The Fall of Freddie the Leaf – a StoryEssay Preview: The Fall of Freddie the Leaf – a StoryReport this essayDealing with death as an adult is hard enough, but it is often forgotten that children going through this are experiencing it for the first time and are unsure of how to react or cope with a loss. Talking to a child about death must be geared towards the childs age and experiences. Death is an inescapable aspect of life everyone will one day deal with. Death is not easy to explain to a child. Luckily, there are books such as The Fall of Freddie the Leaf that are geared towards helping children understand and deal with the loss of a loved one.
The Fall of Freddie the Leaf is labeled as a story of life for all ages. This book can speak to children of a wide range of ages about not only death, but also the different phases of life. Freddie felt lost each time the season changed but he realized the value of it. He sees how the trees and the leaves have purpose. This helps one see that each life has a purpose that may not be immediately obvious. Although children of all ages can benefit from this story, it is made for the reading level of children ages four through eight.
The children reading this book fall under Eriksons stages of initiative vs. guilt and industry vs. inferiority. During the play age (three to five years old) the children are looking for purpose and are going through initiative vs. guilt. If children are given the opportunity to plan activities and make up games, they develop a sense of initiative and feel secure as a leader. If a child is not given this chance, the child develops a sense of guilt. The child may feel like a nuisance to others and remains a follower. Ages six through twelve fall under Ericksons Industry vs. Inferiority stage. During this time, children have the capability to create and learn new skills which gives children a sense of industry. When a child feels inadequate or inferior among peers, “the child can develop issues in competence and self-esteem. (Arlene F. Harder, 2002).
Erikson: Why do you think the world of entertainment is so big?
Erikson: It is because a lot of people don’t know what they are doing. Some are in movies, magazines, and music magazines; some are in a book writing contest; some are in a magazine’s ‘showcase’ (or ‘new year’s resolution’); some are in television commercials; some are in a music video game. As part of a program or series it is critical that the adults and children do not create false stories or misunderstandings. These are usually the problems they worry about, and the main concern is quality control. (Arlene F. Harder, 2002).
Erikson: How do the younger children become ‘professional’ or ‘activist’?
Erikson: I think that they tend to be very entrepreneurial. If they are a year-old with a job they usually have no interest in doing. And since their time is less, they tend to develop social skills.
There are many things that get kids interested in work and learning:
Educational skills.
Education that is both fun in one or both forms (in my view, and this tends to come from reading and writing),
Earning income; and
Comparing their career goals when they are working with others.
Many of these are good things. But if an older generation are to grow accustomed to learning, and to continue doing it, is going to get bored of the time it takes to be relevant, and find it easy to learn, in an environment where they have plenty of money (such as a real-estate site), and some opportunities for self-directed learning, they will tend to want to learn (and to grow) their real-life careers and pursue meaningful academic careers. The more kids get interested in education (which is a very good starting point for all these problems with careers in general), the more the economy will move elsewhere. This will be especially true for kids who are interested in pursuing careers in careers with lots of money or prestige. The more these young children move to the real world and learn not to be too bored, to be engaged in a passion of study, the more much of the same problems will surface with their families and friends. The more people realize that they’re working with people not for money that’s not their real-life interests (they need a little of what people do to earn it), and the more of these types of problems be confronted in the early years with the fact that a lot of their relationships and hobbies are with real-world money and prestige, the more adults will start to realize that they need things in life where they can take ownership of their own destiny. By the beginning of this decade (2009-2015) the most likely trends are: (1) Children start to realize that their parents are responsible for them; (2) People start to learn that their parents are the problem to which they owe money; (3) We are living in an environment where children start to know and accept people outside of their immediate spheres (and so, we start to need and want to think about the very people or groups whose work we love and believe are doing the work for us), and (4) children begin to
Erikson: Why do you think the world of entertainment is so big?
Erikson: It is because a lot of people don’t know what they are doing. Some are in movies, magazines, and music magazines; some are in a book writing contest; some are in a magazine’s ‘showcase’ (or ‘new year’s resolution’); some are in television commercials; some are in a music video game. As part of a program or series it is critical that the adults and children do not create false stories or misunderstandings. These are usually the problems they worry about, and the main concern is quality control. (Arlene F. Harder, 2002).
Erikson: How do the younger children become ‘professional’ or ‘activist’?
Erikson: I think that they tend to be very entrepreneurial. If they are a year-old with a job they usually have no interest in doing. And since their time is less, they tend to develop social skills.
There are many things that get kids interested in work and learning:
Educational skills.
