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Chasing Ideas

Chasing Ideas

The Fun of Freeing Your Child's Imagination

Christine Durham

Paperback: £13.99 / $21.95

2006, 234mm x 156mm / 9.25in x 6in, 192pp
ISBN: 978-1-84310-460-5, BIC 2: VFX JNC JNL
North America, South America, Europe (East and West), Africa and the UK

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Extract from Chasing ideas with children

All children paint like geniuses.
What we do to them so quickly dulls the ability.
Pablo Picasso 1881-1973

When I was a child I was enthralled by the romance and beauty of the mighty ship, the Titanic, the epitome of sophistication, design and technology being sunk in those silent, inky black, icy waters. The figurehead of civilisation, scuttled and sunk by a simple lump of ice. The might of nature, victorious over the brilliance and complexity of humans. This concept and the mystery of the story of the Titanic still capture the imagination of children; they are fascinated by it.

On board the Titanic

Recently, the Titanic floated to the surface of a discussion I was having with a group of eight-year-olds. We were discussing a charming Mexican story that concerned the idea about 'rich' people and 'poor' people. After the fourth child began talking by referring to the Titanic, I was nonplussed. What on earth did the Titanic have to do with this Mexican story? My head was buzzing with all sorts of queries: Don't these kids know what we're talking about? And Hello-o! Have I missed something? Then the penny dropped. The movie Titanic (which they'd all seen and were passionate about) was a clear example of the class system and the comparison between rich and poor people. 'You little beauties!' I whispered under my breath. Without fail, kids come up trumps thinking about connecting and clarifying ideas.

We had an excited, animated discussion (and a huge argument) about the good and bad points of being rich or poor. When we looked for curious points, some wonderful sweeping statements were born from the children's ideas. Notions of 'goodness' or 'badness' and whether a person is good or bad depending on whether they are rich or poor were discussed, and generalisations were examined with great fervour. Convincing reasons and examples were argued about and 'proof ' was debated.

Who or what sank the Titanic?

I wondered this question aloud (as if the children had made me think of it). For some, the question was like a red rag to a bull (just as I'd hoped). They were leaping about on their seats because they knew the answer. 'It was an iceberg!' (Don't you know anything?) No sooner were the words out of their mouths than I could see realisation dawning. Oh, it wasn't that simple.

Some of the things they identified as playing a part in the Titanic sinking included the iceberg, the owners wanting to make lots of money trying to break the record from London to New York, speed, and thinking the ship was unsinkable. The more we discussed things the more it became apparent that an idea (the Titanic is unsinkable) was responsible for sinking the great ship. Powerful stuff!