   Having taken a break from blogging to concentrate on my work-in-progress, (now out of the way, entered in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s Creative Writing Contest), many bloggable topics are crowding into my brain. One which has grabbed me with great urgency is Summer Reading. We are well into the summer holidays, a time when children can gain an academic advantage simply by immersing themselves in story books. One a week would be a good number for them to read. (See my post on Summer Reading - Some Surprising Findings.) Simply put, children who read for pleasure during the summer do better in school the following year than those who don’t.

   A challenge for many parents is to find suitable books which children will enjoy. The easiest option is to fall back on the books which they read as children - Enid Blyton, Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. But what is the effect on Jamaican children of reading nothing but ‘foreign books’? Diane Browne has written extensively on the importance to children of reading about characters like themselves in books. In October 2012, she wrote "Books allow them (young people) to work through their fears, their sources of joy, their experiences, to try on various selves. It would seem a good thing if these selves could be related to their own lives.” On June 17, 2013, she revisited this theme in "Making the case for children's literature - the Doctor Bird Series: Part 3."


    Books about Jamaican children by Jamaican authors are available. In my post on October 18, 2012 ‘Books by Jamaican Authors for children aged 8 - 14’ I listed forty-three books for that age-group. In addition, there are many books by other Caribbean authors for that age group.
Another challenge is to find these books in the bookshops, except for the Sand Pebble Series, available in Sangsters. The ‘foreign book syndrome’ is a system of positive feedback. Foreign books are displayed, therefore sell, therefore the ones which are most stocked. They are also cheaper than Jamaican books, because of their mass-production. The parents’ argument is that they can get two foreign books for the price of one Jamaican. What do they do with these books after their children have read them? Usually, they give them away. I would therefore encourage parents to form book clubs for their children. If each child in a group of three were to buy two Jamaican books, for example from the Sand Pebbles Series, when the children have finished reading one of the books, they can swap.

I will soon prepare a list of books for younger readers for them to read or for someone to read aloud to them. One such book, recently published is “Bolo the Monkey” by Jonathan Burke, published by Blue Moon. I had hoped to have a copy to review, but unfortunately I can’t get it in Montego Bay. This book, like many others is a victim of the ‘foreign book syndrome’.

While I’m currently emphasizing Summer Reading, I’m also questioning how much reading happens in term time in our Primary Schools, especially in the lower grades. A blog I like to read is “A Year of Reading - Two Teachers Who Read. A lot”. Not only do Franki and Mary Lee read a lot, they also write a lot of worthwhile information.

I make no apologies for quoting from Franki’s most recent post. The highlighting is mine.

“I've spent lots of time this summer catching up on series books that I think my new third graders will be reading when school starts next month. Catching up on these transitional books is key to supporting their reading development. I'm also looking for stand-alone books that help readers understand the power of story and that help them build conversation to understand character, see the world differently, and laugh and learn together. 3rd grade is a challenging one when it comes to book choice because it is tempting to choose books that are just beyond what kids are ready for so they don't quite understand them. They are 8 year-olds so their life experiences are not quite ready for the depth of some middle grade novels. And I am a firm believer that if we give kids great books too early, we take away the joy of experiencing an amazing book later, when they are able to fully enjoy and love it. But, I also know that third graders are brilliant people who have lots to say and need books to help them think through life. It's just that finding books that match the stage of life is not as easy as it appears.”

I would love to hear from a Grade 3 teacher who can say the same as Franki. I'm sure she has a much more difficult time accessing books than Franki does.

If you come across a child who appears bored with the summer holidays, suggest to him/her that he/she could read a book. Better still, look in your book collection for titles you could lend to him/her.

Taking a break from blogging to concentrate on WIP

   My New Year's Resolution was to keep all my plates spinning, but if I kept that resolution, I would not be able to meet my goal of completing my work-in-progress, the sequel to Delroy and the Marog Princess, by the end of June. Hence my blog is the first plate to drop. I don't plan to write any more posts until July. However, if something relevant to my blog should grab my attention, I would consider it.
   I still make my weekly visit to Chetwood, helping eight grade two students with reading. I'm delighted that Mrs. Amoy Virgo is also volunteering her time to assist them, so they now have two days a week. If anybody else reading this would like to volunteer, please let me know. As with all teaching, a certain amount of time has to be spent on preparation. All children need individual attention when learning to read. Because many parents can't help them, more volunteers are needed. 
   I will keep you informed of my activities via Facebook and Twitter.

