As a mom and a teacher, I’ve always tried to give the kids the reason for the rule. I find it much easier to follow the directions if I understand why. Children are people too. I believe they feel the same, but it doesn’t always mean they will listen.
And since the purpose is to raise children who think, reason, and discipline themselves, I believe this is imperative—and sadly, lacking in many. However, this lack of information or understanding is valuable for a writer.
I watch Pippin in Lord of the Rings be enamored by the Palantir. Perhaps if Gandalf had explained to him the dangers… But if he had not touched it, they would not have had the glimpse into Sauron’s plans.
What about Harry Potter? How many times would he have avoided danger if someone had explained to him what was going? But we would be left with a story with fewer adventures, not as exciting. Right?
So many stories have miscommunications and misunderstandings that cause untold drama and heartache. For me personally, too much of that particular trope is not fun. And for our own lives, how much of the grief in our own lives could have been prevented by proper communication?
Of course, when it comes to kids, our own or students, listening…well, sometimes they do. More importantly, no matter what you feel you have prepared them for, something else arises for which you didn’t prepare them. I imagine this would happen in our own lives as well. C’est la vie.
Sometimes my characters don’t heed my warnings and go in directions I didn’t plan. And many times, I like those directions better. Sometimes I change it back…I get to be the boss of this world, after all. Sometimes.