Why fiction is extremely practical reading for kids (and adults)

Life is a story, not a set of facts to be memorized.

Thomas, Lance, and Brandon are friends. 

Lance is encouraged to be very practical. He goes to a traditional school and makes very good grades. His father is a doctor, and Lance decides he will be a doctor, too. He will eventually go to Harvard. To Lance, fiction is a waste of time. 

Brandon, on the other hand, is much more artistic. His parents encourage his expression and tease him when they catch him reading self-help. To them, the only purpose to reading is the joy in and of itself. They pull him out of the traditional school, which they believe is too restrictive. In Brandon’s house, making money is “selling out.” What matters is that he “follows his bliss.” 

Thomas loves fiction, and his parents encourage him to read it. He expresses his love for the stories, so his parents allow him to follow that interest. At the same time, they frame his future in terms of the stories he’s reading about. “What kind of adventure do you want your life to be? Why?” Thomas loves Harry Potter—so he seriously considers how he can find “magic” in his own life. 

The boys are now on very different paths. They will meet again when they’re older.

If nothing changes about their outlook, which kid is the most likely to have the best outcome (by his own standards)? 

What fiction is for

In the show Star Trek, there is a constant struggle between Spock and Captain Kirk. Spock is logical and practical, and Kirk is a man with high integrity who also knows how to listen to his gut. Over and over again, Kirk teaches Spock that it’s just not enough to know the facts.

The thing about facts is that there are an infinite number of them. What you need to know is which facts are relevant. That’s what stories try to do. And when they do it well, we tend to be drawn to them. That’s why great works of literature endure–they show us (on a high level) what deserves our attention. 

More than that, great novels are great because they help us understand (without having to explain it outwardly) what it means to be human. Crime and Punishment explores what it means to kill someone–even if it seems completely justified. The Old Man and the Sea explores the depths of fortitude. Catch 22 explores human absurdity through black humor.

When you read a story about losing friends in the trenches of war or journeying into the unknown with a character you admire, you expand your ability to feel the limits of human experience. All the facts in the world aren't valuable if we don't know how to be good, well-rounded, empathetic, insightful humans. 

And, you don’t have to know why. Liking the story may mean there is hidden information that we can’t consciously explain. And we don’t need to be able to explain why for the stories to “work.” That’s part of what makes fiction so amazing. 

Sometimes we have to read what we like and trust we’re learning something important, even if it doesn’t seem “practical.” 

That’s exactly what Captain Kirk is always trying to teach Spock: sometimes you don’t have all the data, but you still need to act. You need to use your gut. 

Sometimes, you need to do what gives you the most energy (enthusiasm) and not what seems socially acceptable. 

Fiction teaches us to be in touch with our gut. Without stories to guide our intuitions, we can easily lose all enthusiasm for life. 

When Lance and his friends were young, he watched Lion King on repeat. His father didn’t understand it. But the boys seemed to get something from the story, even though they couldn’t explain it. “Remember who you are, Simba.” 

How fiction helps us navigate our lives

As Lance got older, he trained himself to read “useful” books and leave kids’ stories behind. 

Now, he’s 29 years old. He’s spent the last 24 years working toward becoming a doctor. He’s only a few months away from graduation. 

That’s when he has a terrible realization. 

He never wanted to be a doctor. 

The boys meet for a beer. They haven’t talked much since they graduated, and each went to a different college. But it feels like not a day has passed. They’re laughing within a minute of sitting down. 

Lance admits that he just dropped out of his medical program at Harvard. He’s embarrassed, but his friends are proud of him for realizing it before he spent 30 more years doing something he hates. 

Next, Brandon explains what he’s been up to. He never felt like he “had” to do anything like Lance did. He went to art school. He didn’t choose a major for the first two years. He never planned his future. After he graduated, he spent years as a waiter, working on his art in the evenings (though not as much as he’d like). He still feels a little lost. Recently, he’s decided that his life needs to change. After listening to online lectures, he’s getting more disciplined and turning things around. The boys are happy for him. 

Thomas spent a lot of time in his early twenties figuring out what he wanted from his life. He wrote about it a lot. He tried a few jobs, but none ended up working out. When he was 27, a friend of a friend offered him a job. Since then, he’s been building an app that’s gotten international fame; he loves building technology and working with passionate people. He admits that he could have never planned this life (“apps” weren’t a career path when he was in school) but he’s never been happier. 

The boys are, of course, happy for one another, but they can’t help but admire Thomas. 

Of course, every life is full of surprises and variables. And each young man is grateful for the lessons learned along the way. But, Thomas’s love for reading fiction kept him in touch with his intuitions, enthusiasm, and heroic impulse. The same hunger that had him turning the page to see what happened next gave him scope to dream about what was possible in his own experience. The parents who instilled a love of fiction also taught him to face uncertainty and embrace empathy - giving himself compassion through obstacles and the strength to face them squarely.  Thomas couldn’t explain it, but he had a gut feeling - and knew how to trust it. 

Now that Lance is older, he wishes he would’ve tapped into his love for fiction sooner, so that he could have learned how to live for himself–not just to please his father. 

As psychologist Carl Jung phrased it: 

“Everybody acts out a myth, but very few people know what their myth is. And you should know what your myth is because it might be a tragedy, and maybe you don't want it to be.”

Brandon, on the other hand, wishes his parents would have taught him that, while following your intuition is important, it’s also important to impose limits on yourself. You can’t remain a child forever, he realizes, and it’s important to set goals and learn to provide for yourself and the family you want.

Let your kids read the fiction they are interested in. Even if neither of you can explain it, they are trying to extract some needed information on how to live their lives. Trust that process.

Don’t let traditional schooling make them think “practical” reading is more important. What’s important is what your child is passionate about. Help them structure the adventure of their life around that.

Share this with parents looking to inspire their kids.

Thanks for reading, 

Taylor + rebelEducator team

---

P.S.

Here’s what we’re looking at:

A book on unschooling is the finalist for a book award.

10 ways to get your kid to love reading for life

How to buy books for cheap

Quotes we’re pondering:

“Fiction is the lie that tells the truth. We all have an obligation to daydream. We have an obligation to imagine. It is easy to pretend that nobody can change anything, that society is huge and the individual is less than nothing. But the truth is individuals make the future, and they do it by imagining that things can be different.” ― Neil Gaiman

“No story lives unless someone wants to listen. The stories we love best do live in us forever. So whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.” ― J.K. Rowling

“Truth is stranger than fiction. It has to be! Fiction has to be possible and truth doesn't!” — Mark Twain