WHS Education Corner: The Magic of Animals + Children + Books

WHS Education Corner: The Magic of Animals + Children + Books

By: Richard Milbourne, Assistant Manager in Education

Magic.

Now, before I start, I know it seems like a slightly ridiculous idea. Magic. In an age of science, logic and evidence-based beliefs, Magic seems like an outdated concept. But I’m not thinking about magic in the traditional sense. A magician in a cape, wearing a mask making animals appear (or disappear) in the blink of an eye. That’s a show, it’s theatre, but we all know that there is no magic on display. My idea of magic is more introspective, internalized, far more personal.

You could say that magic is all around us, in the formation of nature, in the sunsets, in the moments in life where you must step back and just say ‘wow!’ But perhaps my idea of magic differs from the person behind me at the supermarket. As adults, our lives become more frenetic, frantic and busier. We often don’t allow ourselves time to reflect and appreciate the smaller things.

A great example of this comes from a school I used to work at. A fantastic Australian author and illustrator, Shaun Tan, wrote a book called ‘The Lost Thing’. It captures the essence of being young perfectly. It then takes a very cynical look at how growing up dulls an persons sense of wonder and awe at the little things in life. A teacher, with his class of seven-year old’s, designed their own characters, or Lost Things, based on the story. They went outside and drew them on the school walls and on the playground using brightly coloured chalk. At the end of the day, the children from other classes were amazed and captivated by the work. The adults barely seemed to notice as they rushed to pick up their kids before rushing to the shops, then rushing home for dinner. Always rushing, always late…losing the child inside.

So, back to this idea of magic. I believe that books are magic. They can transport you, inspire you, make you feel things you didn’t know existed. Books make you care desperately about characters who don’t exist, they make you stay up far later than is sensible, just to find out what happens next. Books are magic. Yet more and more, we are raising a generation of children who see reading as a chore, a punishment, something that must be done. Reading is a privilege and a pleasure. But of course,there are no bright flashing lights, loud music, no adverts every page imploring you to buy something that you don’t need. The attention span of the younger generation is shrinking. When I was at school, the parts of the day I looked forward to the most were the twenty minutes of silent reading. To lose yourself, to escape into your imagination.

At the WHS we run a program called See Spot Read. This is for children who find reading a struggle or lack the confidence in their reading abilities. Not every child wants to read out loud to a whole classroom or read to a teacher who is always making comments, taking notes and judging the child’s reading ability. So, See Spot Read is a break from all the classroom-based judgement. The children attending the program read to therapy dogs. The dogs offer no judgement, and this allows the children the opportunity to grow their confidence whilst also bonding with an animal. This program has and continues to receive rave reviews from teachers who have
enrolled their students. Their reading improves, their levels go up but more importantly, their confidence grows. They begin to enjoy reading. They can unlock the magic that hides inside books & inside their imagination. Reading is obviously a crucial part of everyday life. Being able to read a menu, street signs, instructions etc but it is also a privilege, an escape into a unique world that we build in our own heads.

With the help of some wonderful animals and volunteers, See Spot Read is helping to build these worlds for some of these students, and I couldn’t be more proud.