The famed French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson was a pain in the ass to his teachers. He was bored by what they were teaching in school. He didn’t pay attention. He was constantly getting caught reading something that had nothing to do with his schoolwork, books that were often inappropriate for his age.
One day, as he was about to start sixth grade, he was caught by the principal reading Mallarmé or Rimbaud, two beautiful French poets. At first, the principal seemed like he’d finally had enough. “Let’s have no disorder in your studies,” he barked, using the informal tu. Every other time Henri had been addressed this way, it had been followed with punishment. But then the principal’s voice turned to kindness. “You’re going to read in my office,” he said, and led the boy there, where Henri returned over and over again as a precocious, curious reader for the rest of his school days.
It was this conversation—this little bit of intellectual guardianship and protection of his curiosity—that helped Henri carve out the foundations and freedom that would lead him to become one of the greatest photographers in history.
We have to remember that our job as parents, as educators, is not to keep our kids in line for its own sake. It’s not to crush their initiative because it’s disruptive or uncomfortable or difficult for us. We have to encourage them. We have to make space for our kids.
If they want to read? By God, let them! If they want to skip ahead or deviate from the conventional path? Cheer them on! Who knows, they may have just found their way . . .