school help: Do Schools today kill creativity? - Help.com

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Far from it, there is no school in the world which kills a persons creativtity, a lot of school work is based on creativity like when a person is writing an answer they are not told what to write they have to create the anwser that appears to be correct from them, in there language e.g. English (most common language and language we are typing (stating the obvious)) we are constantly using our creative mind, a school’s main objective other than educating is to propel a persons creativity not decline it. In this reply I was not told what to say I used the creativity handed down to me on a silver platter by my school. However I must say that computer games do kill a childs creativity but at the same time increases their concentration.

I would say that there are many video games that increase a child’s creativity by the exact same process that Ireland-1 is describing for school.
Unfortunately, simply asking a child to create an answer does not always breed creativity. Many schools, especially during the primary grades, are designed to spoon feed children information and then ask them to regurgitate it in a somewhat similar form. This not only does not breed creativity, its boringness is likely to disuade children from pursuing more learning activities, thus stunting many outlets for growing creativity. Schools also have a tendancy to deal with purely informational learning while neglecting experiential learning, which has a limiting effect on creativity. However, some schools are not like this. Also, as you reach higher levels of education, it is easier to pursue more creative forms of education.
In the end, it is my opinion that schools do not breed as much creativity as they could, perhaps as they should, but getting the most well-rounded education possible is ultimately the responsibility of the parents and individuals in question.

Also, I agree with the HelpBot.

huh? what do you mean you agree with HelpBot. HelpBot is talking about if you are comtemplating suicide, severly depressed, then you should seek help. There are not all that many games out there that leaves much creativity, like there are only wrestling, and football games that allow creativity. Spyro, GTA, GT, and all the other game do not allow for much creativity.

Anyone who writes, draws, composes, or in any way creates, knows that you cannot simply output 24/7. You need input as well. You need books, comics, art, music, movies, TV, or, YES, even video games. Inspiration is not only encouraging creativity, it’s necessary for it.

Even if you must insist on using the literal definition, look at games like Fable, or Black and White, where your choices change everything. What about real-time strategy games, which clearly out-match sports with creative possibilities? The simple truth is, a kid will create more after having their head stuffed with entertainment than it will after learning how to find the circumference of a circle. At least creativity is usefull.

sorry, I was unaware of any of those games, they are not out in Ireland, honestly we really will never actually get to the bottom of this because there is no exact proof that school kill nor creates creativity, neither is there really any proof that entertainment kills or creates creativity.

There is to a kid who’s not allowed to draw in class. Or to someone who gets writer’s block after not having access to new books to read. Trust me, the people who do all the creating know how true this all is. We just can’t do anything about it.

Ok,

Xeno Dragon wrote:
Anyone who writes, draws, composes, or in any way creates, knows that you cannot simply output 24/7. You need input as well. You need books,

and an education, like without education you not be able to create such an invigourating debate. There is a saying the goes like this if you think education costs too much [time and effort] think how much ignorance will cost you. May I ask in your opinion is there such a negative view of education, now, I do not know what it is like in America, however from my experience in Ireland we base our education on creativity, and are very competitive for our work, in my particular school we offer (some of them are only for my school) different competitions for composing, creating etc. with many prestigous prizes, e.g. €200 for best poem in the senior cycle and €100 for the Junior, is one competition, or another is a magazine cover competition where a person has to design the cover of a magazine, this magazine is sold in local newsagents and book stores with you name and picture on it. Those are just two of the many creative competitions.

My education came from drawing in class and reading when I was at home. I have little more than a high school diploma, and my GPA was about a 2.5. I’m all self-taught, and I got an 1800 on my SATs for that. School does inhibit creativity. If you follow the rules.

I’d also appreciate it if you’d quote me properly next time.

Hold Xeno, look, this debate is going to go on for quite some time, OK, so I won’t disagree with you on this post and you do the same. Agreed? this is mainly because I actually want to see what others feel and the moderators might see this as arguing and close the post.

Whatever rows you in a circle.

Would I be correct in saying that, that is a yes, if so thank you, look I do not like arguing, and look, everyone is going to have different opinions, like you are 19 and you think that school inhibits creative thinking and writing, and I am 19 also, but I think that school prohibits creative thinking and writing.

I find if you think or work in a way that is outside of the schools teaching methods that works and may be considered creative te school will do anything to train you out of those habits and into their way of doing things. So in a sense, yes.

Hello Thanks for the invite. But I have to bow out of this one because I can’t watch the lecture, my internet connection is way too slow… that’s the life of country living.

