The Place and Importance of Riddles in the Education
Journal Name:
- Eğitim Bilimleri Araştırmaları Dergisi (EBAD)
Keywords (Original Language):
Author Name | University of Author | Faculty of Author |
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Abstract (2. Language):
Introduction
Perhaps one of the most important existential aims of an individual is to explore and
understand the meaning to life. This case has posed the question, to search for answers. This
searching has sometimes happened in the way of simple and clear questions, but more often
in the way of a difficult and complicated path that has no clear destination. Humanity is will
continue to ask questions and search for answers until our sense of wonder and drive for
exploration dies out (Balta, 2013, 892). To have knowledge and understand the world has
become a defining characteristic of our species, one that makes us powerful as individuals
and has leaded us to develop an information society. The emphasis of information and
knowing which have been spreading for many years has transformed knowledge into a
substantial treasure. Truth has been put into service sometimes loud and clear, and
sometimes hidden behind images, metaphors and art. When truth is portrayed through
images, metaphors and art, we often define this presentation as riddle.
This study aims to evaluate the contribution of riddles, one of the primary works of
verbal literature, which will help the linguistic and intellectual development of children by
enriching their linguistic material in education. Because riddles often contain various
metaphoric texts within themselves, riddles must be examined multilaterally. The fact that
riddles develop the vocabulary of an individual and push us to think in non-linear ways
constitutes the subject of this study. In this context, the relationship between riddle and
education is examined through works performed in literature.
Riddle Concept
The work of Turkish Folk Literature contains the output of thousands of years of life,
experience, pleasure and, most importantly, the national perception and thought processes
of the Turkish people. This output is the cultural treasure of the Turkish people and defines
the sensitivity of our people within themselves. Turkish Folk Literature contains plenty of
images and forms, but one of the most important, formed both in poetry and prose, is the
riddle.
Riddles ask questions related to all kinds of objects and ideas, customarily in a space
and time, undertaking various functions, incorporating some characteristics related to the
object or idea, delivered either in a poetic or prose structure, intended to prompt reasoning
and stimulate the attention of the addressee. The answers to these riddles are often a word,
suitable for the expectations of the society to which they belonged, accepted without in
depth discussion in that society. Of these answers, “plenty of” them have a poetic expression
and “many of” them are composed of stereotyped expressions, understood like a question
by those who know that tradition in spite of not taking the standard form of a traditional
question sentence (Türkyılmaz, 2007, 22).and Education
Human beings haves been trying to understand and ascribe meaning to the
environment in which they live, the formal and informal organizations to which they belong,
other people, life, the world, the known and unknown, and in short, the entire universe,
since the beginning of time. This meaning seeking has enabled modern people to evolve by
contributing to the global fund of knowledge for generations. This fund has revealed the
concept of trainability, one of the most important characteristics of humanity, and education
both by being transferred through genes in biological sense and conveyed from generation
through oral and written traditions. Learning is a social activity, so education is a process
that affects the life of every human being from birth until death. In this sense, education
transforms individual people and society, at large, through the growth of every individual.
Hence, education plays a critical role in shaping future societies. This circumstance makes
education one of the most emphasized and discussed subjects (Yılmaz, 2009, 1).
Education is a subject that needs proper emphasis. This concept must be separated
from traditional stereotyped definitions to better understand national and international
dynamics, trends, cultural and national facts, international integration, social values and,
simply, to build a more prosperous future.
The changing face of education allows individuals to ask questions, research
hypotheses and, at the same time, find pleasure in the pursuit of knowledge. Some programs
render the educational environment more charming by diversifying educational arguments.
These arguments can be seen on a large scale in the tradition of Turkish folk literature. In this
context, such literary works like poems, ballads, fairy tales, lullabies and riddles are used
largely in child education.
Riddles have been an important part of Turkish Folk Literature through different
stages of society, right up through the modern day. Because riddles have many distinct
aspects that can benefit education and training fields, it is repeated frequently and
importantly that riddles should be included in the modern educational system (Balta, 2013,
893). Another aspect of riddles that make them important for education is that they have an
entertainment feature. This allows children to demonstrate participation in learning activities
in a more active way. Riddles are versatile products that can teach us about anything, even
the most abstract concepts that we encounter in daily life. By asking about objects, concepts
or situations, riddles both test our knowledge and give information about these things (İçel,
2005, 269).
