Mark Hamby: The Media, The Mind and the Moral Imagination

I had the great privilege of attending the Midwest Homeschool Convention last weekend. It was wonderful to be with friends and go to so many encouraging workshops and lectures. My first session was Mark Hamby of Lamplighter Books. The title of this session was The Media, The Mind and the Moral Imagination. You can find his power point here. I thought I would type out some of my notes in order to 1) share them with you and 2) catch what I missed because I was busy taking notes. :)

If character is not engaged our children won't go far in their spiritual pilgrimage.
Luke 1:17 "to make ready a people prepared for the Lord".
You are what you read.
A mind oversaturated by media has decreased capacity for creative imagination, concentration and delayed gratification. The formation of mental pictures and imaginative play does not come easy as parents find these children apathetic and unmotivated to join in group and outside play.
Too much media misconstrues reality and the supernatural is blocked. Knowledge helps free us from things that bog us down.
There is a link between violence and viewing any television.
Violence begets violence.
We need to help our children find their God-given talents and help them practice their skills.
We are created in the image of God. We need to be upset and offended at what offends God. Ironically, while audiences long for reality in their media, their own lives are becoming less real. Instead of actively participating in life--sports, art, outdoor play, etc. children in our culture watch other people do things with increasing hope that what they watch will be 'real'.
Quote:

"If we educate a man's mind but not his heart, we have educated a barbarian." Theodore Roosevelt.

"What fires together, wires together."
Reading teaches us to think in a logically connected way.
Media can't take the place of the written word.

book recommendations:
Culture-Wise Family by Dr. Ted Baehr
The Vanishing Word by Arthur Hunt
Amusing ourselves to Death by Neil Postman