The Death of Childhood1 Children deprived of childhood Growing violent crime Early sexual activity Disintegration of family life The Hurried Child by Elkind (1981) Growing up too fast too soon Children without Childhood by Winn (1984) Growing too fast in the world of sex and drugs

The Death of Childhood2 Elkind’s Argument Stress in Children’s Lives Psychological disturbance caused by divorce Rise in pregnancy and venereal disease Escape thru drug-taking, crime, suicide, cult Children being Hurried by parents, schools and media

The Death of Childhood3 Elkind’s Argument (p.22) The media both reflect and produce this ‘hurrying’… By simplifying their access to information, it opens them to experiences that were once reserved for adults: ‘scenes of violence or of sexual intimacy that a young child could not conjure up from verbal description are presented directly and graphically upon television screen.’

The Death of Childhood4 Elkind’s Argument (p.22) Following Piaget’s model of child development… children will only truly learn when they are ready to do so. Forcing them to skip developmental stages will make it much harder for them to establish a secure sense of of their personal identity, and hence leave them unprepared for the difficulties of adlescence.

The Death of Childhood5 Winn’s Argument (p.23-25) Regardless of what they watch… television deprives children of play, and of other forms of healthy interaction. It is used by too many parents simply as a ‘babysitter’. … parents should be actively reinforcing these boundaries between adults and children. They should be doing less preparing and more protecting… reassert their authority, and thereby restore to children the right ‘to be a child’.

The Death of Childhood6 Literacy Myths The Disappearance of Childhood by Postman No Sense of Place by Meyrowitz A is for Ox by Sanders Kinderculture by Steinberg & Kincheloe All four books: Villain of the piece - the electronic media

The Death of Childhood7 Literacy Myths: TV vs. Print Electronic Media (TV) Visual Irrational Makes ‘backstage’ behavior visible Print Requires literacy Symbolic Linear Cultivates abstraction Logic thinking

The Death of Childhood8 Author’s Argument Childhood – ultimately representations Technological determinism - oversimplified TV supplanted reading? Or equivalent activities Audience passive & defenseless? No intellectual? Electronics requires particular ‘literacy’

The Death of Childhood9 10 個專題 (1-5) 1. 花蓮地區國小學童電視收視調查 2. 最受歡迎的漫畫書內容剖析 3. 現在的小孩玩什麼？ 4. 最受歡迎的電玩剖析 5. 國中小教科書裡的社會倫理、道德規範、 待人接物

The Death of Childhood10 10 個專題 (6-10) 1. 國中小學生在校的性教育 2. 父母親在家的媒介使用習慣與親子互動 方式 3. 兒童（少年）的偶像特質分析 4. 兒童（少年）使用網際網路的現況 5. 優良兒童文學、媒體內容評選