I read a fairly succinct opinion of George Orwells thoughts on communism the other day: George Orwell probably disliked soviet communism because it put too much power in the hands of a dictator (namely, Stalin) and because the Bolsheviks turned into the bourgeoisie and the working people were still treated badly. People werent equal (as the Bolsheviks had promised) and the Constituent Assembly, which would have given voting rights, eventually lost power. Stalin made himself the head, keeping tabs on everybodys records, killing or imprisoning those who disagreed with him, creating propaganda artwork to glorify himself, and also becoming more of an Imperialist. In Animal Farm, Orwell shows how Napoleon (Stalin) breaks the original commandments by sleeping in a bed, living in a house, etc. Succinct, Straightforward, and accurate. Also written by my eight-year-old daughter, who has been on a big kick about bureaucrats and the bourgeoisie lately. How do you get an eight-year-old interested in the concept of bureaucracy? How do you raise a child who voluntarily spends several hours a day writing? The two questions have the same answer: exposure. Although my daughter Adora is advanced her age, Animal Farm is written in a simple, vivid style that would be accessible to many eight year olds. Why then, are they stuck reading picture books? Because our education system is designed to limit a childs exposure to subjects that could be considered dark or controversial. Because most parents accept this idea and fall into step. I remember American history: It all started when Columbus discovered America, then the Pilgrims made friends with the Indians, then the colonists rose up against the King, then Lincoln freed the slaves, then Whitney invented the cotton gin, then America saved the world from the Nazis, then and we all lived happily ever after. And you wonder why most kids think that history is boring? Why they complain they have nothing to say? Nothing to write about? Many parents and educators would argue that the subject matter of Animal Farm is too brutal, and, especially, that the obvious reading supplement-a history of the Soviet Era and Stalinism- is not appropriate for an eight year old. That forced labor camps, Trotsky and the ice-axe, and Lenins mausoleum have no place in a young mind. Maybe they dont. Maybe we should try to protect our children from the darkness in the world. But we cant. Limit your childs access to video games, install your v-chip, make sure no one talks about history or current events around the house, and kick back and wait while your child grows up in the dark, happily oblivious. It wont work. Because short of raising your child in the proverbial bubble, exposure to other children generally means exposure to the ideas engendered by violent movies, the news, and video games. When you allow your children to learn about violence and the dark side of humanity solely outside the framework of their education, you are doing them a disservice. They are going to learn that life isnt a cakewalk eventually, and Id prefer to help my children understand the greater contextual framework of events, rather than leave them to encounter disturbing information in the stark, mystifying language of their peers, or the bombastic, overblown context offered by television. Im not saying that an eight year old child should be exposed to anything and everything. I do not allow my daughters to play video games, they are not allowed to watch R rated movies, and I monitor their TV consumption. On the other hand, they are not fed a whitewashed version of history, and they read literature that is probably often full of inappropriate concepts. This year alone they have studied the great purges, read Gangs of New York and Candide, and contemplated political fear tactics. What effect is all this exposure having? They write. They have opinions. They have the confidence that comes from feeling informed. When they complain to me that adults are condescending to them, I only tell them to write more. Write it out. Write about it. If something annoys you, if something scares you, if something makes you mad, write about it. Take it, try to explain it, turn it into something else, make it your own. Many kids dont write because they feel they dont have anything to write about. They know that writing is more than just mimicking, but they dont know where to turn for inspiration. What are they going to write about? The cotton gin? The friendly dinner between the pilgrims and the Indians? The Rug Rats? Not only does lack of exposure cripple creativity, it breeds narrow mindedness. Im not saying my daughters education is perfect. In a perfect world I wouldnt have to tell them about the fire-bombing of Dresden. In a perfect world the fire-bombing of Dresden wouldnt exist. I sometimes cringe when we hit certain topics, when my daughters ask me certain questions. I feel sad to answer them, to tell them the terrible truth about the way things often really work. But at the same time I know that they have a tool to process this truth. They can write. And the more they learn, the more they feel the need to reach out, to express themselves, to understand by creating. You cant always change your childs school curriculum, but you can change the way you censor information in your own home. Allowing children access to information turns the destructive into the constructive. I wake up each morning to living proof. |
