As children develop and grow we as proud parents and members of their immediate family mark the days of their first step or first word. We find ourselves thoroughly entertained by their antics and unintentional impersonations of the people around them. We give praise to how articulate they are at such a young age, as they proclaim “No” or “ “Give me”. We marvel at their clarity to discover, understand, and apply the information gathered from there surroundings so quickly.
From one moment to the next they have evolved unconsciously, to be young minds that have been taught to follow directions; not act on their intuition of honoring them selves; not to be different; and not to challenge someone / something that doesn’t feel right. All those cute little antics as a toddler are now discouraged because they are irritating and we have no tolerance for such behavior because they know now what we expect of them.
Before we know it, we have a teenage clone living within our home demanding the latest gear because they require the validation of others in order to feel personal worth. While it is imperative to be liked and not picked on by others, they have no idea of what it means to like self.
In my experience with mentoring or teaching children from elementary to high school asking any of the following questions or giving any of these instructions, I’m answered with a shrug, I don’t know, and/or I don’t know how: Who do you want to become?´ What do you want to do in your lifetime? ´ Write me a short story using your imagination about something that does not exist in real life. ´ List 5 things about yourself that does not include a physical activity or attribute.
Recently, I taught a fourth grade class requesting them to write me a short story using their imagination about something that does not exist in real life. The majority had not a clue of where to begin. Others wanted to tell what they liked to do or inquired if they could write about an episode of Sponge Bob. Out of a class of 12 students, there were only 2 students that barely stepped out of the box to use creativity and critical thinking. One was about death and how everyone died except the child who still was running for his life at the end of the 9-sentence story. The other was about Barbie dolls that came to life without the use of batteries. The only thing all the words were misspelled and jumbled together without the use of any punctuation.
We have to give credit to a time when mothers locked the screen door to leave us with our imagination to fill backyards of summer time to keep ourselves entertained. Some value must be found in the creation mud pies and tracking the patterns of bees and butterflies from the pedestal of flowers. Versus a world that now imagines for our children to only to one day think for them too. Everywhere we turn as the presidential election draws closer, we hear celebrities under the disguise of caring send the message of vote and be heard. Instead of informing our children, to listen for their own voice about all matters that prevail in their life and encourage them to be brave enough to honor their voice via action.
If our children are the future of tomorrow and they are lacking in imagination in reference to themselves and the world they live within, our tomorrows will be void of the life, energy, and vision that is required.
Written by Lorraine K. McCall on 11/1/04 All rights reserved to Lorraine K. McCall. Copyrights © 2004
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