Poetry, Pudding and Punch 2012

Renaee Perrier Smith



Congratulations to Ms. Natalie Morris, of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission, St. James on the second staging of Poetry, Pudding and Punch, which took place on Sunday, December 16, 2012 at Robin’s Steakhouse Restaurant, Altamont West Hotel on Gloucester Avenue, Montego Bay. As MC for the evening, Natalie made sure that the programme flowed smoothly.     
    This year, in addition to pudding, other Jamaican baked Christmas Treats, including carrot cake, sweet potato pudding and rock cakes were temptingly set out for visitors to sample. These had been prepared by Renaee Perrier Smith, culinary artist and author of two Jamaican Cookbooks. Renaee, who currently resides in New Jersey, took us on a trip down memory lane with anecdotes from her school days. I was most interested to hear her story, having taught her biology at Montego Bay Community College, many years ago. I knew her as a math whiz, so was not surprised to learn that she had followed her studies in the USA with a 15-year career in finance. Indulging in her hobby of baking, she took pleasure in treating her co-workers to her cakes. So delighted were they, that they encouraged her to make baking her career. An outcome of this venture was her first cookbook, “Jamaica’s Forgotten Treats” containing recipes passed down by her mother and grandmother. For her second, “Memba When”, she drew on memories of staples such as cocobread and cheese, water crackers (with everything!) and bagjuice, from her school days. To read more about Renaee, see her website . Thank you, Renaee, for sending your photographs to use for this post.

Mervin Spence

    The guest poet was Mervin Spence, who won a gold medal in this year’s Creative Writing Contest. He has performed in Movies, Commercials T.V., Radio, Music Videos. He’s probably best known at the present time for “Pay your taxes,” the T.V. commercial in which he is sitting in the chair at the barber’s shop. In addition to being a poet and an actor, he is also a Fine Art Painter, an Artistic Director of Movies and Plays, a Cosmetologist, a Lighting & Set Designer, a Drafting and Building Technologist, and a Real Estate Salesman. Mervin explained to us how he came to be wearing so many hats, and entertained us with dub-poetry and other poetry. He has a poetry book and CD “From the Streets to the World”.

Trecia Williams

   




Among other presenters of the evening was gold-medal winning poet, Mrs. Trecia Williams, who delighted us with a variety of poems. She also included dub-poetry in her repertoire and was accompanied by Ms. Ileen Leslie, of Montego Bay Infant School, on drums. The photograph shows her with her ode to a tangerine.
   

Annastacia Irving

An up-and-coming poet, a student from Herbert Morrison High School, Annastacia Irving impressed us with her talent, range of styles, confidence and poise. Although I hadn’t entered the JCDC Creative Writing Contest this year, I was invited to make a presentation. I read excerpts from “Delroy in the Marog Kingdom”. A few brave souls then accepted the invitation to the “open mic”.


Organizer and MC Natalie Morris

Miss Astarte Daley of JCDC surprised Natalie Morris and a few members of the audience by inviting them to join her on stage in celebration of Herbert Morrison Technical High School. Some of them were members of the first graduating class (who would prefer us not to know how long ago that was!). Reunions for alumni of that class living abroad have taken place recently.

Although Poetry, Pudding and Punch is delightful entertainment for the Christmas Season, the absence of so many of JCDC’Ss poetry loving friends may be attributed to the large number of events taking place at this time of year. Writers all, I hope you are busy preparing your submissions for entry in the 2013 Creative Writing Contest, due at the end of June, and that medal-winning or not, we will hear you reading them at the next staging of Poetry, Pudding and Punch.


Me reading from Delroy in the Marog Kingdom



                   

Chetwood Memorial Primary Parenting Workshop 2012

Library at Chetwood Memorial where workshop was held

I applaud Chetwood Memorial Primary School for using an innovative way of explaining to parents how they can work along with the school in helping children to learn to read.

