A SENSE OF WONDER

 Q. To provide lasting value for the child, which deserves first and foremost emphasis: rules, skills & formulas; or self-expression that flows from the very soul of the child?

In the book Quantum Creativity, the philosopher/physicist Amit Goswami relates the following story:

Two boys in France were given the task of taking a short trip and then coming back and reporting on it. When they came back, the first boy was asked, “So, what did you see?” The boy shrugged his shoulders. “Nothing much.” … But the second boy, in answer to the same question, said with luminous eyes, “I have seen so much.” Then he proceeded to describe it all in glowing detail. … The second boy grew up to be renowned novelist, Victor Hugo.

By way of contrast, I recently listened to a concerned mother speaking to her child’s tutor about long e word spellings. The concern over, and discussion of, this small detail of spelling continued for 20 minutes. Meanwhile her child escaped to play on nearby swings.

Does it seem heretical to care far more that children want to say something, i.e., that they desire to write their own stories on paper, regardless of misspellings? Written articulation is a return, at a higher level, to the toddler stage of learning to speak. The little one self-refines his speech and self-develops an amazing complexity of speech patterns because he is immersed in oral communication. Also, importantly, it is because he wants to want to communicate with those around him. Similarly, the child gradually learns to see and self-correct misspellings organically through immersion in compelling literature, and a triggered desire for self-expression. After writing, children are amenable to a degree of editing by an appreciative mentor, because the spelling is in the context of their creativity, and they like for their spelling to be correct.

Like windows closed to the soul, the emphasis on correct spelling first and foremost deflects the breezes of self-expression. The greater danger is for closed doors and windows to continue to deflect the urge to written articulation of one’s discoveries, ponderings and stories throughout life.

Fearfully, modern society confines its offspring to a speeding train of minutia for 12+ years of schooling. Compelling panoramas pass by unnoticed, in the belief that this is the track to the destination—successful adulthood. But is it?

In the 1950’s Donald Mckinnon conducted a study of the traits of 40 of the most distinguished architects in the United States. The two control groups included (1) a group of architects chosen randomly from a directory, and (2) architects who had worked with the 40 most creative architects above.

In a series of multidimensional tests, the 40 architects, who were the most sought after for their brilliant designs, scored significantly higher in two traits: sensitivity to feelings and a strong sense of aesthetics.*

How did schooling come to mean forcing the child’s brain to fixate on rule-driven bits of data, rather than awakening a sense of wonder at the world we live in? Far from being drones to perform programmed tasks, human beings are multidimensional beings, with the potential become eager explorers and purposeful creators. The task of the teachers of such beings is to stimulate a sense of adventure, anticipation and eagerness to learn more about the world. A child must FEEL something if his learning is to be meaningful and lasting.

Modern psychology now recognizes that feelings and sensory associations anchor meaningful and lasting learning. The place for academics is within the context of bringing the world to the child, i.e. triggered by the textures, colors, scents, sounds, tastes and aliveness of inviting surroundings. In this case, the honing of academic skill is a secondary impulse. The primary source is an awakened quest for increasing knowledge and self-expression as the child, regardless of age, relates to living kingdoms. Equally inspiring are evocative renderings of his ancestral heritage of great quests, discoveries, inventions, and masterpieces.

As the child reaches adulthood, knowledge of academic minutia may be vital for a successful vocation. However, overarching accustomed ordinariness, the skill of passionate self-expression vitalizes a fulfilling, beyond ordinary, avocation.

*D.W. Mckinnon, “The Personality Correlates of Creativity: A Study of American Architects,” in Proceedings of the Fourteenth International Congress of Applied Psychology, Volume 2, edited by G.S. Nielsen, 11-39 (Copenhagen: Munskgaard, 1962).