Stephanie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> MJ Thomas Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > We should give our offspring every
> encouragement
> > to enjoy their childhood with all its
> mysteries
> > and fantasies, not take it away from them
> simply
> > because it suits us adults.
> > Angst-riddled matters of sexuality and
> adulthood
> > arrive in our lives soon enough. I see no
> sense in
> > speeding up the process.
>
> I agree!! To remind or simply point out how
> quickly this happens in childhood, my son is 9
> years old and coming home with "new" knowledge of
> this sort from school. I've always encouraged open
> communication with him so he is only a little
> awkward about saying what this person said or
> that. It's really uhh...enlightening? He is 9.
> I expected these kind of conversations at maybe
> age 11 (as if that is some magically different
> number or age), lol. The school he attends is
> small so 4th graders may be hanging out with 7th
> graders so that could be why I was off with the
> expected age. Or 9 could just be the age where
> things change. Irregardless of why, 9 still seems
> so young so I agree wholeheartedly with your
> statements above.
>
> > I should point out that my wife and I do not
> have
> > children, so my opinion here is, in some
> ways,
> > somewhat unqualified.
>
> You were a child once, too. I think that makes you
> qualified still.
>

I think Pullman does that in the books aimed at that age.

On the other hand, given what you say, Stephanie, if children are getting that from other children, Pullman can be a good moral counterweight.

I think this quote from a lecture of his illustrates some of his approach -- here he's talking about the theatre:

"People would come to see that some kinds of behaviour, such as generosity and forgiveness, led to happy outcomes, and were praiseworthy; other kinds of behaviour, such as greed or deceitfulness, led to unhappy outcomes, and were disapproved of; yet other kinds of behaviour, such as renunciation or noble self-sacrifice, led to sad outcomes in the short run, but were highly praised, because they led to happy outcomes for others in the long run."

and here - the Smallweeds are characters in Bleak House, which we've been watching in a new BBC production.

"What he`s talking about, what the Smallweeds have never known, is joy. Pleasure. The almost sensual bliss, the intoxicating blend of excitement and surrender we feel when someone says ''Once upon a time ...''

Any education that neglects this dimension of experience will be a dry and tasteless diet with no nourishment in it. People - children especially - need this experience of delight. It isn`t something you give them as a reward, it`s something they will perish if they don`t have. Some part of them will perish. Just look at a flower dying for lack of water, and then water it; it`s like that. Look at children`s faces as you tell them a story, or as they sit in the theatre. Look at the rapt flushed expression on the face of a child involved, lost, in a well-loved book."

and
"I think we should read books, and tell children stories, and take them to the theatre, and learn poems, and play music, as if it would make a difference.

I think that while believing that the school of morals is probably doomed, we should act as if it were not. We should act as if the universe were listening to us and responding; we should act as if life were going to win. We should act as if we were celebrating a wedding: we should act as if we were attending the marriage of responsibility and delight."

Read the whole lecture at [www.philip-pullman.com]




Doug Weller

Director The Hall of Ma'at
Doug's Skeptical Archaeology site::
[www.ramtops.co.uk]