[MenTeach: A person posted an interesting question in the forums.]
I was wondering if anyone had any experience in trying to teach superheroes to preschoolers.
The school I teach at is high/scope and has a ban on superheroes. Many of the boys in my class have expressed interest in Batman, and I want to use his influence to teach about what a real hero is, and emphasize the “saving” over the “fighting”.
My fear is that with the movies, comics, and cartoons becoming more and more violent, they might be too young to catch the subtext, and all they see is muscle guys in capes pounding the crap out of each other. I want them to know that Batman’s job is to protect people. I hoped to couple this lesson with a create-your-own superhero project, but was turned down by the school director.
Does anyone else think that banning superheroes might be a little prejudicial to the boys?
When they bring up superheroes in class, and are told that it’s not okay, I feel it sends the message that “what is important to you doesn’t count.” Boys like superheroes, and that is never going to change.
All I want is to put a positive spin on superheroes, and maybe empower a few of my kids to become heroes themselves.
Any thoughts?