Jul 29, 2010
Creativity Decline: How to Fix
While other countries are making creativity development a national priority, standardized curriculums and technology get the attention of American children, resulting in a lack of creative thinking and problem solving. How can we change that? Read what school children are doing.
Hi Susan,
The link is broken…. extra http:// at the front
The decline in school creativity gets exacerbated by a system that encourages teaching to the test through initiative like No Child Left Behind. NCLB seems to have definitely yielded some great results, but it is important to make sure it isn't so standards and metrics driven as to quell any opportunities for creative learning.
First, thanks for bringing my attention to the technical error. Second, I agree with you about too much standardization. With all the legal requirements regarding things like fire safety from state legislatures, combined with a deletion of physical education, the kids these days don't seem physically or mentally inspired to be creative. Thanks for commenting.
Just a quick compliment – Your blog keeps me coming back for more. Thanks!
Thanks so much, Juli! Feel free to share.
We are born knowing how to be creative, but somehow it gets beaten out of us. Some of the most creative design work comes from Asia and Europe, both of which have some fairly rigid school systems. Perhaps that creativity is a reaction against too much pressure to perform. In the United States, we get what we value, and we value whatever makes us money. It starts practically from the womb, padding kids' resumes and jamming their schedules so that someday, they can get into "good" schools and be successful. Hard to be very creative when you're exhausted.
And then we complain because we lag behind other countries! Well said Kim!