Back almost a century ago, a few perceptive men saw how adults were losing their ability to reason and discuss issues beyond the lowest common denominator. Sports, pop culture and the latest fads were all they really cared about, and when it came to more important issues, such as who was running the country and how they were doing it, people weren't able to look past the most basic surface level, nor could they even articulate what it was that was bothering them about it in the first place. Sure, they knew that So-and-So was doing a lousy job, but nothing beyond that, including how he should actually be doing the job in the first place, or even what the job was!
I know, it sounds familiar, doesn't it? I could be talking about people today. But, that's the point.
So, these perceptive men began the Great Books Movement. This was an opportunity for adults to learn about the classics, the books that defined our culture, the writings of the most profound thinkers in history, and understand not only what they were saying, but why they were saying it, and whether or not we should agree with what they were saying. In short, they were educating people in how to think, not merely what to think. They were teaching them Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Shakespeare, Newton and dozens of other great writers.
Unfortunately, you've probably never heard of the Great Books Movement, because despite more than forty years of effort, toil and sweat, not to mention some sweet encylopedic sets of these Great Books, they couldn't sustain interest. The adults just weren't able to connect with these great writers. They didn't 'get' it. And the reason they didn't get it was that, unlike those great writers and their intended audiences, the modern adults didn't have the cultural backdrop, the fertile soil developed in childhood by reading great works intended for children. Fairy tales, nursery rhymes, Aesop's fables...unless it showed up in a Disney cartoon, kids of the past century don't have a lot of experience with them. And that is a crime against generations of humanity. It is a theft of our cultural heritage, a heritage we not only have a right to, but an obligation to pass on to future generations.
My middle son, who is eleven, loves to read Percy Jackson and Captain Underpants. Yikes. He also watches Cartoon Network whenever he can cajole myself or his mother into allowing him TV time. I made the mistake of sitting in briefly on his viewing time, and what I saw was horrifying. The 'artwork' wouldn't pass muster in a kindergarten class; the 'humor' is atrocious and largely centered on bodily functions or thorough emasculation of whatever unfortunate male character gets selected for the writer's abuse, and the 'plots' are ridiculous. There's more plot in a Road Runner cartoon (a fact my son was able to verify when I challenged him to watch a few of those instead).
I know, I know...old guy, get off my lawn, etc. Well, I might be old, but I'm not wrong. Kids today don't have any real value in their entertainment. Just getting them to read is a challenge and a half. But it's a challenge that's worth it.
I found the children's literature books I had purchased when I was homeschooling my oldest son, more than a decade earlier. I offered him a few of them to read, and he expressed some interest, promising to check them out before heading back to staring at the brain-drainer.
Then, he read Call of the Wild, by Jack London.
Well, that did it. Suddenly, he's interested in reading real books instead of The Day My Butt Went Psycho. He's reading fairy tales, he's reading Edgar Rice Burroughs...he's reading real books now. And, while he still wants to stare at the brain-candy, he's genuinely interested in reading these stories, and even asking me to read him Aesop's fables at night. Hey, moral lessons before bed is never a bad idea, is it? And, while our youngest boy is autistic and doesn't get the whole 'reading' idea, I've started reading some short children's poems to him. Even if he's not looking at the pictures or the words, he can hear my voice. It's a start, anyway.
I know, I'm long-winded. But here's the point: Education is a life-long process; it doesn't end when you graduate high school, or even university or college. But those early years are critical for determining what kind of an education will even be possible for you or your child to get. That's not to say you can't learn later on, but you're starting with a major handicap.
If you're a parent with young kids, don't stick them in front of Netflix or the Cartoon Network while you exchange Facebook posts. Sit down with them and read to them. Grab Lang's Blue Fairy Book, or Beatrix Potter, or Tarzan of the Apes if they're older, or Little House on the Prairie for the girls. Give them a solid literary foundation, and you will change their lives.
And, if you want to practice reading yourself, I've got a few options for you, including my newest release, A Universe of Possibilities. Look me up on Amazon and see what else I have to offer.
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