Remember when I said that I keep running into certain themes, no matter what I pick up to read? Well, it happened again. I'm trying to get through my stack of back issues of Parents magazine (I don't take my subscription very seriously these days, but since I bought a two or three year subscription when Nini was a baby, I figure I should at least thumb through them before I recycle them).
The article, "Inspire Creativity" in the September issue, caught my eye - especially when the subtitle seemed to echo everything from my previous blog entry: "reading and math are the priorities for schools, but out-of-the-box thinking skills will be the key to a kid's success."
First the article brings up the brick creativity question (how many uses can you think of for a brick?) that was also in "Outliers" that I recently finished reading. Then they go on to state data that shows the creativity of American kids has been declining since 1990. After stating examples of why creativity is important, the author asks WHY creativity is declining. Now I'll quote a bit....
"Many experts believe that our educational system bears a big share of the blame. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which mandates that schools make annual progress toward bringing all students up to the "proficient" level on state tests or be subject to government sanctions, has altered the fundamental learning dynamic. In many school systems, the need to "teach to the test" has led to the elimination of art classes, electives, foreign language and science programs, and even recess, depriving kids of numerous creative outlets. 'The emphasis on rote learning over critical thinking has diminished students' natural curiosity and joy of learning', says Kyung Hee Kim, Ph.D., associate professor of educational psychology at The College of William and Mary, in William burg, Virginia.... 'Our misguided expectations have young children focus on a lesson or curriculum. But instruction geared toward getting the right answer undermines creativity and spontaneity,' says Edward Miller, executive director of the Alliance for Childhood, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization in New York City."
The author goes on to say that parents also contribute by over scheduling their kids and not giving them time to do "nothing" - where they have to entertain themselves. Then the author lists ways you can help your child become more creative -things like low-tech toys and limiting TV and computer time.
...so my parenting strategies aren't that far off. If I want my kids to grow up to be independent, hard working, intelligent and creative then ditching TV, limiting movies and computers, limiting toys and insisting my kids solve their own problems (when they realistically can) and expecting them to work is spot on. And... I'm not the only one with concerns about the direction public education is going. Do we really want to end up where this road is leading?
The problem (well, OK, one of many problems) with No Child Left Behind is that it assumes American school children are all pretty much of equal intelligence and ability and can all be molded to the same specifications, like an assembly line. While assembly lines and interchangeable parts are great for making cars and consumer electronics, they can't be successfully applied to human beings. The point is to educate children one by one to become the best, most happy and most successful adults they can be, not to churn out identical robotic taxpayers.
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