Post by Meriah Rose on Aug 8, 2011 17:17:58 GMT -5
An article in Newsweek by Bronson and Merryman states, “Overwhelmed by curriculum standards, American teachers warn there’s no room in the day for a creativity class. Kids are fortunate if they get an art class once or twice a week.” Students all over America are agreeing with this statement. We are hurting because of the lack of creativity in a classroom. Music and art programs are taking substantial budget cuts, year after year. What happens when there is no funding for fine arts programs? The passion for all creativity could be lost forever. Without Beethoven and Van Gogh where would the world be today? Every aspect of our lives can be made better with creativity.
We should be encouraging creativity throughout school especially in the earliest years of our development. We shouldn’t be so strict with young children. We are always told what’s correct and what’s incorrect, color inside the lines, no running, single file order, or your clothes don’t match instead of encouraging creativity and free will. Students are always being reprimanded for doing something wrong; turning them into same-minded, correct-answer-producing robots. Where is the passion and the spark for change? When those little children grow and enter middle school, they’re all the same. They all strive to be the popular and well liked; to conform to what they think they’re supposed to be. And then in high school those little kids are all scoring high on the ACT and passing they’re courses, exactly like their teachers wanted. But what’s becoming of the band or the drama club? Without the arts programs everyone will be the same. Brad would have gotten the grades to go to whatever college he wanted, but he wouldn’t have known he’s the next Johnny Depp. Sally got accepted to her state university, but she could’ve gone to the best performing arts school in the country. So many children can be gifted in the arts, but never take the opportunity to shine. I’ve seen some of my talented friend give up band because they wanted to take another AP class. Doing well and school and pushing yourself to do even better are thing that should be encouraged, arts shouldn’t be put on a back shelf. We want children to grow up and be well-rounded adults, interesting human being with more than just a college degree.
“Around the world, though, other countries are making creativity development a national priority.” claims the article Creativity Crisis. Recent studies have shown that America is falling behind other countries in educational advancements. Students in Japan and China are surpassing the students in America. If other countries, countries that are smarter than this country, are making creativity a national priority than shouldn’t we be doing the same? We should be making advances to compete globally. Instead of sending jobs off to foreign countries, we should be working to do whatever it takes to advance our youth and prepare them for a more competitive world. Even if we go to nice colleges, earn a college degree, and enter a field in hig-demand, we still may struggle to settle into a career. The countries that are pursuing creative courses are producing young adults with greater critical thinking skills and abilities. Creativity is not emphasized in the American classroom and the future leaders of this country are going to pay for it. We need to do more to help are children have a better future. Creativity is truly a crisis in America and one that demands attention.
We should be encouraging creativity throughout school especially in the earliest years of our development. We shouldn’t be so strict with young children. We are always told what’s correct and what’s incorrect, color inside the lines, no running, single file order, or your clothes don’t match instead of encouraging creativity and free will. Students are always being reprimanded for doing something wrong; turning them into same-minded, correct-answer-producing robots. Where is the passion and the spark for change? When those little children grow and enter middle school, they’re all the same. They all strive to be the popular and well liked; to conform to what they think they’re supposed to be. And then in high school those little kids are all scoring high on the ACT and passing they’re courses, exactly like their teachers wanted. But what’s becoming of the band or the drama club? Without the arts programs everyone will be the same. Brad would have gotten the grades to go to whatever college he wanted, but he wouldn’t have known he’s the next Johnny Depp. Sally got accepted to her state university, but she could’ve gone to the best performing arts school in the country. So many children can be gifted in the arts, but never take the opportunity to shine. I’ve seen some of my talented friend give up band because they wanted to take another AP class. Doing well and school and pushing yourself to do even better are thing that should be encouraged, arts shouldn’t be put on a back shelf. We want children to grow up and be well-rounded adults, interesting human being with more than just a college degree.
“Around the world, though, other countries are making creativity development a national priority.” claims the article Creativity Crisis. Recent studies have shown that America is falling behind other countries in educational advancements. Students in Japan and China are surpassing the students in America. If other countries, countries that are smarter than this country, are making creativity a national priority than shouldn’t we be doing the same? We should be making advances to compete globally. Instead of sending jobs off to foreign countries, we should be working to do whatever it takes to advance our youth and prepare them for a more competitive world. Even if we go to nice colleges, earn a college degree, and enter a field in hig-demand, we still may struggle to settle into a career. The countries that are pursuing creative courses are producing young adults with greater critical thinking skills and abilities. Creativity is not emphasized in the American classroom and the future leaders of this country are going to pay for it. We need to do more to help are children have a better future. Creativity is truly a crisis in America and one that demands attention.