A Simple Story with Philosophical Underpinnings

 

I picked this book off our home bookshelves for a couple of reasons: 1) I wanted something that would be a quick read to fill the gap until I was able to get to the library; 2) I used to offer it as an extra-credit assignment in my Persuasion Theory class, and I figured it was time I actually read it. As it turned out, it wasn't quite the quick read I expected because the switch on my bedside lamp gave out, and so I wasn't able to read at bedtime (one disadvantage of physical books). And I will say that although the point related to persuasion was made quickly in the book, I guess it was appropriate for extra credit.

What I was hoping students would take from the book is an understanding of the arbitrary nature of symbols (like words) and the social mechanisms that lead to a symbol becoming an accepted tool for communication. In the book, Nick, a 5th-grader, is inspired by what his teacher, Mrs. Granger, said about the dictionary. After pointing out that the animal we call a "dog" is called by other words in other languages, she said,

"...if all of us in this room decided to call that creature something else, and if everyone else did, too, then that's what it would be called, and one day it would be written in the dictionary that way. We decide what goes in that book." (p. 31)

Nick, ever the practical joker, decides to test her statement by coming up with the word "frindle" to use instead of the word "pen." The rest of the story traces how "frindle" gains acceptance as a symbol, first among the other fifth-graders, then the whole school system, then across the country.

Since this is a children's book (grade level = 5.4), it doesn't go deeply into the philosophy of symbol creation and use. It's kind of neat that this concept is introduced in a kids' book at all. I spent quite a bit of thought in my Ph.D. program and in the college classes I taught talking about the same issue.