Reflections: Childhood Memories

Unicorns and elephants: Fantasy or fact

As I young child, I can remember sitting in an upstairs alcove, in a neighbor's home across the street, with some of my siblings and other neighborhood children, reading volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

We devoured every word that we could. Some of it was so far beyond our understanding and academic levels, that we could only try to interpret what we were looking at, from the pictures. It did not matter to us, whether or not what we were reading was fantasy or fact. The pictures, we found to be wonderful.

We all had several things in common. We were born with natural curiosity and we loved to read, whether what we read had to do with unicorns or elephants, ie., as fantasy or fact. Fantasy was wonderful to explore, but sometimes fact was just as exciting.

What a wonderful way that was for us to learn about our world.

When I reflect on that particular childhood memory, I realize that while times have changed education to some degree, things are not all that different in other ways.

The Internet, as we know it today, offers us the same kind of a wonderful educational opportunity. Academically, it is there for almost everyone, on an international level. That includes children and teens, as well as adults.

What we can find on the Internet is astounding. It is no wonder that people everywhere are so fascinated by it.

Neither the unicorns as fantasy, nor the elephants as fact, have disappeared. Fantasy and fact are still a 

major part of our academic and educational world.

One serious concern of today, lies in the reality that there are those who are writing and publishing material, that may or may not be entirely appropriate for children, teens or even adults.

There are almost no Internet guidelines or criteria for would-be writers. Anyone, with a little bit of knowledge, can write and publish almost anything, directly onto the Internet.

There are few people who take courses in writing, much less courses for writing in the kind of Internet script that is needed for self-publishing, ie. like HTML or Javascript. Now, that is not even a basic requirement for publishing on the Internet, as computer technological advances allow any script to be posted, directly on some web sites, by the writer.

Internet content will always be a major concern in terms of education, at least until such a time as there is some kind of effective Internet legislation and regulation, with respect to Internet content.

I remember that I was amazed, even as a child, to see how pure in content, what we were reading was. There was no room for anything that was not proper.

Today, one might expect that on the Internet.

I can cautiously suggest these two words could offer some basic guidelines for appropriate content for publication on the internet.

The word sanctus implies that something is sacred or holy. Gloria suggests that it gives glory to God. If those two criteria are met, one might just say amen to whatever is written and publish it. If it does not meet those two criterion, one may not want to publish it on the Internet. It is more than likely going to be relatively pure in content.

Why should anything be allowed to be published or to remain on the Internet, if it is not considered to be appropriate content?

There is the reality that everyone in the world today is not a believer in God, but regardless of where one might go in the world, there is some understanding of the concept of God or the divine. There is also an understanding of what is considered to be sacred or holy, thus implying a degree of purity.

Someone had to write, or at least assist to compile the Encyclopedia Britannica. There were always distinct standards, guidelines and criterion that had to be met. It might be interesting to research their criteria and see what the actual guidelines were, at that time.

In the meantime, even as adults, we know that unicorns are still not real, but we settle for the reality that fantasy about unicorns is fun. Fantasy is a wonderful way to learn about our world and life in general. 

Elephants are real and factual information about elephants, is considered to be appropriate educational material, regardless of one's age or gender.

The bottom line in writing and publication on the Internet, is that the Internet offers us a wonderful and valid communication tool, as long as the content that is published remains appropriate.

Fantasy and fact will always have their place in time and history; so will unicorns and elephants, as well as our reflections about childhood memories.