Where has the creative teacher gone and how is this loss affecting our children? Changes in teaching: When I first began my teaching career teachers were allowed to manipulate the provided curriculum, teachers could even write their own lessons and supplement with creative projects. In those days teachers were allowed to rearrange or add to the lessons in order to make them more interesting and fun for their students.
Unfortunately, these days of freedom did not last. Education became more controlled as high test scores equaled funding and students learning became more about those all important test scores rather than taking the time to teach children using creative methods—which encouraged creativity and critical problem solving skills.
The following article is one of the best I’ve read in a long time. It was recently published in the Scientific American by Andrea Kuszewki and discusses “The Educational Value of Creative Disobedience”.
Based on my own teaching experiences and research I believe this is a must-read for all educators and parents of young children.
In this article Kuszewki refers to two studies “…each took a different approach to assess how teaching style influences learning, but both drew the same conclusions. The type and intensity of direct instruction we give children, from a very young age, has a profound impact on how they approach learning and creative exploration. They found that too much direct instruction—showing a child what to do, rather than letting him figure out the solution himself—can severely affect his ability and/or instinct to independently and creatively solve problems, or to explore multiple potential solutions.”
The author states research, gives suggestions, and requests a “call for action”.
Read more of this article here: The Educational Value of Creative Disobedience
Where have the creative teachers gone? We’re right here, just give us back our freedom.
