I'm currently laying down some groundwork to revisit Opie and Opie's seminal text (1959) with schools in my region as a focus. And this question keeps niggling at me. The line of formal, unformal learning blurs as does non-institutional and institutional. Should there be a line? And if so who is the arbiter? I'm also reminded of Paddy Bowmans great article:
Bowman, P. (2006). Standing at the Crossroads of Folklore and Education. Journal of American Folklore, 119(471), 66-79. doi:10.1353/jaf.2006.0002
Better schools do make a point of both formal and informal education, folklore being one of the strongest tool of informal education and social adaptation. The downside is that the time and attention resource of the children at school is limited, so one should carefully choose what is included in the program. On the other hand, certain educational approaches are strongly based on cultural immersion, and there folklore comes into play, for example see Waldorf education.
I think, in order to be successful, inclusion of folklore in school education should pursue a larger objective, be a part of a general picture, an approach to how you actually educate. I strongly believe in folklore as one of the richest source of educational resources. Would like to see your research when done!
I think that folklore (in the sense of myths, uses and culture) can help to convey more boring or complex topics, in an interdisciplinary key.
You can read:
- Maraffi, S., Scamardella, A. & Sacerdoti, F.M. (2016). GeoQuest VESUVIUS a Class Role Playing Game. In Hawaii University International Conferences (Eds.), STEAM Education Proceedings. USA.
- Maraffi., S. & Sacerdoti, F.M. (2016). GeoQuest Project. Computer class Role Playing Game as innovative teaching methodology to foster STEAM education. Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering, Volume 5, Number 10, 495-511.
Thanks Sabina for the useful references and Airat I agree with most of what you say, although I am always a little nervous about 'using' folklore for a larger objective, this has been done before in 1930s Europe? I know this isn't what you meant though. On a lighter note, I suppose what concerns me about its integration is that the moment it becomes institutionalised it loses its informality - no?
I think (and I hope) no. Mythological representations are often a way of answering questions that man did not have the technological means and scientific knowledge to answer. We can be really surprised to see how rigorous is the description of Goethe, which in the "Journey to Italy" describes the volcanic products of the burning cloud without knowing the volcanology at all. Or even how Hawaiians have perfectly described the motion of a lithospheric plate on the hot spot, representing the struggle between the fire goddess and the ocean goddess.
I have chosen these references to involve my students and show them that scientific knowledges are linked to observation and experience.
Great stuff. Although I definitely take the view that mythos and logos are equal in term of what they bring to our understanding. Personally, I don't think myths exist because science hasn't explained something. For me, myth offers explanations, understandings, experiences and feelings that science cannot begin to capture. They are entirely different, yet equally valid truths.
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