Conclusion
The riddle is one of the most important products of insight into human beings. In
what way can we benefit from riddles in Turkish education? Riddles containing interesting
elements that help to develop vocabulary and prompt us to think, which makes riddles a
great tool to be used in education. Besides this, they are verbal products that prompt
students to learn with an aspect of entertainment. In primary programs, riddles are only
emphasized for this entertainment aspect, while their educational function is too often
ignored. Therefore riddles should be handled by highlighting their educational side and
provided to take advantage of these products in primary programs.
The fact that educational arguments are enriched will prevent students from being
bored by avoiding banality and monotony in their lessons. Riddles have a structure that
should be desired among educational arguments, due to the fact that they have interesting expressions, poetic structures, memorability and often deal with interesting subjects. Owing
to this structure, they will both make easier learning and provide permanence.
Riddles can make great contributions to the mental development of children because
they prompt children to think. When children perceive the riddle, truly understand the task
and try to find the answer, they will activate their brains. By trying to solve a riddle, students
try to make lexical contacts, and reason by themselves on the basis of connotations and
similarities (Önür, 2012, 44).
Like all literary works, the impact of riddles on language is significant. In the
education and training process, the main contribution of riddles is seen in vernacular
language education. Riddles can be used as a tool to stimulate a love of vernacular language
to children in preschool and early primary school periods. In primary school, lessons should
be performed in a game atmosphere not to become boring. This is because children don’t
want to break loose from game; they want to carry it to the class in these periods. The fact
that riddles are carried to the class as part of games facilitates their use as an effective and
remarkable educational tool for children. Children warmed up for lesson by this way will be
better prepared to learn. In early primary school periods, riddles can be used as exercises for
the purpose of learning to pronounce of words properly. In the context of language
acquisition, another distinct characteristic of riddles is their power to enrich the vocabulary
of children. Riddles often present an interesting simile and depict peculiar connotations,
with rich word usage that make them a substantial source for enriching vocabulary (Balta,
2013, 893). It is quite important to develop of a child’s vocabulary in language achievement,
as a child knows the world through the number of words he knows. Therefore a child’s
knowledge about the world and active comprehension skills can be measured with his
vocabulary (Yıldız, Okur, Arı & Yılmaz, 2010, 31). Having a rich vocabulary enables children
to express themselves truthfully and properly in social environments, and facilitates their
work in new learning surroundings.
The imaginary and artistic structures of riddles make their expression stronger. This
characteristic will give rise to students making sense of clues given in the text, to take
advantage of connotations, to improve their problem-solving and creative thinking skills
during the search of answer. Riddles are beneficial in educational environments owing to the
fact that they will help the development of linguistic and mental skills, and they should be
better integrated at all levels of education.
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Abstract (Original Language):
Bu çalışmanın amacı bilmecelerin eğitimdeki yeri ve önemi konusunda kavramsal bir çözümleme yapmaktır. Bu amaçla, sözlü edebiyat ürünlerinden olan bilmecelerin eğitimde dilsel malzemeyi zenginleştirerek çocuğun dilsel ve düşünsel gelişimine yapacağı katkı vurgulanmaya çalışılmıştır. Bu bağlamda, bilmecelerin bireyin kelime hazinesini geliştirmesi ve düşünmeye sevk etmesi çalışmanın konusunu oluşturmaktadır. Eğitimin değişen yapısı, bireyi; sormaya, sorgulamaya ve araştırmaya yönlendirmektedir. Dolayısıyla, eğitim materyallerinin zenginliği ve çok boyutluluğu eğitimin değişen yapısına hizmet etmektedir. Bu çalışmayla da, bilmecelerin eğitimde kullanımının, bireyin çocukluk döneminden itibaren sorgulama, anlamlandırma, araştırma gibi düşünsel becerilerini geliştirmesi, ilgi çekici yapısıyla da öğrenmeyi eğlenceli hale getirmesi ve eş zamanlı olarak çocuğun kavram ve söz varlığını geliştirmesinin eğitsel açıdan katkısı açıklanmaya çalışılmıştır.
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