Creativity

Creativity
Has creativity left the school building? Did it check out? In our quest to increase test scores what are some areas that were left out or behind? Creativity? Imagination? Play? Fun?
Although it is not a tested area, creativity plays a vital role in our lives. Creativity is part of what makes us –us. Long before days of Xbox, PlayStation, Wii and Atari, we had to be creative on finding our own fun. Our toys were made of rugged or natural materials and with them we had adventures that could keep us going from sun- up to sundown for days. Kids are not like that today. What is killing it? TV? Technology? Standardized testing?
In school, we had arts education every week. With this, we explored different art mediums and created something tangible that we could take home and hang on the refrigerator. As a teen, I noticed that art took on the shape of art class where we made tile art, decoupage (it was the 70’S!) and lots of line and art drawings. I also took a metals class where I created some cool jewelry with silverware. So, what about now? What kind of lessons do we give kids that inspire them to be creative? It seems that with standards, budget cuts and testing, the powers to be decided something had to go. So, they cut non-essential subjects such as art, music and P.E. But, is that the best plan of action? The Newsweek article states that when we are being creative we use divergent and convergent thinking to get the job done. How can that be a bad thing? Why do we take out the programs that require us to use our brain in a different way?
I am lucky to be a special education teacher. I get to teach in one-on one or small group settings. I get to teach kids who don’t learn like other kids. I get to try many different techniques to find the one that works the best for each student’s individual learning style. I find that the more creative I make my lessons, the better the kids understand and retain it and want to be involved. Is it more time consuming? Yes. Can it be messy? Yes. Is it more fun than a scripted program? Yes. Do the kids enjoy it? Most do. I find the kids that have not been exposed to this type of teaching have a difficult time with it. They don’t know how to do it. They want to know what will be expected of them. Free form is not something they are used to. But it should be. We need to bring creativity back into school. We need to have the kids see that there is more to life than Xbox, Nintendo and TV. We need them to use all parts of their brain. We need to put creativity back into the curriculum.