February 27, 2009

Since the last post, as an extension of our social justice work, we have been studying wolves. Wait a minute... Why wolves? Read on...

We began by reading fairy tales to see what they tell us about wolves. For many (if not most) people in our culture, fairy tales give us our first impression about wolves, which may last for lifetime. Here is what the children said about wolves as portrayed in fairy tales:

E.E.: Wolves can get into your house. They capture people.

E.A.J.: They have giant sharp teeth that can eat anything. Wolves kill.

G.H.: They’re mean. The wolf wanted to eat the pigs.

D.S.: Wolves can blow down houses. Wolves see things that we don’t.

E.L.J.: Wolves destroy things. They scare people!

A. D.: Wolves are sneaky. They have scary faces. They’re VICIOUS!

M.I.: Wolves are really, REALLY sneaky. The wolf tricked the pigs and Grandma.

A.M.: Wolves hurt things. The wolf ate the little pigs and Grandma.

J.J.: Wolves hurt people.

A.V.: The wolf has big sharp teeth to eat the pigs. Wolves can eat people, too!

T.V.: Wolves like to eat people. But at the end, the pig killed the wolf,

S.B.: It’s o.k. to kill wolves.

J.W.: The wolf is the bad guy. The man and the pig who killed the wolf are the good guys.

So then we decided to do "research" by reading about what scientists have learned about wolves. We checked out books from the library, read, discussed and processed this information for a few weeks. Here is what the children said they learned from the research:

A.D.: Wolves have sharp teeth.

G.H.: They used to live all over, Now most live in the north, where it is cold and snowy.

J.W.: Wolves like to play hide and seek!

D.S.: Wolves are hunters of elk and deer.

A.D.: They come in packs and hunt wild sheep.

M.I.: They run fast and can jump far. They run fast to catch mooses.

E.A.J.: They get meat by finding animals and working together to catch them. They crack them in half and then eat the meat inside.

A.M.: Pups learn to hunt from their mom and dad.

M.I.: The mom and dad are the leaders of the pack. The whole pack helps to take care of the pups. Uncles, aunts, they all help.

A.V.: The mom and dad are called Alphas. The other adult wolves in the pack are babysitters. The pups lick the adult's mouths after a hunt to ask for food.

E.E.: Then they cough up food for the babies.

A.D.: After a hunt the parents throw up the meat and the pups eat it.

D.S. (Imitates a wolf coughing up food. Class loses it for a moment, then hands are raised again.)

T.V.: Wolf pups like to follow the big wolves. They show the pups how to run, jump, watch and listen.

A.D.: Wolves love to howl!

E.E.: Wolves howl at the moon.

J.W.: They howl sometimes if they're close to each other and they howl if they're far away.

S.B.: They listen to each other. They like to hear wolves answering.

E.E.: Wolves use their ears and tails and eyes to signal each other.

S.B.: And they communicate with their feet when they get down low.

J.W.: A long time ago, wolves mixed with dogs that had black fur. Some of those pups had black fur, too. Pups come in different colors---brown, white, gray, black.

We discussed the difference between what the fairy tales and the scientists told us. Which did they think was real? The class was unamimous that the scientists really understood wolves better and their information seemed more accurate.

On another day, we opened the subject again... Why did people write fairy tales that always portrayed wolves as the villians? We decided that they must have not understood wolves very well and were afraid of them. I explained,"Sometimes when people are fearful of something or someone, they form opinions that are not based on real information. This is called prejudice. When a prejudice becomes part of the way lots of people think, it is called a stereotype. What are some stereotypes of wolves that we have heard?"

A.V.: That they're viscious and mean.

J.W.: They eat people.

M.I.: Wolves blowing down houses. They can't really do that.

E.A.J.: Wolves look for people so they can hurt them.

"What have you learned about prejudice and stereotypes?" Several children spoke up as the group nodded their approval:

"Prejudice and stereotypes hurt."

"They don't tell us the truth."


Wow!
Wouldn't it be nice if the whole world could learn this as easily as our children?

Peace, Judith