Alternative to the Cultural Trends Destroying Your Child's Imagination

Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child by Anthony Esolens

“Esolen signals with this book his presence in the top rank of authors of cultural criticism.” —American Spectator

Play dates, soccer practice, day care, political correctness, drudgery without facts, television, video games, constant supervision, endless distractions: these and other insidious trends in child rearing and education are now the hallmarks of childhood. As author Anthony Esolen demonstrates in this elegantly written, often wickedly funny book, almost everything we are doing to children now constricts their imaginations, usually to serve the ulterior motives of the constrictors.

Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child takes square aim at these accelerating trends, in a bitingly witty style reminiscent of C. S. Lewis, while offering parents—and children—hopeful alternatives. Esolen shows how imagination is snuffed out at practically every turn: in the rearing of children almost exclusively indoors; in the flattening of love to sex education, and sex education to prurience and hygiene; in the loss of traditional childhood games; in the refusal to allow children to organize themselves into teams; in the effacing of the glorious differences between the sexes; in the dismissal of the power of memory, which creates the worst of all possible worlds in school—drudgery without even the merit of imparting facts; in the strict separation of the child’s world from the adult’s; and in the denial of the transcendent, which places a low ceiling on the child’s developing spirit and mind.

But Esolen doesn’t stop at pointing out the problem; he offers clear solutions as well. With charming stories from his own boyhood and an assist from the master authors and thinkers of the Western tradition, Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child is a welcome respite from the overwhelming banality of contemporary culture. Interwoven throughout this indispensable guide to child rearing is a rich tapestry of the literature, music, art, and thought that once enriched the lives of American children.

Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child confronts contemporary trends in parenting and schooling by reclaiming lost traditions. This practical, insightful book is essential reading for any parent who cares about the paltry thing that childhood has become, and who wants to give a child something beyond the dull drone of today’s culture.

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The Teaching Hook

A “Teaching Hook” is used to catch your child’s interest.

It introduces the subject and arouses curiosity.  A good “Teaching 

Hook” will encourage conversation. It should excite the child to

explore the topic.

The best “Teaching Hook” is one that gives the child a sense of ownership with the subject. Teaching Hooks can be used with any subject on any grade level in any medium.

The Picture Strategy

Have you tried using pictures or photos to teach history? A picture/photo can be used as a “Teaching Hook” to catch your child’s interest and introduce the subject. The picture can be of a historical time, place, object or person. This strategy can be used for any subject or topic.

This of a photo taken in Rome, but you can use photos from multiple sources, such as vacations, books, internet etc.  Show your child the picture and ask them to describe what they see.

Talk about the picture. Then ask some open-ended questions that arouse curiosity about Rome.  What do you see?  Are there letters? Do you think they have something to do with the Roman Culture? What about the fountain?

From here you can jot down the child’s observations and make a discovery game out of them. As you study Rome, the child can look out for the fountains filled by the ancient aqueducts and the S.P.Q.R shield, to discover what they mean for the Romans.

This is the “Teaching Hook”.  It introduces the study of Rome by creating curiosity about Rome. As the child discovers the meaning of the fountains, ancient aqueducts and S.P.Q.R. shield, the child feels a sense of ownership about Rome. They are now engaged in the subject because they feel a connection.

Tip: Use pictures/photos often in various subjects to elicit curiosity and questions. This strategy encourages the child to use discovery to satisfy their curiosity and gives them a sense of ownership for the subject.  

The Picture Strategy is "how to" example of using the Teaching Hook with content. 

Available at http://chi-nhfp.blogspot.com/p/picture-strategy-pic-hook.html