Thursday, September 25, 2008

Story - the shortest distance between truth and a human being

Photo credit: britishcouncil.org

You may consider this is an apology for rediscovering the value of story-telling. Elisa Pearmain echoes Anthony de Mello and writes: "(h)earing stories from many spiritual traditions reminds us that as human beings we share a common longing for connection, and often find that in how we treat each other." And this is something that moms would naturally be able to provide their children -- the Holy Scriptures and even the Book of Virtues could come in handy -- during family time before the lights are off for the night.

But apart from personal and spiritual growth, Pearmain states that stories are doorways into Learning, Social skills, Peace, and Relaxation and fun. More here.

Small wonder that "Mga Kwento ni Lola Basyang" has become memetic.

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posted by Joel @ 4:56 PM 0 Comments

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Is too much reading bad for the brain?

Photo credit: artfiles.art.com

I did some Google search (as usual). Here's the link to the search results. (Nothing conclusive) -- You don't have to click on it. And I wouldn't even quote any of those.

But I'd much rather quote (with apologies) the following post from a friend in a homeschool group:
"Dr. Elkind, has the opinion that free play and unstructured learning will give kids under 6 the best start. This was because their cognitive capacities should dictate what they should be taught. In other words, if a three year old is eager to learn to read, then by all means teach him, but he should not be forced to tell the difference between confusing lower case letters (d, b, p, q) unless he wants to know."
Sauce for the goose ... I guess the point here is moderation. Golden mean. Rule of thirds. Informal balance, perhaps?

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posted by Joel @ 5:49 PM 0 Comments