I am hurrying through Daniel Elkind's The Hurried Child, which I picked up recently in my studies of education & homeschooling & child-rearing. Oddly, I find that I am learning more about my own childhood as I read it. Of course, it was written about my generation, in the mid 80s, and many of his allusions strike a resonant chord in me.
I do see myself as a hurried child, doing my best to grow up as quickly as possible & get safely out on my own. I suspect that the character of my 20s was due to this scenario. I think hurrying children can be likened to flooding a carburetor, and having to wait to apply the spark again until the fuel has subsided somewhat. It is like that old saying, 'Slow & steady wins the race.' I definitely wasn't slow, or steady, but I think I am finally catching up to those that were...
I do see myself as a hurried child, doing my best to grow up as quickly as possible & get safely out on my own. I suspect that the character of my 20s was due to this scenario. I think hurrying children can be likened to flooding a carburetor, and having to wait to apply the spark again until the fuel has subsided somewhat. It is like that old saying, 'Slow & steady wins the race.' I definitely wasn't slow, or steady, but I think I am finally catching up to those that were...
posted by jen at 7:43 PM
2 Comments:
That sounds like an interesting book. I definitely feel like a hurried child. I think more out of a defensive role I had to play in my family. I had to grow up quickly in order to protect them.
Odd, eh?
That is exactly elkind's point. By having to take on more than we should at early ages, we were rushed into gaining skills that we weren't mature enough for. I was a latchkey kid at 7 or 8. This taught me many things, but it also, in a sense, robbed me of my childhood. I think that is why I partied for an entire decade upon leaving my mother's home....
Post a Comment
<< Home