The Significance of Fairy Tales. The Educational Value of Fairy Tales

Traditional education contrasts fairy tales with imperative knowledge, presenting them as lightweight versus heavyweight, natural versus unnatural, accessible and immediately relevant versus difficult to grasp and seemingly unnecessary. However, for a child, a fairy tale is not just a tale, not merely a literary work or a simple game—it is life itself. It is a means of materializing the relationships and circumstances that concern the child, resonating with their capabilities. It serves as a constitution of morals, a code of laws of existence, rules of coexistence, norms of delicacy, and categories of good and evil, reflecting the multipolarity and relativity of social evaluations.

A fairy tale is a remarkable tool for psychological influence on a child's inner world, a powerful instrument for development.

To a certain extent, fairy tales satisfy three natural psychological needs of a child:

1. **The need for autonomy (independence):** In every fairy tale, the hero acts independently, relying on their own strength.
2. **The need for competence (power, omnipotence):** The hero overcomes incredible obstacles, emerges victorious, and achieves success.
3. **The need for activity:** The hero is always in action.

Fairy tales immerse children in a world of extraordinary events and transformations, expressing profound moral ideas. They teach kindness toward others, showcase noble feelings and aspirations. K.I. Chukovsky wrote that the goal of a storyteller, especially a folk one, is to "instill humanity in a child—this wondrous ability to be moved by others' misfortunes, to rejoice in another's joy, to experience someone else's fate as one's own."

In the actions and deeds of fairy-tale characters, diligence is contrasted with laziness, good with evil, and bravery with cowardice. Children are naturally drawn to characters who embody responsiveness, love for work, and courage. They rejoice when good triumphs, sigh with relief when heroes overcome difficulties, and celebrate the happy resolution.

E.A. Flerina, a prominent educator in the field of aesthetic education, saw the advantage of storytelling over reading in that the storyteller conveys the content as if they were an eyewitness to the events. She believed that storytelling achieves a special immediacy of perception.

It would be beneficial if every person raising a child mastered the art of storytelling, as it is crucial to convey the unique nature of the fairy tale genre.

Fairy tales are dynamic yet melodic. The rapid unfolding of events is beautifully combined with repetition. The language of fairy tales is highly picturesque, featuring vivid comparisons, epithets, figurative expressions, dialogues, songs, and rhythmic repetitions that help children remember the tale.

The cognitive value of fairy tales lies primarily in their reflection of real-life phenomena, offering extensive knowledge about the history of social relations, labor, and everyday life, as well as insights into the worldview and psychology of a people, the nature of their land. The plots and images embody broad typifications, containing generalizations of life phenomena and human character traits.

Fairy tales teach courage, kindness, and other good human qualities, but they do so without tedious lectures, simply showing what can happen if a person acts against their conscience. Fairy tales develop aesthetic sensibilities. They reveal beauty in nature and humanity, unite aesthetic and moral principles, blend reality and fantasy, and are characterized by vivid imagery and expressiveness.

The educational program integrates knowledge about the peoples of the world, their communication styles, and fosters positive attitudes toward them. It helps children comprehend the content of global folklore through theatrical play, visual arts, and literary creativity.

Children learn about the commonalities and differences among cultures, identifying key ethnic traits: name, language, ethnic territory, anthropological type (appearance), and universal human values. They also explore examples of cultural interinfluence. The acquired knowledge, skills, and abilities are reinforced through various activities: visual arts, literary creativity, and theatrical play. Some lessons are structured as situational modeling, where children immerse themselves in the material and imagine themselves as participants in the events. Significant attention is given to the relationship between humans and nature. Ancient traditions in the material and spiritual culture of peoples are viewed as adaptations to the natural and climatic conditions of their homeland.

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The Significance of Fairy Tales. The Educational Value of Fairy Tales

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