Why You Should Be a Librarian
As parents, we are told that we are the first teachers of our children. This is true, but to me it conjures up the idea that we should be standing on their shoulders with a red handle, telling them exactly what and how to teach. To better support their natural curiosity, think of yourself as a librarian better.
In his blog post, author Austin Cleon immersed himself in the work of the late John Holt, a pioneer of the non-learning movement and someone who believed that if we adults wanted our kids to go further, we should basically get out of the way. Cleon singled out this passage from Holt’s classic book, How Children Learn , which was first published in 1967.
Every new thing they learn makes them learn about other new things to learn. Their curiosity grows from what they eat. Our task is to provide him with adequate nutrition. … Keeping their curiosity “well-endowed” does not mean feeding them or telling them what to feed themselves. This means that they should provide them with as wide a choice and quantity of good food as possible – for example, take them to a supermarket where there is no junk food (if we can imagine that).
This job, Cleon notes, is similar to that of a librarian. And as someone who spends a lot of time in libraries, I love the comparison. Librarians don’t tell you what you should read, and they don’t hang over you to make sure you are on the right track. However, they engage in cultural dialogue, give you access to a variety of material, and help you pursue your interests, whatever they may be (say, ventriloquism, taxideremia, or music stores in Tokyo).
To educate your kids like a librarian, you can display books (or other interesting items) facing outward , encourage their curiosity (“If you’re into pinball, you might also like Rub Goldberg’s machines or Galileo’s inventions”), and choose not to answer all their questions, and instead help them figure out how to find information on their own. Then just step back and let them try to figure out how the world works at their own pace.