I spent yesterday afternoon at a local Catholic school, speaking to various groups of 4th and 5th graders about the glamorous life of a writer.

(The invitation came from Kay Lynn Isca, the librarian at this school, who is also an OSV author – of Catholic Etiquette)

Lest that sound terribly taxing – it wasn’t. Yes, there were four different groups that trouped through, but I only spoke for about twenty minutes each time, and did a lot of it in response to their questions and comments.

The writers in class revealed themselves, saying they liked to write about animals, sports, adventure, fantasy and poetry. When I asked them what goes into the process of writing, they told me, brainstorming, organizing, a rough draft, revising,editing….I told them that they were exactly right, and nothing ever changes.

Their questions of me? Oh, they wanted to know where I got my ideas, if my children helped me write, what my favorite of my own books was, and, what I liked most about writing. If it was fun….

(No money questions. I’d guess if they were a couple of years older, that would be a big one).

I was struck by their enthusiasm and openness, and I have to wonder, as I often do when I see children of this age group…what happens? It really only takes a year or two more, and by eighth grade, if not sooner, half of these kids will be worldly, knowing cynics, more closed than open to what anyting would like to tell them….when I speak of a desire to preserve innocence or the integrity of childhood and youth, this is what I’m talking about. It’s less about what they know than about their stance towards the world (although the two are probably interconnected, or perhaps not.). Youth is supposed to be about open-mindedness and growth. What happens to these kids that makes them cynically close in on themselves and shut out the broader world by the time they’re 13?