Well with the state of the economy right now there are not going to be funds to add anything new since there are still talks about cutting more. So the only way this can be done is to start small in the classroom with what we already have so that fostering creativity doesn’t die off in the midst of the worries about “teaching to the test”.
I think the bigger issue of creativity not being nurtured is “compassion fatigue”. It’s an easy way out to use the same lesson plan year after year and have students read out of the book and have them take the same tests over and over again to see if they retained the material. Going along with this syndrome Sir Ken Robinson said, “All kids have tremendous talents and we squander them pretty ruthlessly.” The power that teachers have over their students is tremendous and having an apathetic teacher that makes you feel like your ideas are not important or makes you feel horrible when you make a mistake can extinguish creativity and interest in learning. I think that we’ve all had an experience with this whether or not it happened to us or we saw it happen to someone else.
Sir Robinson pointed out that most public education forms did not exist before the 19th century and the needs of industrialism came about. So until the societal shift towards creativity and 21st century thinking becomes an official age or era in society and/or we hit another sizeable stint of economic recovery, growth, and prosperity adequate unfortunately the hierarchy of subjects will stay the same and funding will most likely not go towards anything new or extra in this area on a wide scale.
Most children fit into the "box" we call school today. However, there are some students that no matter how much effort will never fit into that box. Personally, I think Sir Robinson's idea is not necessarily about the creative arts but has more to do with "outside the box" thinking and looking at students for who they are. As a parent of two developing young kids (preschool and first grade), I am much more aware of who they are and their interests, avoidning the temptations to project my wishes and dreams onto them. His message resonates with me and I actually see all my elementary students differently - as individuals.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. My best friends have three kids. A three year old girl and almost two year old twin boys (one of them is my god-son. The boys different personalities are really starting to shine through now. It's very interesting and exciting to watch.
ReplyDeleteI like that "Passion Fatigue". I agree with you because who is to say that people who are labeled inadequate, incompetent, and lazy are given these connotations because no one understands how to tap their intelligence. Maybe more nurturing and compassion will resolve some of these ills.
ReplyDelete