Psychological Issues

Read more about the article The Novel mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine Captures the Point of View of a Child with Asperger’s Syndrome

The Novel mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine Captures the Point of View of a Child with Asperger’s Syndrome

Motivated by her concern after the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007, Kathryn Erskine wrote mockingbird (mok′ ing-bûrd) to examine how families cope after a sudden tragedy.  Erksine’s first-person narrator is a ten-year-old girl with Asperger’s syndrome named Caitlin Ann Smith.  Caitlin is a talented young artist, but her life is difficult.  Caitlin’s mother died of cancer, and her older brother Devon died after a shooting at his high school.  The two siblings were very close, and Devin had helped his sister to deal with the complex and confusing world around her.  Caitlin’s father is paralyzed by grief after he loses his son, and he has trouble parenting Caitlin. (more…)

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Read more about the article A Review of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood

A Review of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood

One of public television’s (PBS) excellent programs for preschool children is Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.  This show replaced Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood in 2012.  Unlike the original program, which had real people and children, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is in animated cartoon format.  According to Wikipedia, Rogers’ program The Neighborhood of Make-Believe, which had puppets as characters, influenced Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.  Daniel is a young tiger who attends school and has many friends, including a young cat and a young owl.  Some brief sequences of real children involved in interesting activities like feeding zoo animals and visiting museums also appear. Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood teaches kids how to handle and understand emotions like sadness and jealousy.  By having Daniel feel sad when his class’s adopted duck must return to the farm, the program tells viewers, “It’s OK to feel sad,” and reassures them that they will gradually feel better.  The creators of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood embody this message in a repeated song that youngsters can quickly memorize.  Similarly, the show portrays Daniel’s jealousy when his grandfather pays attention to…

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