Post by niastallworth on Aug 7, 2011 9:38:33 GMT -5
"The Creativity Crisis" by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman is an article about America's continuous decline in creativity and the reasons behind it. The authors, from the article put the problem of the lack of creativeness in the United States as an educational negligence. It is not necessarily that the school systems are bad, but most likely misguided. Nowadays, the schools are focusing more on standardized testing and curriculum standards. Some schools, put so much emphasis on tests like the ACT, SAT, or the state's standardized test that the curriculum becomes all about the tests. Danville Independent Schools for instance, is constantly shoving the importance of the State Test down your throat from elementary school.
From what I can remember from my time in elementary school, was importance of excelling at the big test and learning Kentucky History. Creativity never seemed to be important, I mean we did have an Art Class and colored pictures but that was about it when came to. Near the end of the article the authors' statement seems to accurately describe the situation, stating, "Creativity has always been prized in American society, but it’s never really been understood. While our creativity scores decline unchecked, the current national strategy for creativity consists of little more than praying for a Greek muse to drop by our houses." I cannot tell you how proud I was when I would bring Distinguishes in elementary school, but by the time I came to high school I basically stopped caring and trying all together. The fact that Junior year was so focused on getting distinguished and proficient made it worse it seemed to me, about the student but instead about making the school look better. You know what made me hate the CATS test, it was the fact that everything I did in most classes revolved around writing the best open response. I definitely can say that I also hated the constant comparison of the high school's previous score to the elementary schools'. Luckily, the standardized tests have finally came to an end and future Danville High Schoolers do not have to suffer.
This coloring by numbers strategy in the American school systems has severely impaired the creativity of the student's. The fact that early in education many schools give the students step by step instructions on how approach a project has also caused a fall in creativity.Ultimately the lack of creativity in the United States is a serious problem. The blame for this cannot be solely placed on the educational system, outside of school children are challenged even less. In the article Bronson and Merryman said, "The problems we face now, and in the future, simply demand that we do more than just hope for inspiration to strike," if something is not done soon America, will behind in other countries in more ways than just math. If more schools and parents started to encourage children to express their creativeness in more ways than just coloring then this may lead to a more creative outlook. The lack of creativity in the United States can easily be changed. However we need more initiative from everybody.
From what I can remember from my time in elementary school, was importance of excelling at the big test and learning Kentucky History. Creativity never seemed to be important, I mean we did have an Art Class and colored pictures but that was about it when came to. Near the end of the article the authors' statement seems to accurately describe the situation, stating, "Creativity has always been prized in American society, but it’s never really been understood. While our creativity scores decline unchecked, the current national strategy for creativity consists of little more than praying for a Greek muse to drop by our houses." I cannot tell you how proud I was when I would bring Distinguishes in elementary school, but by the time I came to high school I basically stopped caring and trying all together. The fact that Junior year was so focused on getting distinguished and proficient made it worse it seemed to me, about the student but instead about making the school look better. You know what made me hate the CATS test, it was the fact that everything I did in most classes revolved around writing the best open response. I definitely can say that I also hated the constant comparison of the high school's previous score to the elementary schools'. Luckily, the standardized tests have finally came to an end and future Danville High Schoolers do not have to suffer.
This coloring by numbers strategy in the American school systems has severely impaired the creativity of the student's. The fact that early in education many schools give the students step by step instructions on how approach a project has also caused a fall in creativity.Ultimately the lack of creativity in the United States is a serious problem. The blame for this cannot be solely placed on the educational system, outside of school children are challenged even less. In the article Bronson and Merryman said, "The problems we face now, and in the future, simply demand that we do more than just hope for inspiration to strike," if something is not done soon America, will behind in other countries in more ways than just math. If more schools and parents started to encourage children to express their creativeness in more ways than just coloring then this may lead to a more creative outlook. The lack of creativity in the United States can easily be changed. However we need more initiative from everybody.