I will say that “It’s okay to be wrong” is not taught in the classrooms, can any of you honestly say you remember a nurturing teacher stop in front of the class and tell you in the fifth grade or even the fourth, ” It’s okay, take your time,” and if you got the answer wrong, walk you through it while the class watches. Nope doesn’t happen. The classes are too fast paste these days and if you do get something wrong, and struggle, you are left behind.

I remember as a new mom, reading the book that Dr Spock wrote about discipline and rearing children. I remember becoming so distraught because I recognized that EVERY single child is different, and while one method may work for Johnny, it doesn’t for Sally. As the family grows, the dynamics change, and while one child may be raised using a certain set of guidlines and rules, the other child or children may not be so readily able to accept or be taught using the same methods.
The class room has neglected to treat each person as an individual, and has lumped them all the same. Lecutures may work for some, but others may require a more creative hands on approach. and it is those children that need a more elaborate, creative explanation that “get left behind” and yes, with eating habits, and stress at home, in the class room, boredom, it is no wonder that doctors hand out unnessary medication to “unruly ” children. They are not the problem, it’s the teaching methods today.

As family values lessen, so do they lessen in the class room. Kids need boundaries, and in fact studies have proven that they thrive on it, but with the tv and video generation acting as surrogate parents, teachers are left with less ideas than before of what to do to help a child learn.

These days when a child makes a mistake, oh the world has ended. They are not given proper ways to cope and deal with the stress and the personal failure that thier world becomes a walking disaster. The kids today go to such extremes and take a mistake so personally, and fail to see that there is a valuable learning tool created when one tries to succeed after failure. We all want to be smart and as the world become more cruel, it is easy to see how one doesn’t want to admit thier misakes for fear of ridicule and teasing in a classroom setting. Kids are more apt to stay silent than to speak up for help. It first begins in the home, and in the school second, I would suspect that if teachers took the time to tap into each individual’s learning pattern and at least found common ground among students, the class room would be a more fun place to be and people would be better inclined to readily accept thier mistakes based on working as a creative unit as a whole.

I know with homeschooling, I am constantly trying to come up with creative ways to learning. It makes it fun and the hands on approach allows the individual to discover failures and success and teaches them the benefits of learning from one’s mistakes.

I also agree that learning is based on how much income potential you can make for your future. Somewhere along the way we attribute money as happiness. Where as we should be expanding our education based on our personal interests as many who have found success at jobs they like have said ” If you find a job that you love, you will never work a day in your life.” Success isn’t about money and the “things ” we have, but education is led around by it’s nose by economics, not values and healthy foundations of reaching goals that will bring you peace and happiness and in turn that will bring you success and even monatary gain. money first which will make you happy because of all the things you will be able to buy and your social standing.

We are teaching our daughter now at such a tender age, that she can be whatever she wants so long as that it allows her to grow as a person and gives her great joy.
Her carreer changes it seems at each homeschooling lesson… she has the world at her feet, and if she has many interests to keep her mind learning… that’s awesome.

You know they don’t teach life in school, living life has it’s ups and downs but it can be the best teacher you’ll ever have. I agree that class rooms need a big, huge change if they are going to work in today’s society, and now that I have been homeschooling for three years now, there’s no turning back for me.
And the more I have discovered that there are more families turning to this form of teaching more than ever… that speaks volumes!

Hope I stayed on topic abit… again winging it based on the posts here.

we moved from a province that had all kinds of support for homeschooling. although where we are now, they do promote homeschooling, there is the lack of available groups and internet access. So finding the interaction for our daughter with other kids is hard to find. We live out in the boonies, so when we are snowed in, it makes for longer school days. I’m thankful for that because when it’s hot and sunny here in the summer, we really don’t feel much like school work.

In the begning I became so overwhelmed and stressed that it showed, and it effected my teaching outcomes. I set such high goals for myself that ultimately set me up for failure. I soon took a step back and when something is overloading either of us, we take a break or even conclude for that day. I have learned to pace myself and juge what is easy for her, and spend alittle more time on the things she does struggle on. By taking the time I mean, not bombard the poor girl for an hour with math drills and equations but taking a week to go through it step by step…

I did have a fear that I wasn’t doing enough, and that I wasn’t proving enough that I was keeping her at grade level. Yes there are things we are behind on, not that we are severely behind, but there are other things that she has surpassed her grade level and has amazed me with her knowledge. Once I let up on myself though, and just relaxed, it is so much easier and beneficial now. I would like to be alittle bit more organized … I have lesson books everywhere. hahaha

