What manner of book will work its way into a child's mind with enough force to create enthusiasm about the subject? The answer cannot be, "whatever the child likes". A child might be drawn to a book because of the illustrations or connection with a TV show. It does not mean that the book will give any form of mental nourishment.
So what kind of books do our children need?
If we request a catalogue of school books from most publishers, all you will get is a list of books that are drained of any living ideas. There is a distinction between an encounter with someone passionate about a topic and a person required to lecture about a topic. There is a similar difference between living books and dry schoolbooks.
Information is not the same as education. It's possible to know that the Amazon River is the largest globally and produce such a fact for exams. It's also possible to have read a book titled "Journey to the River Sea" and know that even though the Amazon river is considered the largest river, the River Nile is longer than the Amazon river.
Most teachers know how dry textbooks are, and they will not come into a classroom to merely read from a textbook. They provide their explanations about the topic. Unfortunately, it's easy to communicate the material in a manner that is dumbed down and uninspiring. Will your student be inspired to read more about the topic without homework? Will your student develop more ideas based on the concepts derived from learning about that topic?
If the answer to the questions mentioned above is "no", are we going to admit that we are only communicating information and not giving an education? We owe it to our children to spark their interest in a whole lot of things.
The question is not,––how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education––but how much does he care? ............In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? and, therefore, how full is the life he has before him? I know you may bring a horse to the water, but you cannot make him drink.
- Charlotte Mason
One of our most important tasks is the task of choosing good books. We are not going to be experts on every topic. The right book will make your children drink the water. The right book will give living ideas. The right book will inspire ideas.
Have a beautiful week.
Olufunmike