I Believe the Children Are Our Future

 "What are we doing here, if we're not singing
This is my revolution. You are my revolution."

These are the first few lines of a new song that I am writing. It is for my children. It is about how genuinely I believe in that blurb at the top of my blog.

"The surest way to change the world is to change the ways we interact with children, and the stories that we tell them."

You are my revolution.

My children make me more radical everyday. And they constantly test the strength of my beliefs.

Radical means "of, relating to, or proceeding from a root." What better place to get "radical" than where the stories of our culture are re-birthed with each new generation: Children.

I would like to address the roots of compulsory education, and it's designs on our children, but I think that would take ten weeks in it's own right. Perhaps I will dive into that abyss in the future on this blog.  For now I will say that I genuinely believe that there are no education systems without agenda. Compulsory education and liberatory education alike. The motivation of the agenda is what is in question.

I am also sure that all "radical" education, or "radical" children's literature is certainly not on the same page. Just as most people claiming the same religion, or political party, are not on the same page, exactly. There is plenty of leftest, radical teaching aimed at children that is simply trying to replace one set of dogmas with another.

In my heart of hearts, what I want most for my children, for all children, is the information, freedom and respect to make informed decisions about who they want to be and how they want to engage with the world. But seeing as there is really no such thing as "agenda-less" education, where are we to go for "agenda-less" information and stories to share with children?

Maybe it is impossible to create such literature and education materials. Maybe the burden (or challenge) lies with the adults who engage with the children, and help to teach them critical thinking skills.

I just finished reading the book Tales for Little Rebels: A Collection of Racial Children's Literature edited by Julia L. Mickenberg and Philip Nel.  In the foreword of the book, Jack Zipes explains the word radical as "having roots" or "being rooted."

He continues, "A radical person is someone who endeavors to understand the world by going to the root of a phenomenon, issue or problem. A radical literature, especially a radical children's literature, wants to explore the essence of phenomena, experiences, actions, and social relations and seeks to enable young people to grasp the basic conditions in which they live."

This is an interesting collection of works spanning the 20th Century that look at topics ranging from race to ecology, with plenty of examples of leftist political ideology from the early part of the century.

I have to admit that I had a hard time getting absorbed in this book, due to it's layout and presentation. Though I was extremely interested in the stories shared, conveying them in such an "academic" manner made it hard for me to care about them. The smattering of  illustrations shared from each book are reprinted small, and in black and white. The texts themselves are layed out in columns, words dense upon each page. Perhaps I am not cut out for academic research because much of the passion of these works were lost on me, simply because my interest wasn't captured by the presentation. ( Though I certainly understand the necessity, not the least of which is that many of these books are out of print.)