DADS TIME
NEW WORLDS, OLD WORLDS – media and kids
Many, many years ago, when I was just learning to read, my parents read me C.S.
Lewis’s ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’. I remember
being so fascinated by the story that I couldn’t wait for the evening reading-out-aloud
session. I struggled through the book page by page on my own and ended up finishing
the book. Then I read the next book and the next until I’d read the entire
series. By that time, I was reading fluently and easily. When I started first
grade, the teacher was happy to let me read at the back of the class while my
peers were learning their ABC. The point is that there is (hopefully) a moment
in every child’s reading development where their fascination and curiosity
regarding a story overcomes their reluctance to sit down and work hard piecing
sounds together to make words and then words together to make sentences. 
It takes
a lot of energy. It’s hard at first. But then, once the words start to
flow, once the sentences start to unwrap from the page and to trigger images
in the readers’ minds, it takes less and less effort. Before they know
it, they’re no longer reading, they are part of the story, they are no
longer just readers, they are THERE. This magic moment changes their
entire lives.
When I was small, we didn’t have a television. Not because we couldn’t
afford one, but because my parents didn’t like the idea of us glued to
the screen, slack-jawed, staring at whatever happens to be on. Looking back,
I understand their feelings. I’m a Dad now and I’m uncomfortable
when our son, who is just learning to read, watches TV for too long. Today at
least there is a wider choice of channels. Kids are so unbelievably susceptible
to advertising, so one positive aspect today is that there are kids’ channels
which don’t have advertising (or hardly any). But there is an enormous
difference between watching TV and reading. Watching TV is essentially a passive
activity. Reading is to a certain extent active. Where TV (or a DVD) presents
most of the sensory input – the image and the sound at least – ready
made, freeze-dried and finished, a reader has to create the images conjured up
by the text in his or her mind. A film leaves things like taste, smell or feel
up to the viewer to fill in. A book has its readers’ imagination whirring
along on overdrive.
Some years ago, we visited friends of ours who also had small children. One thing
which we only noticed after we’d been there for some time was that there
were no books in the house. No children’s books in the children’s
room. But an impressive collection of DVDs. But somehow… it’s not
the same.
Not every child adores the same books, of course. I loved Winnie the Pooh. My
son was non-plussed when I read it to him. But he is thrilled by other books.
And now the magic moment is just around the corner. He’s not quite reading
on his own yet, but he’s reading out loud to us. Just recently he wanted
to read us “just one page” from a beautiful 20-page illustrated book.
Then the story grabbed him, and he said “I don’t want to stop now – one
more page” and then “just one more” right to the end of the
book. A bit more and he’ll be reading on his own. The magic moment.
My son often talks about his peers at school. They all have Playstations. They
all have computers. They have all the games. Of course he also wants them. I’m
not against computer games in moderation. In some ways they are better than just
watching TV because they aren’t passive. They require active thought, planning,
strategy, reflexes and hand-eye coordination. In the case of the Nintendo Wii,
games also need a lot of energy as the player leaps around and swings imaginary
baseball bats. The whole topic of gaming is a theme of its own. There are games
which have been lovingly designed with wonderful and imaginative details to discover.
Many excellent games allow co-operative play, which opens up whole new areas
of family entertainment, where you can discover things together that you wouldn’t
have been able to alone. But still – it’s not the same as reading.
Simulation isn’t the same thing as imagination. And imagination is the
basis of creativity.
A world without imagination is a world without creativity. A world where stories
have all been designed down to the last detail by teams of producers, directors,
designers, illustrators, animators and engineers so as to leave no room for interpretation – a
world without books – would be a sad place indeed. And a monotonous place.
Not a place I would choose for my child to grow up in.
Dani wonders: Do you remember which book triggered your magic moment when you
were just starting to read? Have you shared that same book with your children?
How did they react? Or if your children are a little older, which book was their
magic reading moment?
Who wrote this?
| DANIEL SCHWARZ
CARIGIET Born: 1966 in Lugano, Switzerland - Mother American, father German Family: married to Astrid, father of Oliver |
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| Occupation: Freelance photographer / commmunications consultant |
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