Bibliotherapy for Inner City Students

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Table of Contents

Abstract
Introduction
Solution
Approaches in bibliotherapy
Basic stages in bibliotherapy
Benefits and limitations of bibliotherapy
Summary
References

Abstract

Bibliotherapy has been used over the centuries as a healing therapy by teachers, social workers, nurses, psychologists, physicians, counselors, and librarians to help people find answers to difficulties in life and overcome hardship. Bibliotherapy uses literature to help people gain insight and ideas into a particular problem. The purpose behind this therapy is to assist students overcome emotional problems related to real-life problems by having to read a story on a particular topic. People with emotional problems, mental illness, or those who are experiencing problems in their lives find bibliotherapy very useful.

Introduction

Bibliotherapy is a therapy that uses book reading to heal people or solve problems. Some books are specifically designed for this kind of therapy known as self-help books or rather any kind of book, fiction or nonfiction can also be used. The reader interprets what they have read in light of their experiences to help them learn to cope with certain problems in life. Therefore, bibliotherapy is basically a technique for restructuring the interaction of a facilitator (the teacher) and a participant based on mutual sharing of literature (experiences) (Kortner, 1993). The core problem in this essay is that Inner-city students are not inspired to read literature as it should be. The focus of this paper is to discuss why bibliotherapy fosters reading and what can be done to inspire inner-city students to develop an interest in reading.

Solution

Bibliotherapy can inspire inner-city students to read because literature is what they are experiencing in life. Bibliotherapy fosters reading because literature touches on experiences of other writers that help a student realize they are alone or the first ones to encounter such a problem. The use of bibliotherapy through literature will inspire Inner-city students to read because literature is what they are experiencing in life. The knowledge gained in the book positively impacts student’s life by 1). Fostering honest self-appraisal from the book characters 2). Helping them understand how to deal with emotions 3) develop their self-concept 4). Provide and develop an interest outside school 5). Relieve emotional and mental pressure especially in dealing with grief 6). Helps the student understand he is not the first person to encounter such a problem 7). Help them deal with different problems by demonstrating that there is more than one solution to a particular problem 8) the students are able to discuss any problem they may be experiencing more freely. Through reading, students are able to develop constructive action to solve any particular problem they may encounter (Kortner, 1993; Evans, 2009, online).

The core problem of administering bibliotherapy in schools is that Inner-city students do not have a desire to read and literature will foster their reading habits. Also, literature can be used as a therapeutic tool for healing students with specific learning disabilities, mild mental retardation, and behavioral disorders (Forgan, 2002, p.1).

By making Inner-city students develop an interest in literature, educators need to provide a friendly tone that will allow a comfortable learning environment. For students with learning disabilities, for instance, a certain fiction book can be read to them, and then the instructor facilitates discussions where students are let to talk about the characters in the book. When a certain literature book is identified, the classroom teacher should break students into collaborative units for discussion. Students can also develop an interest in literature by the teacher using a group approach. Group units enhance student development as they feel comfortable sharing common experiences thereby lessening anxiety. It also creates a sense of belonging and provides security for students who might be feeling isolated as they are able to discuss freely what they might be going through, essential for emotional healing. Groups help students develop a different perspective of the story and a new understanding of other students’ problems (Kortner, 1993).

Why bibliotherapy in schools? Literature helps expand student’s thinking. With the knowledge gained from reading, they are able to understand and learn how to deal with grief and loss. By being able to reflect on the characters, students are able to develop a positive self image and skills on how to deal with social rejection. Especially when grouped in units, a student increases his social skills. A class room teacher should choose appropriate bibliotherapy books and provide the reading materials to the student. The chosen books should be able to motivate the student and the teacher should give them time to reflect. After reading the books, students should be grouped into units and given open ended questions to enable them to reflect and talk more openly about what they have learned in the book. This is important because it helps the student interpret, apply, analyze, synthesize and evaluate the information in the book.

The books should not be lengthy and complex and should be applicable to the problem facing the student (Jake, 2001, online).

Bibliotherapy is important in schools because it helps students gain insights into new directions in life and teach them to explore new ways of communication and how to deal with their emotions. Students may feel a sense of relief when a particular book talks about what they are experiencing in life as it makes them feel they are not the only ones undergoing that particular problem. They apply what they have learnt vicariously into solving their problem by reflecting on how the characters in the book solve theirs (Abdullah, 2002, online).

Bibliotherapy is important in the educational field because the child spends most of her life in school and interacts with different communities. Reading literature helps a student learn problem solving skills that are beneficial to his development and offers sneak preview of real world situations. Teachers and parents should be able to identify literature that suits every child’s needs, able to recognize the cause of a certain problem, the effect of relationships and identify educational opportunities which promote child’s development. If a child is not able to identify a problem through the literature involving family relationships, he may end up being hostile towards all family members whenever a problem occurs. The child may sense the problem but unable to identify with it and if the problem remains unsolved, the child may run away or even commit hostile behaviors (Harbaugh, 1984, p.18).

Approaches in bibliotherapy

Traditionally, bibliotherapy was more reactive in its approach. This meant that individuals using the therapy would either give positive or negative emotions when reading the material. The recent bibliotherapy approach is what is known as “interactive approach”. In this approach, the reader becomes part of the unfolding events and emotional process in the development of the story and struggles to interpret the meaning of what is being communicated. He responds positively to the attitude or behavior unlike to the traditional approach. In an interactive approach, the teacher should step up role playing by engaging students in activities that help them reflect on what they have read in the book. This fosters reading and the student may start developing interest in literature. To fully engage students in reading, the teacher may ask questions regarding what they have read, create group units or engage students in dialogue journal writing.