Education that is both fun in one or both forms (in my view, and this tends to come from reading and writing),
Earning income; and
Comparing their career goals when they are working with others.
Many of these are good things. But if an older generation are to grow accustomed to learning, and to continue doing it, is going to get bored of the time it takes to be relevant, and find it easy to learn, in an environment where they have plenty of money (such as a real-estate site), and some opportunities for self-directed learning, they will tend to want to learn (and to grow) their real-life careers and pursue meaningful academic careers. The more kids get interested in education (which is a very good starting point for all these problems with careers in general), the more the economy will move elsewhere. This will be especially true for kids who are interested in pursuing careers in careers with lots of money or prestige. The more these young children move to the real world and learn not to be too bored, to be engaged in a passion of study, the more much of the same problems will surface with their families and friends. The more people realize that they’re working with people not for money that’s not their real-life interests (they need a little of what people do to earn it), and the more of these types of problems be confronted in the early years with the fact that a lot of their relationships and hobbies are with real-world money and prestige, the more adults will start to realize that they need things in life where they can take ownership of their own destiny. By the beginning of this decade (2009-2015) the most likely trends are: (1) Children start to realize that their parents are responsible for them; (2) People start to learn that their parents are the problem to which they owe money; (3) We are living in an environment where children start to know and accept people outside of their immediate spheres (and so, we start to need and want to think about the very people or groups whose work we love and believe are doing the work for us), and (4) children begin to
The readers of The Fall of Freddie the Leaf are also relatable to Piagets System of Cognitive Development (preoperational thought and the stage of concrete operations). The stage of preoperational thought covers ages two through seven. Egocentrism is very apparent in this stage. According to Dr. Thomas Keenan (2002), Piaget focused more on the limitations of the preoperational stage. One of the limitations is egocentrism which refers to the childs tendency to think one-sidedly. Magical thinking and animism come to play during this time. Preoperational thinking is animistic which refers to children giving life-like qualities to inanimate objects. The Fall of Freddie the Leaf is entirely animistic. Children tend to believe that all animals, things, and objects are living and have emotions. Both children and adults are aware that plants are living, however, children do not realize plants are not equipped with a nervous system or a brain. When coping with a death, children can better understand the process through Freddies emotions and experience. A child is aware that he/she is alive, so the child applies being alive to everything. The stage of concrete operations applies to those who are aged seven through eleven. Children in this stage use naturalistic thinking. Children often personify death as what they believe is evil (clowns, boogeyman, etc.). In The Fall of Freddie the Leaf, death was the changing of seasons.
The Fall of Freddie the Leaf is a book that can be enjoyed by people of almost any culture, ethnicity and socioeconomic community. The book attracts people who believe in an afterlife (noncorporeal continuation). As Daniel was falling from the tree, Leo Buscaglia wrote (from Daniel) “Goodbye for now, Freddie” (Buscaglia). Daniel plans to see Freddie again someday. This could be belief in heaven and hell, reincarnation, the hereafter, or any other type of afterlife. Aside from that, I believe this book is for anyone.
The Fall of Freddie the Leaf relates all three of Maria Nagys developmental stages. In stage one, children believe that death involves a continuation of life, but at a reduced level of activity and experiences. The children in stage one are under the impression that death is like sleeping and the person has the ability to one day return to normal life. These children are not aware of nonfunctionality. At the end of The Fall of Freddie the Leaf, Freddie was detached from his branch, fell to the ground and went to sleep. Freddie didnt die, he fell asleep. The author wrote this book to explain death to all ages. Those who are in stage one would not understand the book if the concept of sleep was not included.
In stage two, children personify death but understand that the dead stay dead. Death can be anything from the grim reaper to a clown. In The Fall of Freddie the Leaf, death is the changing of the seasons. When the season of fall came around, Freddies friends were torn off the trees branches. When the season shifted to winter, Freddie was the last leaf and finally fell from the tree. Another aspect of stage two is fear and anxiety. Children want to know what happens to them after they die. When the season changed to fall, Freddie expressed his fear of the unknown to Daniel.
In the words of Leo Buscaglia,“”Im afraid to die,” Freddie told Daniel. “I dont know whats down there.”“We all fear what we dont know, Freddie. Its natural,” Daniel reassured him. “Yet, you were not afraid when Summer became Fall. They were natural changes. Why should you be afraid of the season of death?”
“Does the tree die, too?” Freddie asked.“Someday. But there is something stronger than the tree. It is Life. That lasts forever and we are all a part of Life.”“Where will we go when we die?”“No one knows for sure. Thats the great mystery!”“Will