truth, facts and didacticism
During a panel discussion on drugs, homosexuality, pornography - “problems” in children’s books - I suggested to the young teenagers on the panel that if they wanted facts about these subjects, they turn to non-fiction, to scientific articles. One of them asked, “but can’t we find truth in fiction, too?”
“Who said anything about truth? I told you to check facts in non-fiction articles. If you are looking for truth, the place to look for it is exactly in stories, in paintings, in music.”
We may find the facts about intercourse in an article; but we learn about love in that very contemporary play Romeo and Juliet. We learn about insemination and childbirth in film strips and lectures; but we learn about creation in
Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright,
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry? ~ William Blake in Madeleine L'Engle
I’m not sure what to add to this, except that I agree. That as writers, aware of the shortcomings in Our children’s education and failure on many adults’ (adults, not parents, all of us!) part to provide a thoroughly sufficient pedagogy on all things related to sex, drugs, gender and reproduction, we need to throw out that life preserver. And it need not be blatant, in fact, if it is blatant it risks falling into the form of lecture, which is one of the many guises of didacticism and that went out the window ages ago because it wasn’t fashionable, and did not work. If they are looking for truth, we must put that in our narrative and give them the skills to read and think for themselves.
Oh my. What a controversial concept!
But fantasy can hold those real-life truths as well as any fiction piece and science fiction has the potential to emphasize the consequences even moreso. Can you imagine a feeding a child with three heads, let alone giving birth to one? I’d rather not. And of course I’m being silly.
And yet.
“Who said anything about truth? I told you to check facts in non-fiction articles. If you are looking for truth, the place to look for it is exactly in stories, in paintings, in music.”
We may find the facts about intercourse in an article; but we learn about love in that very contemporary play Romeo and Juliet. We learn about insemination and childbirth in film strips and lectures; but we learn about creation in
Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright,
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry? ~ William Blake in Madeleine L'Engle
I’m not sure what to add to this, except that I agree. That as writers, aware of the shortcomings in Our children’s education and failure on many adults’ (adults, not parents, all of us!) part to provide a thoroughly sufficient pedagogy on all things related to sex, drugs, gender and reproduction, we need to throw out that life preserver. And it need not be blatant, in fact, if it is blatant it risks falling into the form of lecture, which is one of the many guises of didacticism and that went out the window ages ago because it wasn’t fashionable, and did not work. If they are looking for truth, we must put that in our narrative and give them the skills to read and think for themselves.
Oh my. What a controversial concept!
But fantasy can hold those real-life truths as well as any fiction piece and science fiction has the potential to emphasize the consequences even moreso. Can you imagine a feeding a child with three heads, let alone giving birth to one? I’d rather not. And of course I’m being silly.
And yet.