Creativity, where does it come from, where does it go.....

The idea that creativity is as important as literacy, as put forth by Sir Ken Robinson is an idea that I found most intriguing.

Creativity is defined by www.dictionary.com as follows:
1. the state or quality of being creative.
2. the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination: the need for creativity in modern industry; creativity in the performing arts.
3. the process by which one utilizes creative ability: Extensive reading stimulated his creativity.


School Boards and Departments throughout the province, the country, and certainly even the world hire literacy consultants and directors, but I am fairly certain that there is not one position in education for a creativity director. But if we are in agreement with Robinson that this skill is in fact equally as important, how then can we foster this creativity in children?

Perhaps children come to school as their own creativity directors, as Robinson alludes, “kids have no fear of being wrong.” Over time however, most children develop a fear of being wrong and believe that a “mistake is the worst thing they can make.” This fear or lack of creativity comes from us as teachers if we fail to encourage our students to think outside the box, to make sense of learning on their own.

For example in problem solving in mathematics, children often find steps and strategies difficult to memorize and have trouble deciding which one to use when presented with a problem. According to Larry Buschman in Children Who Enjoy Problem Solving (TCM May 2003) “Young children want to solve problems, and their enjoyment of problem solving increases when children can solve problems in ways that make sense to them.” So, while these same children may not be able to follow the steps in a prescribed algorithm they may in fact be able to find the same answer to the same problem using a way that makes sense to them, a way that allows them to demonstrate creativity as opposed to memorization. Buschman says that he helps his students acquire the “habits, behaviours and disposition of a problem solver, such as patience, perseverance and a positive attitude.” In solving problems in this way, children aren’t faced with the same pressure to be right, they are able to use their mistakes to guide them towards their answer, this approach allows students to find many paths to the same answer, students are able to take much more pride in their work as they are now able to show what THEY know, as opposed to what they remembered. In adopting a less traditional approach to problem solving it is easy to see how creativity can be applied to mathematics, as students work on original ideas and solutions, as they work progressively towards solutions to problems, as they make sense of their own learning and form their own conclusions about mathematical rules, patterns and relationships.

Creativity, the lost skill.....definitely something interesting to think about.