A while ago, The Frogger returned from a story-time/art project event with two puppets, of which she was understandably very proud. One she created under her own creative direction, with technical assistance from SuperMom. The other was created with the assistance of an adult helper, who “helped” her make a puppet. Can you guess which is which?
To my eye, both puppets have a recognizable face, but they are not equal.
One puppet, led by the helper, is constrained by the idealized concept of a face. The other, led by a two year old child uses the idea of a face as a starting point for creative exploration. The difference is an adult who cannot escape the idealized box of “face” and a child that does not even know there is a box.
Which would you rather look at? I know which one I prefer. I suspect there is a right answer and I suspect that I am right.
When we teach our children, we need to worry incessantly about crushing that childlike creative impulse. When we tell our children how the world works[2], we need to ask, “Are we building a box or a launching pad?”
I do not know if such creativity will make the world a “better” place, but it is prettier than the alternative.
NOTES
- Those that conspired to write and sign the Declaration of Independence. Not to be confused with the much less successful Founding Fathers Mk II that composed the Articles of Confederation or the really argumentative Founding Fathers Mk III that put together the US Constitution a decade later.
- More accurately, how we think the world works; but that distinction rarely came through in my childhood education.
The Finch and Pea 