The Creativity Crisis

The Creativity Crisis

 The article, The Creativity Crisis, was an interesting read. This article describes that creativity is “production of something original and useful.” What are we not doing in the great United States of America that other countries are? Why are the youth of this great country posting failing scores? Have we turned into the land of the failure, home of the braindead?

 There are so many areas in which we need creativity to improve our way of living. Creativity is not just for the artsy person, but for the responsible and civic-minded individual - which should be all of us. It is essential that we look at things in different ways and aspire to enhance the quality of it. Creativity inspires both men and women to bring about new ways of helping the world, such as presenting ideas for government policy, advancing medicine, and simply developing new technology for better living.

 You could say that kids don't have to imagine or create fun for themselves, because they can just turn on the TV and play their video games, which oftentimes do the thinking for them.  

 You could also say that our schools are more about standardized tests and rote memorization, which really promotes the opposite of creativity since it's really replication of knowledge or communicating information that is already know and accepted.

 Creativity in the youth of America is dying because of these factors. We need to instill problem solving learning and focus on true critical thinking skills. Is it possible? Other countries are doing it and enjoying great success. It requires practice. Creativity is teachable. However, it will only be learned if the teachers come up with creative ideas, like those from Akron, Ohio did.  

 The article states that a creative-problem solving program has the highest success in increasing childrens creativity, observed William & Mary’s Kem.

 Creativeness doesn’t come easy once children hit grades 4 and up. Yet, the methodology can and should be supported by teachers who are willing to look beyond the conventional way of learning.

 Among the findings of creative adults, Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi & Gary Gute, found that “parents of creative children provided stability and met their required needs but in turn expected uniqueness and challenged them to develop skills.“ I suppose this speaks to the fact that the foundation of a student's education and creative capacity derives from learning that happens at home. I hope the parents are listening...