By Seth Mullins
The intellect comprises only a portion of the mind of any human being. Unfortunately, most of our established educational systems are devoted - throughout all of the grades - to nurturing this portion alone. This practice can be especially detrimental to young children, whose growth processes are naturally inclined towards the development of the will, imagination, intuition and the creative faculties.In the pre-verbal stage of their lives, our young ones experience their surrounding environment directly - without the intervention of mental concepts. This is most obvious in their first year or two of life, when they engage in exploring their world using all of their senses. They can intuit our moods from the tone of our voice, for example, without having to know the meanings behind the words we're using.
This kind of direct cognition draws upon aspects of the mind that are a part of our natural heritage but which often fall into disuse later on because our society stresses the development of the intellect above all else. There is growing debate among child educators regarding the wisdom of encouraging kids to read at a young age. Such a practice might push them into their reasoning minds prematurely, while they're still learning valuable lessons about themselves and their world through intuition and creativity.
Of course, in this technological age there are many forms of media that serve to draw children's attention outside and away from the imagery and sensory impressions within themselves. Television and video games rank among the chief culprits. What can we do, then, to counteract all these cultural influences that work to turn our children into little adults at too young an age - and at too great a cost to their budding psyches? Activities that require their will and imagination seem to work best. We can always ask ourselves this: Does a task call upon the creativity within them, or rather replace their mental imagery with outside stimulus?
For example, when children listen to stories that are read to them, they must use their own ability to paint inner pictures in order to visualize what they're hearing, whereas if they're reading the same stories on their own, they'll have to utilize a lot of intellect to turn all those symbols (letters) first into words and then into meanings. This small example demonstrates just how much of the imaginative life can be lost when a young person is pushed too soon into an analytical or critical way of thinking.
If an educational system is to serve a child, it should tailor itself around his or her natural growth processes and honor each stage along the way. In this way, the reality of the whole child - body, mind and spirit - can be nurtured, and not only the part that fits in well with a world of facts and figuring.
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