The Developing Brain - Blog #1 SLIS 754

The Developing Brain

The human brain is a miraculous organ that requires tender love and care to grow and develop into a well developed and well-oiled information center.  Without understanding the stages of development from birth to adulthood, there will be gaps in education and learning that will be closed off and required bridges to be built later in life to cross these ravines.  These gaps in learning will not only affect literacy, but social, cognitive, and emotional development.  

It seems that most often, we focus on the development of the young brain once it is time to start preschool, but as Patricia Kuhl points out that there is a "celestial openness" to babies brain. This openness does have an expiration date that must be tapped into before a babies' first birthday.  Her studies show that babies from around the world are "citizens of the world" and "can discriminate all the sounds of all languages" (Kuhl, 2013).  The key is the social interaction with direct human interaction.  This is supported by Dickinson, et.al. in their article when they state that "between birth and age three are critical for children's long term language, cognitive, emotional, and interpersonal development" (Dickinson, et al, 2011).  

Dickinson's article hit close to home with me when they discussed how "book reading has a special power" and how it "impacts parents' patterns of interpersonal interactions with their children" (Dickinson, etal, 2011).  I found this especially true with the relationships that I have with my own children.  We read continuously from birth and beyond.  To this day, we still have our own little "book club", where we share books with each other and then discuss. Our love of reading has given us a special bond that may not be accessed by all citizens.  It is so important for libraries to build programs that supply families with not only quality books (English and in their own languages), but with quality parenting education, guidance, and modeling for good reading interactions. This is something that I plan to focus my attention with my own library.  I would like to have Parenting Nights or Parenting Breakfasts to bring families into the library and provide the support they need with a supportive and guiding hand. 

What must be remembered is that brain development does not stop until around age 25 and that this population must also continue to have exposure to programs that meet their specific needs.  Nicki Blair's article states that teen services need "a comprehensive approach to offering young adult services that include dedicated leadership from staff, the development of strategic plan[s], and the consideration of young adult development" (Blair, 2010).  Libraries and librarians have to take the time to understand the teenage brain and "understand as much as possible about the ground they stand on" (Blair, 2010).  I agree with this whole-heartedly, especially with the reluctant teenage reader.  It is imperative to meet your readers where they are and to understand  their interests, their background experiences, and the best method for stimulating their love of reading.  This could mean providing access to graphic novels, audible selections, or even teen read-alouds.  As Gaiman stated, "literate people read fiction" and that this is a "gateway drug" to reading (Gaiman, 2013).  Reading builds a bridge to understanding, communication, and life long enjoyment.   

The take-away from these articles is that development and the programming librarians provide begins a birth and doesn't stop.  Our program needs to grow and change as our patrons grow and change.  Our programming in the early stages must be focused towards not only children, but their parents.  These early years set the stage for the rest of their lives and the relationships they will form with others, but it doesn't stop there.  We must provide programming for all the stages of growth, including the once overlooked teen years.  Libraries are about access and freedom, which provides the gateway to a brighter and more creative future.

References

Blair, N. (2010). Raising the bar in public libraries: Literacy, adolescent development, and young adult services. B Sides: U of I SLIS Journal. http://ir.uiowa.edu/bsides/2.

Dickinson, D., Griffith, J.A., Golinkoff, R.M., and Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2012, February 7). How reading books fosters language development around the world. Child Development Research. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/602807

Gaiman, N. (2013, October 15). Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming

Kuhl, P. (2010, October). Linguistic genius of babies [Video]. TedTalk Conference. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2XBIkHW954