Winter 2021-2022      Volume 50, Number 1


Finding Common Ground: Understanding Ourselves and the World Through Literature:
Overcoming Obstacles: Belief in Oneself

By Kathleen A. Paciga and Melanie D. Koss, Guest Authors

Document: Column 

Introductory Paragraph:  Fred Rogers (1994) said, “Often, problems are knots with many strands, and looking at those strands can make a problem seem different.” One strand of a problem always is tied to the people who are involved in or acting upon a problem. Belief in oneself is one possible avenue for overcoming life’s obstacles. Lack of confidence, resilience, or support can prohibit children and characters alike from believing they can overcome and persist.  Obstacles present themselves to humans and fictional characters alike. Oftentimes, we look to HOW those obstacles have been overcome as we discuss literature with children.  Obstacles such as discrimination, immigration, bullying, inadequacy, and societal challenges present hurdles for the diverse characters readers will meet in the pages of the selected stories. In each title, we see characters overcoming obstacles because they explicitly or implicitly believe in themselves—they pull on that strand of the knot.

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.33600/IRCJ.50.1.2021-2022.39

Page Numbers:   39-44

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