Post by phoebeross on Aug 7, 2011 16:32:59 GMT -5
We have quit teaching kids. Educators now train students until they can jump through the predetermined hoops successfully. The higher the hoop, the more valued the achievement. Teaching has become a meaningless set of test scores, instead of true, creative problem solving skills. “The Creativity Crisis”, by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman explores the role of creativity in today’s education, and examines the course we are headed for now.
Creativity in America has been calculated by Torrance’ test, and standard intelligence is determined by IQ tests. However, as Bronson and Merryman note in “The Creativity Crisis”, “enriched environments are making kids smarter. With creativity, a reverse trend has just been identified and is being reported for the first time here: American creativity scores are falling.” We can look to the past years for educational changes, for example, No Child Left Behind. Not only were all states practically forced to comply, but the standards often do the opposite, and here we may find explanation for the creative slump. Instead of focusing on true learning, we now measure success in a series of test scores, and advancement to the next grade. The essay speaks of involving creativity in to children’s everyday learning experiences, where it needs to be, However, “Overwhelmed by curriculum standards, American teachers warn there’s no room in the day for a creativity class.” What we see happening is curriculum standards pushing out any hope for the United States to catch up with the rest of the world. However, as is, because of restricting curriculums, often instituted by No Child Left behind, there is little room for even a standard education, forget new implications. One of the policies declares English Language Learners, or ELL students, to be in a standard class after one year. But, after children grow older, it is more difficult for children to learn English, and sometimes when children are placed in a standard class, they don’t fully grasp English. This lack of understanding makes learning difficult, and sometimes impossible at high school levels. Instead of focusing on understanding, ingenuity, and creativity, we are focusing on simply pushing students onto the next level. Creativity is suffering.
Researchers notice creativity at a young age, sometimes before school begins. Despite early development, though, it is still worthwhile to incorporate creativity in schools. Bronson and Merryman describe creativity in terms of basketball, “Being tall does help to be a pro basketball player, but the rest of us can still get quite good at the sport through practice.” Practicing creativity is neglected in today’s schools, due to standardized curriculums. Creativity is vital to the future of this country; not only do CEOs cite creativity as the number one factor in future leaders, but the economic and political crises our country is facing will only be solved by innovative, new solutions. And we will get to this by putting creativity into practice in our schools. Education now measures itself with standardized tests, but the world does not. The world provides problems that cannot be solved with a memorized mathematical formula; it requires new solutions.
Creativity in America has been calculated by Torrance’ test, and standard intelligence is determined by IQ tests. However, as Bronson and Merryman note in “The Creativity Crisis”, “enriched environments are making kids smarter. With creativity, a reverse trend has just been identified and is being reported for the first time here: American creativity scores are falling.” We can look to the past years for educational changes, for example, No Child Left Behind. Not only were all states practically forced to comply, but the standards often do the opposite, and here we may find explanation for the creative slump. Instead of focusing on true learning, we now measure success in a series of test scores, and advancement to the next grade. The essay speaks of involving creativity in to children’s everyday learning experiences, where it needs to be, However, “Overwhelmed by curriculum standards, American teachers warn there’s no room in the day for a creativity class.” What we see happening is curriculum standards pushing out any hope for the United States to catch up with the rest of the world. However, as is, because of restricting curriculums, often instituted by No Child Left behind, there is little room for even a standard education, forget new implications. One of the policies declares English Language Learners, or ELL students, to be in a standard class after one year. But, after children grow older, it is more difficult for children to learn English, and sometimes when children are placed in a standard class, they don’t fully grasp English. This lack of understanding makes learning difficult, and sometimes impossible at high school levels. Instead of focusing on understanding, ingenuity, and creativity, we are focusing on simply pushing students onto the next level. Creativity is suffering.
Researchers notice creativity at a young age, sometimes before school begins. Despite early development, though, it is still worthwhile to incorporate creativity in schools. Bronson and Merryman describe creativity in terms of basketball, “Being tall does help to be a pro basketball player, but the rest of us can still get quite good at the sport through practice.” Practicing creativity is neglected in today’s schools, due to standardized curriculums. Creativity is vital to the future of this country; not only do CEOs cite creativity as the number one factor in future leaders, but the economic and political crises our country is facing will only be solved by innovative, new solutions. And we will get to this by putting creativity into practice in our schools. Education now measures itself with standardized tests, but the world does not. The world provides problems that cannot be solved with a memorized mathematical formula; it requires new solutions.