   On Wednesday, November 14, 2012, they invited selected parents to a workshop on "Creating and Maintaining a Literate Home Environment". Ms. Donna Clarke and her team of teachers gave a power-point presentation, starting with a case study. "A boy who spends most of his time watching TV, fails his Grade 4 Literacy Test, so his mother keeps him from school as a punishment." The parents’ responses were as follows:
• The mother should have had a discussion with the boy’s teacher.
Children like to read comics. If they don’t want to read books, allow them to read comics until their reading is good enough for them to read books.
• One father said that he likes to play football with his son. He also likes to read, so they read before playing football.

After these responses, the presentation moved on to suggestions for helping children with reading.
The notes below are taken from the brochures handed out at the meeting. The comments in blue italics are mine.
Facilitating Reading at Home.
• Be a model. Don’t expect reading to be important to your children if they don’t see you reading. Parents who can't read or have difficulty reading, could find a relative or friend to be a model.
• Start as early as possible. One year old is not too early. There are books written for that age group.
• Set aside a time for reading. Excellent suggestion.
• Surround them with reading materials.
• Give a book for a gift. I endorse this heartily.
• Encourage your child to swap books with friends. They can start a book club, with each child buying a different book or getting a book as a gift.
• Allow your children to select materials for reading. They probably won't like what you choose for them.

• Put specific times on your calendar each week when you will spend time with your children. During that time focus your love and attention on your child:

1. Read a book – talk about the characters, who are the main characters, what you like and dislike about the characters, what are their personalities? Which character do you think is most like you? If this seems too much like school to your child, just let them enjoy the story.
2. Watch a movie and ask the child to retell the story in his or her words. Be prepared to listen for a long time!
3. Play puzzles, crosswords, word games such as word Bingo and boards games – these will help develop children’s thinking skills. These should be fun. If they seem like a chore to your child, that defeats their purpose.
• Extend your child’s general knowledge by looking up a ‘fact of the week’ together. Good idea.
• Word of the week: find the meaning, make sentences, find synonyms and autonyms for the word (for older children) and cut the word out in its shape.(For children not yet reading. The shape of words is how children recognize them by 'look and say')
• Limit TV viewing on school nights – use it as an incentive for reading.
• DEAR stands for Drop Everything and Read. During DEAR time, everyone in the family sits down for some uninterrupted reading time. (Chetwood Memorial does this every day.)
• Check homework every night. Most important. Even if the parent can't read, it shows they are taking an interest.

Selecting Reading Materials
This is one of the most difficult things for parents to do. Taking the child to the library is a good way of finding out what they like. Don't worry if they choose something you think is too easy for them. It is all reading practice. If they choose something they later find is too hard, read it to them and let it guide their choice the next time.
When selecting books consider the following:
• Age
• Interest
• Reading level
• Purpose
• Length of text
• Size of print

Developing Reading and Comprehension Skills

• Read, read, read.
• Set a good example by letting your children see you read.
• Before reading a book have your child look at the cover and the inside pictures and predict what the story is about.

 Comprehension materials in the home.

• calendar
• food labels
• newspaper
• posters
• recipe books
• prescriptions
• road signs

Benefits of Reading to/with your children. Yes, Yes to all of these.

• They will develop a love for reading.
• It will help in building the parent-child relationship.
• Help to build confidence.
• It will enable you to recognize strengths and weaknesses in your child's reading.
• You will be a model for your child.

Other Home Activites
Children can

• Write a letter of request if they need to go somewhere.
• Write an apology when they have done something wrong.
• Write a report of incidents involving other siblings.
• Make lists; grocery shopping, books to buy or things to take on trips.

Always remember to celebrate your child's effort and achievements in reading. I would add, "Never say anything negative about a child's reading."

If all parents followed half of these suggestions, it could make a tremendous difference. Unfortunately, many of the parents who were invited didn't attend. This year I'm helping eight children in grade 2 who aren't up to standard in reading. All of their parents were invited to the workshop, but only one came. We need to change the mindset that it's solely the school's responsibility to teach children to read. Parents, please step up to the plate.

