Why is growing the imagination of children my interest? Doesn't every child have an active, growing imagination? If they don't, what can someone else do about it? As I type, I'm thinking that there may be dozens of questions like these. I suppose that is my point. Let's think and write about why growing children's imagination matters.
As I reflect on my own early imagination, it is clear that it often sprang from my childhood experiences. My dad and grandfathers were all volunteer firefighters in small towns. I readily imagined myself as one, too. My dad introduced me to a pathologist who let me shadow him for a day. For about four years I was convinced that I would be one, too. One of my grandmothers was a teacher. I easily saw that as an occupational option for myself. One of my grandfathers was a retail marketing representative for a major wholesaler. My first career was in retail management.
My second career is in education. I was a scoring supervisor and project manager for one of the "assessment" companies before earning my license to teach. (Yes, that does sound backwards to me, too.) I taught middle and high school math and social studies for seven years. For the past three years I have been Lead Teacher at our high school. I'll leave that job description to your imagination.
Growing the imagination of children is the central mission of not only educators, but also the community at large. When we succeed in that mission society advances. When we fail in that mission, children and society decline into ill health and worse. Think about it.
Accepting growing the imagination of children as education's central mission puts many other issues into perspective. I'd like to hear from you as I continue to share my ideas. Please comment.
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