"The joy for reading is passed on to kids when adults enjoy it, too"

07/10/2016

Michèle Petit, professor at the University of Paris 1, member of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and specialist in issues related to reading, participated in the symposium "Deu anys de literatura infantil i juvenil" (Ten Years of Children's and Juvenile Literature) which the UAB group GRETEL organised and held on 30 September and 1 October, in celebration of the tenth edition of its master's degree in Books and Literature for Children and Young People. Petit offered a conference entitled "Els llibres i la jungla" (Books and the Jungle) on reading in contexts of crisis and specifically on the case of refugees.

How does reading contribute to building subjectivity?

On various occasions people have told me how literature allowed them, as children, to create their own space and escape from distressing situations, and even to express themselves in some way. They found an echo of what they felt in a detached, metaphoric manner. A book, sometimes even just a sentence, allows them to find a bit of peace because they are able to symbolise what is happening to them without expressing it.

Therefore, is identifying with the characters something very important?

When we read, we often say "that's me, that's not me". But not only that; I was surprised to see that among all the people I interviewed, not many of them identified with any of the characters. More frequently there is the possibility of symbolising the experience, expressing something with words which they later make their own.

You have studied reading among young people living in difficult social contexts, in marginalised neighbourhoods, etc.

For years, I directed and participated in studies in rural areas and unfavoured neighbourhoods in France, particularly with large immigrant populations, and later I spent some time studying the experiences of reading promoters in crisis situations in Latin America. In both cases, it was common that the people affected had grown up with almost no contact to books.

Is it just a cliché to think that socially less favoured groups are those least interested in reading?

It is a statistical reality, I cannot deny that. But even in non-favourable environments there are families who discover the joys of reading thanks to a father, aunt, grandmother, etc.

In the collection of articles Nuevos acercamientos a los jóvenes y la lectura (Fondo de Cultura Económica) you say that "thanks to reading, many young people of immigrant origin conjugate the cultural worlds they belong to, instead of having these worlds fight against each other".

I wrote that when I studied France's banlieues fifteen years ago. The situation now is much more difficult in France. I still think the same, but I also think that to make integration easier for both cultural worlds, it is not enough to encourage the appropriation of works from our cultures: there is the need for a transgenerational transmission of cultures among migrant people. Difficulties in integration are not only related to xenophobia, unemployment or relegation of space, they are also the result of a strong deculturalisation. We must not repeat with the refugees the mistakes we made in France with immigrants.

How does a person become a reader?

Most of the times it's something the family does. It is transmitted through one or more members of the family and through classical situations such as reading aloud. This does not automatically make someone a reader, but the transmission works in these situations if the adult enjoys doing it. If they do it thinking it will help their kids in school, it will not work. Or if we tell children they must sit still while we read to them, it will not work either. The point is to enjoy happy moments together. That is what, maybe, will make the child want to recover that feeling of happiness later on.

Are there other situations?

Another typical situation is in families where the children see their parents reading. For example, I always saw my parents with their head in a book and I wondered: "Where are they, where is their mind, why do they get so much pleasure out of it, what is the mystery?", and I was jealous. This is a scene I've heard described in many occasions. But it's not something automatic, either. Within the same family and same situations, three children will become readers and the fourth will not, in order to differentiate him or herself from the others.

Must we discipline ourselves to read?

We must not become obsessed with creating readers at any cost. If you sing to your child it is not because you think they will become musicians: you do it to share a happy moment with them, without thinking about the future. Why are we then obsessed about reading? A lot of pressure will produce exactly the opposite of what we are seeking. What is important is to share happy moments and incorporate fragments of literature, science or art: stroll around the neighbourhood, describe things, share narrative, poetic moments, etc. Without becoming obsessed with productivity. Asking "how will this help" is legitimate because we are preoccupied with giving our children the best chances of succeeding, but the pressure is not positive.

You also wrote that "reading understood as a decoding of a text suppresses emotions and prevents identification".

It depends. There can also be pleasure in learning the art of decoding a text. It is worse when there is a utilitarian obsession with it. For me, books, art and libraries are like beaches. It is important, especially today, to preserve the spaces where we can breathe freely and have a non-utilitarian relation with the world.

Is the audiovisual culture in any way an "obstacle" for the promotion of reading?

Not specifically. We were lucky enough to find interest in books and then want to watch a television series, read a comic book, listen to music, etc. And we did all of that without thinking. But do not put your toddler, at such a young age, in front of the screen. You need to regulate it. I am in favour of combining different types of arts.

Do you think there is somewhat of a resistance to paper among young people? Or maybe digital reading is the future?

There are things in common and different in the experience of reading on paper and digital reading. For example, when you see a baby grab a book and touch it, often they put it on their head as if it were a cover, but do not do the same with a screen. There is something in the materiality of it that changes the experience. Small kids need human exchanges, they need words, games, things they can touch, etc. These essential and pleasant experiences cannot be substituted with screens.

More information: GRETEL