To Beat or not to Beat - Part 3: In Schools

   The question of whether or not children should be subjected to corporal punishment in schools was brought to the fore this week by the report of level of slapping that takes place in Kensington Primary School. The principal holds that the use of this punishment is responsible for the good results achieved by the school in Grade 4 Literacy and Mathematics tests. However, a parent complained that this type of punishment made her daughter so nervous that she was unable to perform academically. Because complaints to the school only made matters worse, she removed her to another school.
   Corporal punishment in schools has a long history. Roald Dahl in his story “Lucky Break” describes the brutal caning he was subjected to both at boarding school at the age of eight (1924), and worse canings at a Public School (as private schools in England are called). There, the Headmaster, who later became Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted in canings which even drew blood. Dahl’s end of year report, 1932, read “this boy is an indolent and illiterate member of the class” – a strange observation on one who was to become a world-famous children’s writer. Had the repressive atmosphere of his school stifled his creativity?
   The discipline enforced by principals in Jamaican schools is legendary. One is known for having walked the school with his cane up the sleeve of his jacket. Another caned a child for carelessness when he reported losing money; and caned all the children who’d been in a bus when one of them had thrown a bottle out of the window. When principals are less ferocious with the use of the cane, misbehaving children have begged to be beaten at school, to avoid a worse beating at home.
   It is only in the last 30 years that the tide has turned against corporal punishment. There is some confusion over the legality of it in schools in Jamaica. Justice Henderson Downer, deputy director of the Office of the Children’s Advocate, interprets Section 1b of the Child Care and Protection Act to mean that corporal punishment is illegal, and should not be administered to any child anywhere in Jamaica. The policy of the Ministry of Education is that classroom teachers should not administer corporal punishment, but in exceptional circumstances it can be used by the principal or somebody appointed by him.
   What happens in practice is a different matter. There are several reasons for this. One of the problems is that many of the children in school have not internalized a moral code, for a variety of reasons. (See my previous post). These children, accustomed to authoritarian discipline, take a lack of it as a license to do as they please. Imagine being faced with a class of forty or fifty six-year-olds, half of whom have the concentration span of a butterfly, who won’t do as they are told, who get up and run around, who are constantly chattering and are themselves responding to other children with physical blows. Added to that, many of the children have undiagnosed specific learning disabilities, such as ADHD. Classrooms are cramped and lacking in educational materials.
   The other question to be answered at is what to put in place of corporal punishment. Tongue-lashing of children also produces undesirable results. Humiliation, ridicule and sarcasm are not acceptable alternatives to corporal punishment. When a child is repeatedly told he is dunce, or he is no good, or he will come to nothing, he will begin to believe it and use it as an excuse for not trying.
   Ideally, children should be motivated by positive reinforcement when they exhibit desirable behaviors, and performance. Children given tasks which they are capable of performing will be motivated by a sense of mastery. They can then be confronted with harder tasks, which in turn they will be able to master. The challenge is to raise the bar sufficiently to keep them interested, but not too high that they will be discouraged. It is difficult to do this in a class of children with different starting levels and rates of progress.
   The prohibition of corporal punishment in schools cannot take place suddenly, by issuing a decree. It will be necessary to continue to raise public awareness of its harmful effects and involve parents, communities, teachers and school boards in an ongoing debate, until alternative strategies have been worked out, and there is a consensus against corporal punishment. UNICEF has spearheaded a number of awareness campaigns against corporal punishment, for example “Educate, Don’t Punish”.
   The ongoing debate in the press and on radio, as in Steven Golding’s Mike 1-2-3, on Hot 102 FM today, is welcome.

To Beat or not? Part 2: In the Home cont.

