I hope your children are enjoying their summer break and including reading the books on the CDA summer list as part of their activities. Summer is the perfect time to read a good book to entertain the imagination and nourish the soul. In 2004 I spoke at the Coram Deo Classical Educators Training conference to an audience of grammar school parents. I am sharing the context of the presentation with you over the next few weeks titled “Literature is the Doorway to a Child’s Imagination”.
LITERATURE IS THE DOORWAY….
Literature is the doorway to a child’s imagination. A book is just printed material until the child reads, or hears the words being read aloud, and then it begins forming pictures in the reader’s mind. The people and events come alive and what happens next in the story becomes important to the reader. The written word becomes the child’s reality for that moment. A good story allows a child to live vicariously through the hero and to enjoy all the excitement of experiencing a real adventure.
It is important for discerning adults to choose books that are age appropriate for children. Books that provide a foundation of character building aspects, but also that are fun – enjoyable stories for children and the adults. Because at this age parents and teachers read a lot of books! And a dull book can certainly inflict pain on the reader and the listener.
Teachers choose literature that will stimulate the imagination and provide a foundation for instruction. At Coram Deo Academy we coordinate our summer reading lists and literature books to coincide with other subjects related to a particular grade level. Reading Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes to a student entering Kindergarten at CDA has prepared your child in several ways: listening, self-control, an appreciation of poetry, as well as an introduction to phonics. Even some math instruction is included by reciting together one, two, buckle my shoe and other types of numerical rhymes.
What was your favorite book when you were a child in grammar school? Why?
I was in third grade and I fell in love with reading. Not just any books, but detective stories about Nancy Drew that my teacher read aloud when we came in from our afternoon recess. It was my favorite time of the day. Nancy Drew was my heroine; she was smart, beautiful, and her life was full of the kind of lively adventures that an eight year old girl could really appreciate!
Literature opened the door to my imagination. I could see in my mind’s eye the beautiful Nancy and her best friends climbing the stairs in a scary old mansion or hearing the howling wind that sounded like the garden statue was speaking as they attempted to solve a mystery.
Children need good stories to have a healthy worldview. A child becomes actively involved in a story and often allows the actions of the story’s characters to influence them in a positive or negative way. Parents should determine if the stories told to their young children provide examples of behavior that they want their own children to emulate.
What is considered great literature? As in all educational pursuits, especially when attempting to explain pedagogical reasons for using it in the classroom, one can find many different opinions to answer this question. Let’s consider these four points:
- Literature gives order to human experience
- Literature explores cultural values
- Literature demands an emotional response from the reader
- Literature expands our imagination
This paper will continue in next week’s email.