THEimagination and curiositylet’s face it, these are two words that make us immediately think about the universe of childhood. At that moment of life in which everything seems to be possible and in which every gesture is discovery, experimentation and desire to know. And then we grow and certain mental faculties end up being set aside and consider it a bit superfluous in everyday adult life.
But are we sure this is really the case? In reality imagination as well as creativity and other innate abilities in childreni, and therefore in all of us, can represent one precious resource even for adults. For get out of the usual comfort zoneto rediscover one’s goals and potential as well as to imagine a different alternative by cultivating a new passion or learning a new profession …
An illustrated essay
This is the thesis of the book “As a child I was a genius. Seven skills not to be lost when you become an adult “published by Gribaudo and signed by Anna Granata, professor of Pedagogy at the Department of Human Sciences for the “Riccardo Massa” training of the University of Milan Bicocca.
The volume, which is presented in an original guise, halfway between scientific essay and graphic novelin fact wants invite adult readers to rediscover those childhood skills that life often leads to silence, in order to rediscover its inexhaustible potential. Because, although it may seem strange, holding a pencil, communicating with the expressiveness of the body or putting one’s intuitive ability to work are dimensions that are intimately connected to the possibility of imagining life alternatives. In short, skills that can prove to be particularly useful even as adults.
The cover of the book “When I was a child I was a genius – Seven skills not to be lost when you become an adult” Edizioni Gribaudo
Being a child again
“The book is designed for an adult reader, however it uses a language different from the strictly scientific one – says the author Anna Granata – Even in its form, in fact, the challenge was to let an adult reader experience a sort of return to childhoodfar somehow recover the child that each of us wasthat is, a person open to a thousand possibilities ».
In fact, the book alternates comics and cartoons to the classic text, illustrated by Margherita Allegri, which want to be a further invitation to rediscover and get in touch with one’s own childlike dimension.
What happens as adults?
But if at one time we were all, as the volume suggests, great philosophers ready to ask a thousand questions about the world and life, great artists committed to experimenting with the most diverse forms of expression or enlightened scientists eager to discover the laws of the world … what is happened after? Why do we find ourselves lacking these skills today?
“For common sense it is normal to think that all of us are destined to downsize – explains Anna Granata – it is normal to think that our questions become much more limited, that our capacity for imagination fades and that our way of expressing ourselves becomes only the verbal one. When in reality this is not the case. There is a cultural filter that enters our families and schoolswhich leads us to think that certain skills are not very useful in order to achieve the educational objectives first and then life. Imagination and creativity are almost relegated to a kind of entertainment when in reality they are precious resources even as adults ».
The power of imagination
The ability to imagine, as adults, in fact ends up gradually fading. L’imagination is too often confused with fantasy, with the world of escapism, at best, as something that can be useful to those in creative professions. Yet there is nothing more wrong.
“The imagination, which is the first tool with which the child appropriates reality, it is not escape from reality as we are often led to believe as adults – explains Anna Granata – On the contrary, it is a way to see reality more deeply and to rethink it in an alternative way to the one that can give us the first glance. It’s a fundamental ability even as adults because it allows us to alternatively connect the elements we have available. Giving space to the imagination means being able to imagine, for example, another profession or another lifestyle ».
Also good for the community
Furthermore, rediscovering this dormant quality is not only an important opportunity on an individual level, but also a fundamental requirement also for common living. “As Rob Hopkins explains in a book entirely dedicated to imagination – says the author of As a child I was a genius – it is not a reason for entertainment or playful activity for us adults, but a powerful antidote to the scenarios to which the climatic and geopolitical crisis we are experiencing seems to condemn us. Basically, today it is crucial to imagine different relationships with nature and with the planet, as well as other ways of understanding the relationships between peoples and cultures ”.
Creativity and imagination: an innate need
Intimately connected to the theme of imagination, there is also that of creativity, another form of intelligence that tends to be little cultivated, if not forgotten, in adulthood. It is often led to confine it to a hobby, to some sporadic recreational activity: a space of escape, in short, from what is the normality of our adult life.
“There creativity is actually to be rediscovered in all sectors and in any profession – explains the pedagogist and psychologist Anna Granata – It is something we need to be in the world and fully realize ourselves as human beings“. It is in fact a very important faculty of the mind, because it allows you to see things from one different point of view than the usual one, finding new solutions. Being or rediscovering creative, therefore, does not only mean engaging in artistic activities, because creativity is first of all the possibility of imagining solutions to life’s problems.
Intuition: a faculty to train
Intuition is also among the skills we have lost on the path to adult life: other faculty mistreated, the subject of several false myths. “Intuition is not just the stroke of genius of some – explains Anna Granata – All of us as children have experienced that freedom to develop and experiment with ideas, even making mistakes: intuition is not a single light bulb that suddenly lights up, it is rather that skill given by trying and retrying a series of ideasoften bankruptcy, which then lead to that success ».
A capacity that in adult life we tend to slow down because manifesting new ideas, different or perhaps in contrast with the ordinary ones, creates embarrassment or a sense of inadequacy. Thus ending up greatly limiting our possibilities. “There is also a question of gender here – explains Anna Granata – our daughters and our pupils quickly learn to hide this freedom to hypothesize and experiment, preferring to express themselves only when they are sure they have the maximum preparation. But science is an attempt, an error, a discovery. A world that is still largely masculine today ».
Rethinking the education of children
If it is true then that rediscovering childhood skills (we have collected the others in the gallery) is an extraordinary opportunity for each of us, treat with care and avoid suffocating the abilities of children today is a crucial aspect today from an educational point of view. Where to start from?
«In society as well as in some families, the distinction is still very strong between those that are considered adequate and prestigious professions and those that are not at all – concludes Anna Granata. – As parents, however, it is good to keep in mind that we have an important task, namely that of enhance the dimensions of the personality of children, avoiding channeling them into paths already decided by others. Listening to what the child has inside and what he wants to make as a contribution to the world, respecting his inclinations and abilities, is the best way to raise satisfied adults and motivated to make their own contribution to society “.
For this, in the final analysis, the book As a child I was a genius also wants to be a starting point for rethinking what everyone was as a childfor rediscover those childhood dreams and ambitionsperhaps ended up in a drawer, to which it is right and important to give a second chance, to reconnect with ourselves.
With the help of Anna Granata, who in addition to being a teacher of pedagogy is also a psychologist, in the gallery we have reviewed the 7 skills of children that we should all rediscover in adulthood.
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