“The Little Boy“ by Helen E. Buckley (1961) Video by Tom Kapanka (1991)

Twenty years ago, long before digital cameras and Youtube, a friend of mine gave me a copy of simple but powerful piece written by Helen E. Buckley called “The Little Boy.“ ~cabreras/ It had been published in School Arts Magazine in October 1961 thirty years before, but I had never read it. I was profoundly moved by its message. A year later, my friend’s wife was taking a college class at University of Northern Iowa on teaching methods and asked me if I would help her produce a dramatization of Buckley’s simple story. She had no video equipment, no editing equipment, etc. but she was willing to line up the cast of characters if I would help her shoot, edit, and narrate the film. My daughter Emily (age six at the time) was in the cast, so how could I refuse? Emily is now married with children of her own. Like her parents, she became a teacher (elementary), but for now her primary “teaching“ role happens in the home. The number of “views“ this video has received since I posted it is amazing. It speaks to the power of Helen Buckley’s words. I believe that individual creativity is part of what it means to be “created in the image of God.“ I’ve written about it here: The infinite details of creation are truly beyond our imagination or comprehension.A bird’s nest, for example, is an amazing creation in the animal world, and the fact that birds know how to build the different nests known to various regions, resources, and types of birds is a fascinating study all its own. The ability to paint a picture of such a nest, however, or to write a poem or symphony about it... or to use that nest as an understood metaphor in language is a god-like level of creativity and communication unique to those created “in the image of God.“ It is in that sense that human creativity is more profound than the miracle of a bird knowing how to build a nest (having never been “taught“ to do so). This is explained further at: Back to the video... My friend’s wife got an “A“ on the project, and the professor used the video for many years--not because the video work is particularly good, but because the message is something all teachers should learn early in their careers. A few days ago, I found the old VHS videotape, and I must say the message hit me as hard as it did the first time I read it. I’m posting it on Youtube in hopes of helping teachers remember the essence of creativity and the power of a blank slate.