I had a discussion with someone recently about where my true allegiances lie: Britain or the US. They insinuated I couldn’t have pride and patriotism for both countries. Truth is, I do and feel I have the advantage from both perspectives to recognize what makes each country truly unique. The US lives up to its reputation of being a country of opportunity and creativity. Just look at American TV, while some shows reflect a lack of creativity (Swamp loggers, really?), there are others like “Shark Tank” that are a platform for creativity and a vehicle to show off what is truly a part of US culture and identity. Shark Tank is not only a popular source of entertainment; it shows how exceptional Americans are when it comes to creativity and entrepreneurship. There is clearly a reason why China wants to emulate our educational system, in hopes of nurturing these creative genes in the classroom. It has a huge impact on the economy and the products that role out of American companies. What is the US response? Let’s emulate China and pave the way towards conformity by passing educational reforms that standardize and undermine creativity. I believe it’s killing a part of US identity and will have a detrimental impact on our future economy to boot.
If we continue on this path to restructuring our educational system to become more rote learning, and shy away from inquiry, problem solving and ‘thinking outside the box’, what will the ramifications be down the road? In future decades, will we see a drop in US patents, inventions, and great TV shows/advertisements? I hate to think what the world would become without creativity. Instead of “Phish Food” we’ll all be just Vanilla. Creativity is the spice of life that gives us a sense of unpredictability and excitement at what people can come up with next. If we don’t keep fostering this sense of creativity and valuing its role in American culture, and identity, then it will start translating into some pretty boring products in the future. We may be boring, but at least we’ll maybe have higher rankings internationally for student achievement
I certainly agree with your placing such value on the role of creativity in our culture and the classroom.
ReplyDeleteYour comments about television programs showcasing creativity got me thinking about the Japanese game shows that I have laughed at. You know the ones where they produce a fake spa on a ski slope while James Bond soundtrack plays: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGcPRfPtjYo&feature=related)
The program is funny, but is the prank creative? Or does the humor come from the human consequences of the prank? I don't watch tv at home, but I can imagine I'd question Swamp Loggers the same way.
The amazing thing about vanilla is that you can add pretty much anything to it and it becomes something else. We want our students to choose their own path of creativity, but many times we as teachers have to be the person to nudge them, letting them know that it is ok to try something new. We can give our students various examples of how something can be done, but we don’t want our students to recreate. A recreation is just that, someone else’s work, you have no ties to why it was done in the first place. The goal is for our students to be able to grow, design, build, and become creative individuals that can accomplish the “un-tasted”. I know that my job is to provide my students will the tools and ingredients to choose their path, how their ice-cream turns out is up to them.
ReplyDeleteDang…I wish I had some ice-cream right now.
Oh Jax, don't you love the intelligent language that you are picking up on Swamp Loggers? I mean, really! How about my favorite, Dog the Bounty Hunter? He is really creative in finding his bail jumpers! I think you are spot on with our need to teach "outside the box." I already think we are getting pretty boring. How many reality shows do we need? Or gaming devices that shoot people? I do believe our, 'creativity crisis' is already among us. Especially when we rely on it for entertainment. I find it pathetic, really. Let's hope that we can get our creativity back before we end up on another global list as a lower number for our sinking creativity.
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