Some of the instances of child abuse in Jamaica take place because the parents believe that they are doing the right thing when they give a child a good beating. In contrast, the law requires that anyone knowing of such abuse should report it to the Office of the Children's Registry (OCR). I’m writing these posts to explain why beating is harmful and to suggest some alternatives.
   In my first post on this topic, (Nov 6,2012) I outlined some of the theories of psychosocial development in relation to children in their first 4 years of life. I now turn to children 4 years old and up.
   In an ideal situation, a child enters his fifth year of life with the strength of mind to be able to set goals and work towards them; and to be able to control impulses to do things which he knows are unacceptable. However, situations are rarely ideal. We as adults do and say things, intentionally and unintentionally, which we know violate our own moral codes. We give in to temptation. We make excuses for ourselves and justify our behavior, or we suffer from feelings of guilt and we ask forgiveness of ourselves or of others. We resolve to learn from our mistakes not to repeat the same behavior. Then we move on.
   Aware of our own weaknesses, we strive to ‘train up a child in the way he should go’ (Proverbs 22 v 6). Many people in Jamaica believe that this should involve corporal punishment. However, research has shown that harsh and excessive corporal punishment has the opposite effect to that which is intended. The child may avoid behaviors which result in such punishments, but does not internalize a moral code. It is this internalization which children need to achieve, so that they will be able to direct their own behavior, independently of their parents. Psychosocial theories help to explain how this takes place, and thus how parents can best assist.
   In the early school years (ages 4-6) a child develops a self-concept of himself as an individual. The developmental tasks include early moral development – “understanding that lying, cheating, stealing, hurting others, or making fun of other children’s differences are morally wrong and that telling the truth, playing fairly, sharing, being helpful and respecting people’s differences are morally right.” (Newman). It has three aspects to it: knowledge, emotions, and action. Children learn the moral code of their community and to make judgments about actions. They experience feelings of anxiety and guilt when they know they have done something wrong, and pleasant emotions when their actions involve caring for others. They act to reduce the unpleasant emotions and increase pleasant ones, so inhibit harmful impulses, and make an effort to do the right thing.
   The purpose of disciplinary methods taken by parents is to assist children internalize the moral code. They should help the child interrupt forbidden actions; suggest more acceptable forms of behavior for the future; and provide reasons, which the child can understand, why one behavior is preferable to another. They should help children to empathize with others, by asking children to put themselves in the victim’s place, to see how they would like being the victim. None of these can be achieved by corporal punishment, but by continuing dialogue.
   Parents also need to set examples in their own behavior. It shouldn’t be a case of “do as I say and not as I do”. The importance of rewarding good behavior cannot be overemphasized; and the importance of reading to children should not be overlooked.
   Reading a story presents an opportunity to discuss with a child what the characters have done, and what happens to them. Until about sixty years ago, books written for children usually had an overt message, the purpose being moral education. Many of these books are still read to children, but in more recent years, publishers and children have rejected these types of books. More modern books are less preachy, but they still have messages embedded in them. Reading to children also means spending quality time with them.
   Children, by the time they are six years old, will have internalized a moral code. However, they still misbehave at times. From 6-12 years old, they still need parental discipline to reinforce that moral code. They need lots of affirmation for good behavior, for example stars can be put on a chart. A certain number of stars could be required for purchasing a toy or something else the child wants. Stars could be removed for bad behavior. Watching TV can also be used as a reward for good behavior, and no TV for bad behavior. Corporal punishment should be the last resort, although I've heard adults say that, as children, they preferred a quick slap, administered immediately after they had done something wrong, to other kinds of punishment. If love withdrawal should is used as a punishment, it will most likely result in the child suffering from overwhelming feelings of guilt. Whatever discipline technique is used, it’s important to keep channels of communication open – to talk with (not to) children at every opportunity.
   During the 6 - 12 years, children should begin to read on their own and choose what they would like to read. Reading shouldn't be used as a punishment – it’s supposed to be a pleasure!
   The teenage years are characterized by turmoil, resulting from physical and psychological changes which teenagers undergo, coupled with social and educational expectations, and peer pressure. It’s a time when they need support and encouragement from their parents. They appreciate restrictions put on them by parents, as an ‘excuse’ for not indulging in risky behavior. They are still dependent on parents, so, if punishment is necessary, it can include cutting allowances and gating. Corporal punishment should not be inflicted on them. However, if parents continue to discipline by power assertion, as they did in the earlier years, teenagers are liable to rebel. When I was teaching, a mother phoned me to ask,
   “Is my daughter was attending class? If she is, please tell her she must come home. I won’t beat her.” The girl in question was seventeen years old. I suspect that many of the girls reported missing have in fact run away from home because their parents beat them. It is highly likely that they in turn will become mothers who beat their own children. One of the ways to break this vicious cycle is to have parenting workshops where information can be spread about alternate methods of disciplining children.

Reference: Development Through Life - A Psychosocial Approach by Newman and Newman

To Beat or not to Beat? - Part 1 - in the Home.

