On the need for imagination--

O hooray, my two brave students performed their poems admirably! Maybe a little nervous, maybe a little rushed, but they did fine. I have not heard any feedback yet, and I'm not sure I will, as most folks were there to see their young ones in the elementary band and so on... we'll build on this, for sure. Maybe have original poems read at the Christmas concert? Or a dramatic reading of some Christmas poems? We shall see. That's months away, thank goodness.

I wonder, now, just how our young people are going to find their favorite poems and poets. It used to be a regular part of what we learned in school, but now it seems it's all coding and STEM and testing-- perhaps that's not the case, but I see a yawning chasm in the curriculum where a love of language used to be. Where are our next poets and novelists going to come from? Creative kids are now turning to creating graphic novels, mostly "fan fiction" types of things, or they --the more adventuresome types-- are taking game-creation classes to develop video games with somewhat predictable plots and characters. What I don't see is anything truly new. New ideas come from periods of quiet wonder, when the seeds planted by rich text and language and art and music all burgeon forth into exotic plants of their own creation. We've made kids into linear-thinking keyboard users. 

There's a place for technology, but there's also a real need for uninterrupted imagining. And we can't imagine without the raw materials. Without the let's pretend and what if time for human beings, we'll be left with AI-generated shlock. And that's not only incredibly scary, it's also truly sad. Human beings have always been storytellers, but without the ability to create a story, there will be nothing to tell.

Turn off the screens and let kids get muddy. Read them old favorites. Play them music without words. Let their young minds wander. Give them glue sticks and egg boxes and tear up newspaper-- see what new things are created.

Humanity needs it.

Have a good day,

C