Fairy Tales and Education

Fairy tales of any sort are more truthful about the eternal verities of the human condition than many a tale told in the realistic style....This is because so-called realistic tales deal only with the surface features of life, what we see with our eyes, so to speak; fairy tales touch the mystery and wonder at the core of life. -John C. Wright


This week we embarked on a tale of Gilgamesh, known to historians and literature enthusiasts as the World's First (Known) Fairy Tale. It is a tale full of love, war, death, and fantastical creatures. It doesn't move me all that much, but it captured the imaginations of my children.

Actually, it came just in the nick of time.

We studied Gilgamesh in the aftermath of what was perhaps my worst week of homeschooling. Once again, I found myself on school websites checking out tuition costs and sending desperate texts to friends and calling my husband in a panic.

This is going to be a tough year. I know it. But I have been desperately stretching the limitations of my pedagogical abilities, seeking to find new ways of instructing and engaging a little mind that is not responding in the ways my older student did/does. I am tired. I am discouraged.

And how can ANYONE not like history? (Or claim to like it but remember none of what we have read and discussed, two minutes after we have finished?)

But same child says on the heels of writing "I hate you Mom" on my table cloth (yes, in ink), "Mom, you can stay in my castle when I grow up." Her world is so consumed with castles and princesses and ACK! Frozen characters that she can't seem to get down to the business of learning most days. Even for a few minutes.

So we read Gilgamesh. And then we read Ludmila Zeman's beautifully-illustrated Gilgamesh stories with fanciful and gorgeous curlicues and colors. And this child was right there, eager, engaged.

Education is ultimately about the soul. Yes, we are studying facts and dates. Yes, it is about learning to read. But ultimately, educating well goes to the core of life.

Gilgamesh reminded me:

1) Teaching involves imagination. Coffee and imagination. It is hard work, grit, and believing in the impossible.

2) Education dives beneath the surface into the mysteries of life. Along with teaching her to read and about the difference between a society with law and order and another with a dictator and chaos, I am teaching her what fundamentally matters.

The world she embarks on has lots of ugly facts and challenges; she is going to need a little whimsey to make a difference. And yes, if I am going to continue in this crazy dance where I try to mother, teach, work, keep a house and exist, I am going to have to embrace the supernatural.

Let's get back to the wonder.