Creativity and Curiosity: My Thoughts- Special Post #12A

I have no special talents. I am only passionately

                             curious.                                        

                       Albert Einstein

For our Special Blog Post, Dr. Strange asked us to honestly reflect on questions concerning creativity and curiosity. Do schools undermine curiosity and/or creativity in students? I believe that school, for the most part, does inhibit curiosity and creativity in students. There are more reasons than one that have caused me to believe that schools no longer value curiosity or creativity. One of those reasons is due to standardized testing. The education system is driven by standardized tests. There is no need for curiosity in order to score well on  a standardized test. There is only one correct answer, and the teacher is sure to teach the students what that answer will be, before the test is given. The majority of teachers have found themselves in a position where they have to teach to the test in order to keep their jobs. Basically, the students are being told what to think and pretty much when they need to think. However, I do know that there are many good teachers who struggle daily in order to combine a more student centered approach into the standardized testing routine.

A curriculum that will increase the curiosity of students can be developed. I didn't say it would be easy, but I believe that it can be done. One way to stimulate curiosity, is to encourage students to ask questions. I have had college professors who encouraged us to ask questions, and I learned much more that semester than I had on previous semesters. I also learned from other students questions. I feel like group activities can encourage creativity and curiosity. Another way to foster curiosity, is to allow the students to come up with their own answers. We shouldn't be so quick to give the answers to them. I believe that it is good to allow them to use their own methods to produce the answers. I observed a third grade math teacher who put a math problem on the board, and allowed the students to keep trying until they came up with the correct answer. She did not give them the answer, nor did she limit how they could get the answer. It took the students a while to reach the correct answer. I was impressed that she did not give in and tell them.The first student to get the answer correct, did not get the answer by using the same method as the teacher. I thought this was a great way to foster curiosity.




Since curiosity and creativity are closely related, a curriculum that fosters curiosity can also stimulate creativity. Creativity has been crushed out of many of us while we were children. Have you had a teacher that required you to color a banana yellow or the grass green? I know I have. What this says to me, is that those teachers are teaching that there is only one way or one perspective. They are certainly not thinking outside of the box. My daughter had a teacher, in the First grade, that was so literal. Every picture had to be colored the appropriate colors and every answer had to be the expected answer. I would do what I could to counteract that when my daughter was at home. When she colored, I would tell her to use her imagination and make things any color that she wanted. As teachers, we can stimulate curiosity and creativity by allowing students to think for themselves. We can provide engaging activities. The students need to be allowed to be active participants in class. We can also allow them to teach us something new. We should encourage them to think and ask questions. "Why", is a powerful question. I know when my daughter asks me "why", she is thinking deeper than just about what is on the surface.

Becoming more creative and curious is something that I have been working on for a little while. It was my youngest daughter that made me realize that I lacked in curiosity and creativity. She always asks "why"! She really wants to know more about the world than what is just on the surface. I realized that I had not really asked why in a long time. Everything was just told to me, and I excepted it at face value. She is not afraid to be wrong, or afraid to make mistakes. Mostly, she is not afraid to try new things. For me, I am not depending on any person or place to help me stimulate my curiosity and creativity. I have begun asking more questions. I do want to know "why". I am still working on not being afraid to try new things. As adults, we have the ability to foster our own creativity and curiosity, if we realize that it is important.  For me, it is a work in progress. I have learned more, in the student centered classrooms. The classes where you actually get to do the activity sticks with me longer. I guess that means that I learn more from project based classes. The projects give me the opportunity to be creative. At first, I would say that the projects forced me to be creative. Fostering creativity and curiosity in children is definitely the teachers and parents responsibility. For adults, it is a joint effort.