About a year ago my oldest daughter discovered a useful word. Little could I imagine the Pandora's Box that would be opened with her learning it and little did I realize how persistent she would be in utilizing it to find knew knowledge. The word, of course, was 'why'.
No longer, for example, was it enough to simply watch Sleeping Beauty for the twentieth time, now we had to dig deep into the motivations of the characters.
"Why did the witch shoot lightning at Phillip?"
"Because she doesn't want him to wake up Sleeping Beauty."
"Why doesn't she want him to wake up Sleeping Beauty?"
"Because she is mad at Sleeping Beauty's family."
"Why is she mad at Sleeping Beauty's family?"
And on and on until we finally arrive to a point where I found an excuse to escape the interrogation or until I arrived at the answer my daughter hates most, "I don't know."
The first rather inconsequential but interesting lesson from my daughter's questioning was what a nonsensical character the witch in Sleeping Beauty, Malificent, really was. It appeared the whole motivation for her wicked rampage of evil all starts from feeling snubbed at not being invited to a baby shower. Even then it isn't clear if she wouldn't have done the same terrible thing even if she'd been invited. All the other evil villains in movies at least want SOMETHING, but Malificent seemed quite content pursuing evil for pure evil's sake-even if she wasn't getting anything in return.
But the real exciting thing I observed was my daughter was developing the same inquisitive spirit that had led me to question and ultimately learn. As aggravating as it at times to appease her unsatiable curiousity I want her to push why to it's unavoidable end of "I don't know" with all the important matters of life and with the topics that interest her. I want her to feel whoever she is receiving knowledge from she can always ask 'why' and see if they can push that question farther and farther. Even more excitingly I hope she can even come to learn that at times she can push "I don't know" one more question back herself. It is a thrilling journey that can at times be frightening, that comes with detractors offering less challenging detours with trite explanations. However I hope she will come to see the great beauty found in the discovery and even uncertainty in the path of pushing why.
No longer, for example, was it enough to simply watch Sleeping Beauty for the twentieth time, now we had to dig deep into the motivations of the characters.
"Why did the witch shoot lightning at Phillip?"
"Because she doesn't want him to wake up Sleeping Beauty."
"Why doesn't she want him to wake up Sleeping Beauty?"
"Because she is mad at Sleeping Beauty's family."
"Why is she mad at Sleeping Beauty's family?"
And on and on until we finally arrive to a point where I found an excuse to escape the interrogation or until I arrived at the answer my daughter hates most, "I don't know."
The first rather inconsequential but interesting lesson from my daughter's questioning was what a nonsensical character the witch in Sleeping Beauty, Malificent, really was. It appeared the whole motivation for her wicked rampage of evil all starts from feeling snubbed at not being invited to a baby shower. Even then it isn't clear if she wouldn't have done the same terrible thing even if she'd been invited. All the other evil villains in movies at least want SOMETHING, but Malificent seemed quite content pursuing evil for pure evil's sake-even if she wasn't getting anything in return.
But the real exciting thing I observed was my daughter was developing the same inquisitive spirit that had led me to question and ultimately learn. As aggravating as it at times to appease her unsatiable curiousity I want her to push why to it's unavoidable end of "I don't know" with all the important matters of life and with the topics that interest her. I want her to feel whoever she is receiving knowledge from she can always ask 'why' and see if they can push that question farther and farther. Even more excitingly I hope she can even come to learn that at times she can push "I don't know" one more question back herself. It is a thrilling journey that can at times be frightening, that comes with detractors offering less challenging detours with trite explanations. However I hope she will come to see the great beauty found in the discovery and even uncertainty in the path of pushing why.
I love this story. I can just see Emma asking all of those questions.
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