Last we have clinical approach where skilled practitioners employ certain therapeutic methods in healing serious emotional problems. For schools, development bibliotherapy is used for students experiencing serious emotional problems. Development bibliotherapy can also be applied in guiding students through adolescent stages by giving them knowledge on what to expect in life (Abdullah, 2002, online).

Basic stages in bibliotherapy

In my position i believe that bibiotherapy can be used as a gateway for getting reluctant inner city students to fall in love with literature and the act of reading. This can be done by having bibliotherapy programs in inner city schools. Reading literature helps a). Provide insights into problems b).Provides information c). helps students initiate discussion about problems d). Communicate new vales and attitudes e). Make students aware that other people are undergoing similar problems and f). Develop problem solving skills to realistic problems. Bibliotherapy stages include; identification, selection, presentation and follow-up. In the Identification and selection stage, the teacher is required to identify appropriate books suitable for a student’s particular problem. The selection of books requires skills and insights into the student’s problem. The teacher should therefore ensure that the selected books should provide correct information as this is important for a student to reflect on. Once the students identify with the character, follow-up stage is administered respectively. A student should be given a chance to share what they have read. This can be done in discussion groups or by writing what they have learnt in journals. They can also express their thoughts on the literature non-verbally through art, role-playing or allocated tasks for problem solving to pursue individually. Once catharsis has been done, the teacher should help the client gain insight into the problem. Successful implementation of bibliotherapy hugely depends on teachers as they play a very important role in facilitating the whole process (Abdullah, 2002, online).

Benefits and limitations of bibliotherapy

Literature gives students opportunity to recognize and understand themselves. It gives him time to reflect on the characters behavior in comparison to what they are experiencing in life. It fosters passion for reading and social development of a student especially when grouped in units; they interact freely with each other and provide them with communication skills. Group discussions also reduce feelings of isolation felt by students with problems (Abdullah, 2002, online).

The importance of administering bibliotherapy to students is that it makes them well prepared in dealing with problems in life that otherwise would not have been recognized without literature. Apart from developing desire for reading, literature has been known to healing children with disabilities especially those experiencing difficulties in recognizing and solving problems. Therefore by learning problem-solving strategies through literature, students are able to become independent and effective problem solvers (Forgan, 2002, p.1). Literature opens and guides student’s life, helps answer unanswered questions, helps children understand life and gives them hope. Literature helps students realize that they are not alone, educate and empower them (Imaginative Resources for Children, 2005, p.4)

Limitation of bibliotherapy is that sometimes the material available may be limited to cover problems of each individual student. The student may become uncooperative in reading the material provided making the therapy ineffective. Sometimes a student may become uncooperative by acting defensive making it hard to discount the actions of characters and impacting them in their lives. The student may understand the characters differently thus enforcing their own perception and solutions. The teacher can help overcome these limitations by continuing with the process regardless of negative sentiments from students and forming group units where students get to discuss their problems freely. Facilitators are required to have adequate knowledge about human development, emotional problems and the appropriate literature to use. Training and exposure to a repertoire of literature suitable for bibliotherapy use are also very essential. Another limitation of bibliotherapy is that the client may be unwilling to discus areas they feel uncomfortable with making it hard for facilitator to communicate to the student. This problem can be addressed by suspending the sessions until the student is ready and willing to work with, by revisiting issues in stories that were not handled properly in previous sessions (Abdullah, 2002, online).

Summary

Bibliotherapy is a very powerful tool for school teachers and counselors in helping students in all levels at school. Inner city students are not being exposed to literature as it should be. It’s a high time teachers implemented a strong bibliotherapy program in school as it positively impacts a student’s life. The use of bibliotherapy can inspire Inner city students to read because literature is what they are experiencing in life. Teachers should keep in mind the limitations of bibliotherapy and provide solutions to deal with the problems amicably. It might be very hard for a teacher to identify specific needs for each student but it would be helpful if the teacher identified a variety of books that relate to real life situations. Open ended questions should be formulated because this helps students elaborate on their feelings and concerns towards the literature. I believe that bibiotherapy can be used as a gateway for getting reluctant inner city students to fall in love with literature and the act of reading. This can be done by having bibliotherapy programs in Inner city schools. To help children develop problem solving skills that will be helpful in their lives.

References

Abdullah, M. H. (2002). Bibliotherapy.. ERIC Clearing on Reading, English, and Communication Digest # 177, EDO-CS-02-08.

Evans, S.R. (2009). Biblio-therapy. Web.

Forgan, J.W. (2002). Using Bibliotherapy to Teach Problem Solving. Intervention in School & Clinic, 38, 1.

Harbaugh, K. J. (1984). The Effectiveness of Bibliotheraphy in Teaching Problem Solving Skills To Female Juvenile Delinquents. 1-123.

Imaginative Resources for Children. (2005). Bibliography For Children: The use of books to support children needing to process difficult personal events that are painful, confusing and overwhelming.Helping Children Through Challenging Times, 1-9.

Jake, L. CTRS. CEDS. (2001). Bibliotherapy Application for Recreation Therapy. TR Therapeutic recreation directory. Web.

Kortner, N. A. (1993). Bibliotherapy.ERIC Clearing on Reading, English, and Communication Digest #82, ED0-CS-93-05.

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