Something I Remembered Today

On Tuesday, I launched The Thought Farm.

This morning, I reread my post.

Something didn’t feel right.

For more than 30 years, I’ve believed that stories help children connect with ideas—and that those connections can change lives.

Yet my launch post wasn’t telling a story.

It was explaining a philosophy.

So, I rewrote the whole thing.

Not because the philosophy had changed.

Because I had forgotten something fundamental.

Stories don’t simply support an idea.

They are the experience that gives an idea meaning.

That realization reminded me of something I’ve spent a lifetime trying to do for children:

Don’t tell them what matters.

Help them discover it.

Maybe that’s true for adults, too.

Shane DeRolf

Founder, The Thought Farm

Shane DeRolf is the founder of The Thought Farm, a storytelling studio that helps organizations bring important ideas to life for children through stories and experiences they’ll remember.

He is the bestselling author of The Crayon Box That Talked, an 11-time Regional Emmy® Award-winning writer, producer, and director, and former President of Random House Entertainment. Over the past three decades, Shane has created three educational children’s television series, including Big Green Rabbit, developed Big Word Club, an evidence-based literacy platform, and led national behavior change campaigns that have helped millions of children connect with ideas that matter.