What is a nursery rhyme? According to wikipedia, "A
nursery rhyme is a traditional song or poem taught to young children, originally in the nursery. Learning such verse assists in the development of vocabulary, and several examples deal with rudimentary counting skills. It also encourages children to enjoy music. In addition, specific actions, motions, or dances are often associated with particular songs." Hmmm....
Let us look at a popular nursery rhyme: Jack and Jill
Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.
Isn't it sad that Jack and Jill ended up hurt? What are we trying to teach our children? Actually there is a thrid and a fourth verse which is not heard of.
Let us look at another: Rock a bye baby
Rock a bye baby on the tree top,
When the wind blows the cradle will rock,
When the bough breaks the cradle will fall,
And down will come baby, cradle and all.
This is a tradegy! The baby falls for heaven's sake!
Another one: Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King's horses
and all the King's men
couldn't put Humpty together again.
Must I go on?
What about Hansel and Gratel? Their own parents leave them in the woods to die. This is even worse than the witch who wants to eat them! Why would we want our children to hear such a story.
There are some really good nursery rhymes and stories that children actually learn from. For Example: Old Mc Donald had a Farm, ABCD, One, Two, Buckle my Shoe and Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty (though all these stories all build the notion that being "beautiful" is very important).
As teaching technique, nursery rhymes and stories are incredibly powerful. It grabs the attention of the children, sets free their imagination, and makes learning fun for them. I guess what was missing for the above nursery rhymes were the learning objectives. :)
