So it has been weeks...okay...months since my last posting. As a matter of fact, one of my fans (I think I am up to three) reminds me on a regular basis how long it has been since since Adminsanity has delivered a thought provoking nugget of wisdom (some will argue it has yet to produce such a nugget)! Be that as it may, this post, which was inspired by my children and the Christmas Season, is for you, Andrew. Thanks for always breaking my "Christmas Balls" with the perfect mix of sarcasm and style!
Christmas has always been a magical time for me (if your faith does not celebrate Christmas, then substitute for your favorite holiday). The magic, which engulfed me from my earliest of memories, came from the seemingly endless supply of imagination that accompanies Christmas. This imagination is a common theme of both the religious and the retail "schools of thought" (a deeper discussion for another time) where the possibilities are endless. This feeling was resurrected when I was blessed with two wonderful children of my own! The excitement, the magic, the imagination I have now is stronger and more alive than ever!
Sadly, and I know I sound like my father here, I feel as though this generation is severely lacking when it comes to imagination (when I was young...). I see it in my school, where even some of our best and brightest are more concerned with whether or not the answer is correct, or if a certain piece of information is on the test or not. What happened to learning that stretches the mind and sparks the imagination? I know I am not alone, as many of my colleagues have shared similar experiences with me. Are schools crushing our children's imagination? Some say yes: www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
Not so fast, though. Recently, I saw a piece about Chinese students and how they are choosing to continue their studies in the U.S., which leads me to believe that, despite the message of local and national news outlets, our schools are not so bad! One student commented, "they accept all different kinds of different ideas. You can dream about anything,” she said. “In America, I can experience more…maybe all kinds of things I will never experience in China.” See for yourself at: http://behindthewall.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/01/11/9679479-chinese-applications-to-us-schools-skyrocket?lite
So, if it is not our school's fault, then what has caused this degradation of imagination? when I was a kid (again, homage to Dad) we played games...OUTSIDE, not on a Wii or PS3 where the action and the images are dictated to you. We also read books, where we created the pictures in our minds. Today, TV & movies supply that story for us, even though we always here people say, "it's not as good as the book"! So maybe it is simply a paradigm shift in society...a result of the "not enough hours in the day", fast-food lifestyles we lead. www.schoolfamily.com/school-family-articles/article/3750-too-much-tv-hinders-creativity-and-imagination
Not me...and not my children! I will ensure their imagination thrives and that they do not succumb to the temptations of the over-digitalized demons of an overreliance on technology. After all, my wife and I read to them every night, we encourage independent thought and problem solving, spend time playing with them, and all the other good things that the good parenting books and magazines say to do. I was reassured that all of our "good parenting" skills have payed off, when I noticed our boys playing with legos. They were building! They were being creative and using their imagination! They do not need video games to have fun! Then, my wife told them to clean up because it was time for dinner. My youngest replied in the sweet innocent voice of a cherub, "Okay Mom. We are on our last level anyway". So much for the damn parenting books! I should have waited for the movie! Imagine that!!
At any rate, regardless of wheter you are high tech, low tech, or a hybrid somewhere in the middle, have a Happy 2013, filled with fun, learning and imagination!
