Killing Creativity

Which brings one to the question; is it really fair to expect all students to learn and express the knowledge they have attained in exactly the same way? Students all over the world are expected to comprehend things the same way, and display their knowledge of concepts in specific forms with ease. But how can that happen when we all see through different eyes and think through different minds?   

Grading is based on efficiency. That’s why projects are mainly uniform in design and expectation, as well as requirements. It’s easiest for teachers to quickly go through each of their students’ projects and assess whether or not the necessary information is there. While this is easiest for the teacher, it is definitely not best for students. This method of education promotes the “conform to the norm” idea and discourages looking at things through perspectives other than your instructors; this is what life is all about — individuality. Going your own way.

Everybody has been in that boring classroom with a teacher droning on and on; the one that instantly becomes frustrated when a kid simply doesn’t understand what they’re talking about. The teacher who has strict and inflexible expectations, many of which don’t apply to the ways that their students learn best. I personally become engaged when art is involved. It doesn’t matter if it’s a complicated science project, if we are able to design our own projects using color, I’m completely in, and even excited to learn the information.

In my personal experience, I greatly struggle with completing educational tasks if every aspect of what I’m learning and how I am supposed to display what I have learned bores me. Granted, there are many times in which crucial educational concepts are far from interesting, but must be covered. However, that being said, there are always some ways to spice things up, especially when it comes to proving what you have learned, for example, in a project. As I have mentioned, I prefer being able to partially use art to display my knowledge of the topic we are discussing. I can’t say for sure, as I’m not in their position, but if I could guess, I would say that the reason teachers generally aren’t very in favor of doing creative, artsy projects for learning is that they fear it will turn into an art project, completely negating the educational topic that is being covered. However, this is almost always the opposite of the result. Using creativity helps to engage more students and makes the project more appealing to them. It also   

This is due to the inspiration that implicating creativity and students’ interests and passions creates; a child willing and and possibly even eager to work.

Every single kid has that in them. Even the kids who seem disinterested, disobedient or irritated to be at school have potential to learn. You just have to find a way to teach them through what they love, and it really can be done.

According to the NDT resource center, it helps if students focus on their learning level and therefore aren’t overwhelmed and are able to comprehend the information coming in. Also, they should be allowed to focus on their preferred methods of learning.

Along with how the material is directly taught from the teacher, students learn differently from each other. Some students work well in groups during educational activities, while others don’t benefit from working in groups at all. Also, accommodations are a huge part of the quality of learning, and they are often not made to meet students’ needs. For instance, many students need a quiet environment to work in, and are surrounded by a noisy classroom.

 The lack of promotion of creativity, the lack of needs being met and the lack of diversity in teaching methods have all been limiting students abilities and potentials for years. So, where exactly do we go from here? It’s difficult to say. Drastic changes can’t always promptly be made in every school, but it begins with the attitudes of school systems and teachers. If a student is struggling, there are almost always easy ways to help. You just have to find a way to appeal to their sense of learning, and use patience and empathy to understand that they can and will understand the difficult concepts you are teaching if you only give them the right time, environment, support, and freedom of creativity. A world without creativity is a world not worth living in.