How do we teach creativity? Is it something that just comes natural or is there a way we can instill a creative skill into someone? I think that the exposure we have to situations where we are allowed to be creative is a huge piece of the puzzle. Growing up a lot of my free time was spent playing interactive games with friends or my brother. The majority of the games took imagination and creativity. You got to create the rules, storyline, you were in charge of where the game went. Now I see my students spend their free time sitting in front of a television or playing video games. We complain about how our parents would shoo us outside to play, but it might have been the best thing they could have done for us.
The way classrooms are now structured also plays a role in the decline of creativity. Teachers are so stressed by mandates and the looming tests that they have changed the way they teach. Kids now just process information rather than think, research or inquire about it. Some say that the lack of arts in schools is the major factor in this; I agree but also disagree with this. Arts provide a lot for kids for many different reasons including but not limited to creativity, but it doesn’t take an art to be creative. Kids can be creative in every aspect of their lives. Science experiments, history research projects, and literary analysis are all things that kids need for those ‘tests’ but also provide ways for the kids to not just think but think outside the box.
Creativity comes in all shapes and sizes. When asked in class very few of us raised our hands to signify that we were creative. So before we can make our classrooms creatively enriched we must first realize the creative potential we have. Once we have done that then we need to install that in our students. It is our job as teachers to find ways to bring out the creativity in every child.
Breanna, I completely agree with your perspective. I also played for hours as a child. We only had 3 T.V. channels and we didn’t have any video games or a computer. (mostly because I’m old and grew up in the 70’s and 80’s) O.k., we had an ATARI for a brief period, but it broke. Anyway, I played a lot. I really do think I have a creative side and it all started as a young child. The creative subjects were the ones in school that I really liked and excelled at. Not every kid is gifted in math and science and there needs to be other avenues to explore. I just think this world is going to be a very sterile place if we forget the arts. I try to incorporate creative elements into my classroom, but I want to do even better!
ReplyDeleteI really think that we are born creative. There are definitely people that are born thinking more creative than others, but essentially we end up squelching creativity. Early on, we diminish childhood creativity by plopping kids in front of television sets or denying access to creative outlets either out of fear or convenience. As my oldest child was born, my husband and I after lengthy discussions decided that we would not give our child access to guns of any kind (toy or otherwise). Imagine our surprise when our precious youngster made anything he got his hands on into a gun. Rocks became pistols, sticks became rifles, and he even created a dandelion gun that shot the parachute seeds into the slightest breeze. Whit the ban on guns in our household we were making a statement about our concern about guns, but maybe we ended up stimulating his creativity as a result. We did eventually give up on the gun issue and he enjoyed a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas when he turned 12. Will giving each child the opportunity to create and be creative is a challenge that I take seriously in my classroom.
ReplyDeleteAmanda, did you happen to force your son to wear a pink bunny costume that Christmas as well? :)
ReplyDeleteBreanna,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. I just think it gets pounded into to our heads to do things a certain and specific way. How do we break the mold? The article mentioned how preschool children ask hundreds of questions a day, but by the middle school the questions stop. Sure it's annoying on a long ride home, but somehow we need to foster it instead of squashing it.
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ReplyDeleteI just read your blog and cannot believe we actually wrote the same sentence. Creativity really does come in all shapes and sizes. Wow, that is funny!
ReplyDeleteAmanda
ReplyDeleteOver the years I have seen many boys who would make anything - a stick etc into a gun - I've read in child development books that this is a normal part of development. The funny thing was this one parent who had no tv by choice etc thought I had taught her son to play with a stick gun on purpose (he was in first grade) :)
Having a boy now at home it's so fun for me - they are SOOOO funny and different than girls :) and they really love their mom!