Most schools especially the ones you register with for your homeschooling will allow your children to interact with the other kids in classes such as pe, art, and field trips… There are ways to include your kids and socialize them contrary to what the naysayers say … it seems with people who are against home schooling that is thier only concern…

My God, school sucks rank monkey butt.
Yeah, the kids in poor countries don’t get school, and they’re so much more appreciative than us and blah blah, but really- the school system does suck rank monkey butt.
I have to correct the English teacher’s spelling (she always uses an ’s when writing something in plural).
Another teacher called Virgina Wolf a “ranting feminazi” cause she wrote a poem where the main character was female.
We have to read stupid books none of us care about or can relate to, and the classics that are enjoyed (like Catcher in the Rye, 1000 Golden Suns) are banned for being too controversial and crude. Which turns kids off reading in general.
In Science, we learn about the PH level of something, or the value of a Resistor in a certain circuit, instead of things like the body or nature or global warming or anything cool and interesting and useful. It almost feels like they’re TRYING to make people drop out.
The Art teachers gives us eggs and tell us to make 5 drawings of them in different shades, instead of letting us draw what we freakin’ want.
These may sound like complaints, and you know what? They are. This is straight from an 11th grade 16 year old:
-The teachers are ignorant, which means the students’ll be too.
-The class curriculum is useless
-Did I mention schools get NO MONEY?
FIX IT.

See, I figure I’m lucky because I have educated parents and I know how to teach myself the other things. The school curriculum leaves SOOOOOO much important stuff out, and wastes it on useless things no one will ever use or remember.
For example, we never learn about space, the oceans, world geography, politics, current events, culture history (you know no one’s ever heard of blackface theater, The Twilight Zone, or Ronald Reagan?) etc.
I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I CANNOT carry a conversation with my friends, though I love them dearly.
They’re in school, but they’re not being EDUCATED. Spelling and grammar mistakes go unnoticed, they don’t read cause of having bad experiences from having to read dumb books in class, they don’t keep up with the news or pay attention to ANYTHING cause they’ve never been encouraged to, they don’t think for themselves and it’s pretty much a big waste of time. The schools are churning out more ignorance into the world than they are education.
I even had to STOP a teacher in the middle of a conversation with a girl because the teacher was adamently convincing her that the Elephant Man had leprocy, when he in fact haD Proteus syndrome. This goddamn teacher actually told me to butt out and I didn’t know what I was talking about, and I just wanted to scream at her “STOP TEACHING THEM BULLSH*T AND RUMOURS!” Students are hardly ever taught fact, but instead myths and the views of the teachers themselves.
But of course no one listens to me cause I’m the dumb A.D.D. girl with 50%s and they’re the godly all-knowing teachers.
I hate it.

lol I’m glad you had the patience to read all that.

I don’t know that they kill creativity. It really depends on the program of what you’re studying. The interaction with others, the exchange of ideas stimulates creativity in some collaborative and competitive areas. (Or it should in any case.) In other hard subjects like the sciences and math, initially, creativity must be suppressed while a student masters the fundamentals of a discipline. But this is only initially. At higher levels, creativity is absolutely necessary for success in school and I think schools foster that.

i should say that i hope that we don’t send our kids to school and think that it will magically shape our kids into what we want them to be. education is essential, but i believe it is the parents’ responsibility to raise their kids, not the school.

when i was a baby, i was always outside, and being out of doors is the greatest stimulant a child can have. as a small child, i was collecting rolly-pollies and finding baby birds and such and climbing trees. sure i watched some TV, but it paled in comparison to being outside. my parents would take me to lakes and parks and we would bikeride places. THIS is where your child’s experience should come from.

there are all sorts of recreational programs from kids to enter into. i myself explored cooking, art, chess, soccer, basketball, and natural studies. i joined summer camps at the city zoo and dissected dogfish at the museum of natural history. i even fell into the lagoon one time (now THAT was an experience! :] ) all this was outside of school.

for myself and my two younger siblings, my parents always made sure we had our options open to us. we had tinker toys to build with, toy dolls, dinosaurs, monsters, and even giant toy bugs. we had illustrated versions of all the great classics, so i was able to read greats like The Fall of the House of Usher, Dracula, Moby Dick, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. We had books on japanese, egyptian, greek, roman, norse, and irish mythology. we frequently visited the library so i could satisfy my random interest phases, from sharks to mummies, to indian captives to the titanic tragedy.

schools are here to educate our children academically. they are not a substitute for raising our children. it would be my responsibility as a parent to teach my child to explore his or her creativity, and develop his or her moral character. when people blame their kid’s problems on the school, it’s most often because of negligent parenting.