I remember the feeling of terror I had when our first grade teacher showed us the strap. A boy in the class had challenged her pronunciation of the word ‘Gaelic’. Her response was to let us know what would happen to us if we stepped out of line. This was in Scotland in the late 1940’s. I was brought in up a loving family, without corporal punishment, so by the time I was five, I had a strong sense of right and wrong. I was not a child who needed the threat of the strap to make me behave.
     There are now 117 countries in the world where corporal punishment in schools is against the law, and 32 countries where it is prohibited in the home. In Jamaica, however, up to January 2011 it was still legal (except in Basic Schools). In a Green Paper on Safe School Policy, there are plans to abolish it. There is strong support for it in the home. People say that badly behaved children should get ‘a good lick’ and ‘if they can’t hear they will feel’. They quote what they claim to be a Biblical injunction ‘Spare the rod and spoil the child’ which in fact does not appear in the Bible. Parental discipline is often harsh to the point of being abusive. Many parents give accounts of the beatings they received as children and how it ‘didn’t do them any harm’.
     Why is it that countries around the world are making corporal punishment illegal? The main reason is the research that has been done into the psychology of development.
     One of the most widely accepted theories in psychology is Erik Erikson’s eight-stage theory of human development. In each stage, Erikson identified a psychosocial crisis or conflict. Successful resolution of these conflicts at each stage of development results in the acquisition of an ego quality. In other words, the individual is well-adapted and ready to move on to the next stage. Failure to resolve these conflicts results in a pathology which hinders future development.
     In the first life stage, infancy, the first 2 years of life, miraculous development of the brain takes place. The baby gradually gains control over his muscular movements and he begins to make sense of his world. He discovers that he be the cause of things happening and knows what to expect, an ability that continues to develop through life. One’s ability to plan, carry out and evaluate the plan, depend on this skill. He experiences new emotions ranging from pleasure to fear and anger. Babies cry because they are hungry or uncomfortable and are entirely dependent on the caregiver (mother or whoever is acting in her place). It has been found that babies, whose mothers responded quickly to their cries in the first 6 months of life, cried less often in the second 6 months. There are people who recommend that the baby be left to cry, implying that the baby is bad or simply a nuisance. In Jamaica, uncaring caregivers say the child will have a good singing voice when left to cry.
     Erikson identified the conflict at this early stage as trust versus mistrust. If children successfully develop trust, they feel safe and secure in the world, and the ego quality which they acquire is hope. If they fail to develop trust, they become withdrawn. They lack confidence that their needs will be met by the caregiver and doubt their own lovableness.
     A caregiver might be tempted to spank an infant who is exploring his world, touching things he shouldn’t touch and putting things in his mouth. However, spanking will only make the infant lose trust in the caregiver. A better strategy is make the environment suitable for the baby by putting things he shouldn’t touch out of his reach and providing alternatives. These don’t have to be expensive toys. They can be simple things like boxes and plastic containers into which the infant can put objects, which shouldn’t have any sharp edges, and should be too big for him to put in his mouth.

     In the second life stage, toddlerhood, encompassing years 2 and 3, children become more physically active and language develops. They also engage in fantasy play, a normal and necessary activity, in which they act out situations they wouldn’t be ready to deal with in the real world. During these years also toddlers learn self-control. They learn to behave in a socially acceptable way without external direction. Training at this stage includes toileting. If an accident happens, it must be dealt with in a good tempered manner, without a fuss. If the child is criticized, shame and doubt occur.
     At this stage the discipline strategies caregivers use fall into three categories: power assertion – shouting and physical punishment; love-withdrawal – expressing anger or disappointment or walking out; and induction – explaining why the behavior is wrong. The first two should be used sparingly.
     The manner of discipline is of great importance. It should be immediate or as close to the situation as possible, brief and appropriate. An alternative to corporal punishment is ‘time out’. Praise for good behavior when they are behaving well, and distracting them from undesirable behavior are also important. Toddlers learn by imitation, so parents also need to model desirable behavior.
     Frequent harsh punishment, such as beating, doesn’t achieve its intended goals. Instead, it gives rise to emotional distress which in turn generates externally directed behaviors including arguing, disobedience, destructiveness, and intentional hurting. Many of the behavioral problems encountered by teachers stem from the system of punishment inflicted by primary caregivers. The high incidence of violent crime in Jamaica is thought to be a result of frequent physical abuse and neglect by caregivers of these criminals when they were children.
     In contrast, reading to children has many benefits. Reading to a child sitting on your knee, or when he is tucked up in bed at night, comforts him. Stories illustrate the kinds of moral choices children are faced with, and help them to empathize with the characters.

References:
Development Through Life: A Psychosocial Approach by Newman and Newman

Gleaner article: Creating Children who are Winners by Eulalee Thompson