What is a child??

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect the other night when I walked into the Emmerson and sat down to watch "My Book and Heart Shall Never Part." First of all I was taken in by the beauty of the old books with their stunning covers strengthened or mended with bits of cardboard, newspaper, pictures, or whatever else people had lying around. I have always been fascinated with things from the past, especially when they are very old--one of the books in the movie was from 1790, almost 219 years old!! The little children made the books come alive, their looks of awe and excitement probably mirrored mine as they searched through fading pages and found themselves immersed in the stories.

The question that really stuck in my mind as I watched the movie was, "What IS a child?" The first time they pick up a book, a whole new world is opened up for them. In fact, I just walked into the room when my grandparents were watching the movie "Love Comes Softly," just in time to hear a woman telling a child that "once you can read, you can have every adventure that you dream of." How very true that statement is; books open a child's eyes to things they only ever imagined. The potential problem with that is, are they learning about some things too early? The answer may depend on a person's answer to the question--what is a child?--It occurred to me during the movie that we can either view a child as a symbol of innocence to be cherished, or a new mind to be molded, shaped, and influenced. Honestly I don't find much wrong with seeing how ripe a child's mind is for learning new things, however, if we choose to focus only on what we can teach them we have a greater potential of destroying their innocence too early.

In class we have discussed how wonderful it would be to read things innocently as a child once again.....do we really want to take that experience away from children early on in their lives?? My answer would be no, but unfortunately the media's answer seems to be becoming a stronger and stronger yes. The movie by Dr. Sexson and his wife, opened my eyes to the power that is in the hands of the writer when it comes to shaping the next generation......I hope that they make the right choice in what they decide to teach.