Reading the Next Frontier

Nicole texted me today (okay, I still admit, that word wrankles as a verb) to say that Gamble’s now reading off the DS.

It occurred to me as I read this that an era has passed. It’s different when everything your child internalizes is verbal, so that all the words that he processes are explicit, mostly heard and can be overheard. That he is reading means that he’s going to be exposed, silently, to all new ideas. No longer will I really need to explain the plots of games to him.

He will no longer need my help to find out what’s going on in lots of ways.

He’s on the edge of expanding his imagination beyond anything he’s learned before, and at this point, I believe this is when his imagination and intelligence will be begin to grow and diverge from ours. He will be able to read about his interests, play games, be more influenced by advertising, and so on. If he decides to branch out into horticulture, his knowledge will quickly surpass mine, and in this way, he becomes himself, an individual.

In a way, I’m saddened, but in another, and more important way, I’m ecstatic. I’m charged up at his possibilities and immensely proud of him.