Where's room for imagination in this scenario? Imagination doesn't seem to get much "practice" in school I heard a speaker at a conference say that Nobel Prize-winning ideas don't come to those who sit at a desk with a fresh legal pad and a cup of newly-sharpened pencils. He went on to say that ideas strike at unexpected times. Letting your mind wander to consider the possibilities takes practice AND opportunity. How much time is spent in your child's school day on THAT??
Einstein said, "Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere!". His approach to encouraging imagination was ingenious (well, what did you expect, he's Albert, after all!). "If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales". The popularity of the "modern fairy tales" of Harry Potter is in his "believability". J.K. Rowling made him "mostly real" with real-life challenges. Kids see a bit of themselves in him. Harry and his pals give kids a chance to use their imaginations. This is what happens when you read; you have the chance to create the movie by using your own vision. Kids get enough of school books that are nothing but information. Make sure they have plenty of fantasy to read and mind games to play. Yes, play and read...not to watch or play on a screen. PLAY AND READ!! How do doctors learn to think like doctors and lawyers like lawyers? They are taught to critically evaluate, think flexibility, think "outside the box", come at situations from a different perspective. Ah ha! Imagination! Introduce your children to "flexible thinking" by taking them through activities such as those found in the Mind Benders series offered by The Critical Thinking Company. What a blast! Just know this...don't "poo-poo" fairy tales, fantasy or Harry Potter, Wizard Extraordinaire. There's enough time spent on the facts in the classroom; let your children's minds wander through fantasy. It's the modern-day equivalent of lying on a river bank on a warm summer day. It will let their minds travel to worlds beyond....it's the "real" education. TTFN! Claudia Join me on Facebook at Dr. Claudia McCulloch At drclaudia.net, click on the "Ask Me" button and submit a question. |
Make sure you color inside the lines! Now Joey, make the sky blue and the trees green and brown. Let's face it, once kids step inside school, it's all about being "right" or "wrong". It's more about the "product" and not the "process". Show your work! But, if it's not in the exact sequence that you were taught, you lose points and we musn't lose points!
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