Creativity Crisis (February 17th, 2015)
What is “creativity”? That question itself, ironically, can be creatively answered. Creativity is free, uninhibited thinking. Creativity is a characteristic of the mind that wanders along its own paths, dreaming up its own unique thoughts, ideas, and clever solutions to perennial problems. In an article by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman published in Newsweek.com, the authors reported that worldwide measurements of creativity were declining, especially in youth (kindergarten through sixth grade). These ages are fundamental for the development of children’s minds. Studies have proven that the human mind is most malleable in its earliest years of life. Adding a class to the pre-elementary and elementary curriculums that specifically encourages creativity will start those juices flowing at a young age and will hopefully keep them circulating for the rest of their lives.
Creativity, like anything that requires growth, requires nurturing to yield product. There is a fine line between simultaneously teaching structure and creativity, which is why elementary education is so precarious. Do you teach the kids how to color inside the lines or let them color how they creatively desire and sacrifice the valuable opportunity to impart a moral lesson? It is important for children to realize at a young age that there is an appropriate time and place for creativity. Putting kids in a class where their colorful and curious minds can wander, imagine, and solve in a structured environment will be beneficial for them to hone their precocious understanding of the world and learn that it is encouraged when the time is right.
After elementary years, middle and high school subtly enforce that every problem only has one solution. Even though there might be more than one interpretation of a question on an assignment, generally teachers force the question into their own way of thinking, therefore forcing their students into their own way of thinking. By running their classrooms this way, teachers stifle creative discussion and subliminally tell students, There is only one way to do this and it’s my way. Students need intellectual stimulation and new ideas to challenge their natural way of thinking. Putting students in a default creativity class during their elementary years will prepare them for middle and high school, to think outside their comfort zone and expand their innate modes of comprehension.