10 Ways Schools Kill Creativity
1. By giving students specific guidelines for writing an essay. I believe that there is no room for creativity or personal input. It is either right, if they stuck to the guideline or wrong, because they did not.
2. By the ministry of education imposing a structured curriculum. The curriculum forces teachers to rush through the year in order to finish the curriculum. Different students have different paces of learning and if they are being rushed, they are not being given the opportunity to express their creativity.
3. By not providing enough choice in regard to classes. Students are given limited choices such as art, drama or music. These choices are not broad enough and schools should incorporate different types of classes like home economics, design, or education in order to provide a greater variety.
4. By forcing certain project topics upon students instead of allowing them to choose their own topic.
5. By not taking into account students’ multiple intelligences. Some students are more visual, others more auditory or some are more hands on. For example, in an art class, some students have no talent but they shouldn’t be penalized if their work is not as well presented. What should count is creativity and effort.
6. By forcing students to sit in class for two hours straight, listen and take notes. Schools should incorporate collaborative and discovery learning.
7. By blocking out wrong answers or answers that are not exactly what the teacher wants to hear. Students should be praised for their ideas; regardless of whether it is exactly the answer the teacher is looking for.
8. By making schools more focused on theory rather than hands-on learning and activities.
9. By providing students with multiple choice questions instead of short answers where they are able to justify their answer.
10. By focusing on memorization instead of finding a different strategy to teach students. For example, a history teacher should not force students to memorize dates but rather allow students to gain a more in-depth understanding of certain points in history, why they happened and the repercussions.
For another perspective, take a look at this video:
2. By the ministry of education imposing a structured curriculum. The curriculum forces teachers to rush through the year in order to finish the curriculum. Different students have different paces of learning and if they are being rushed, they are not being given the opportunity to express their creativity.
3. By not providing enough choice in regard to classes. Students are given limited choices such as art, drama or music. These choices are not broad enough and schools should incorporate different types of classes like home economics, design, or education in order to provide a greater variety.
4. By forcing certain project topics upon students instead of allowing them to choose their own topic.
5. By not taking into account students’ multiple intelligences. Some students are more visual, others more auditory or some are more hands on. For example, in an art class, some students have no talent but they shouldn’t be penalized if their work is not as well presented. What should count is creativity and effort.
6. By forcing students to sit in class for two hours straight, listen and take notes. Schools should incorporate collaborative and discovery learning.
7. By blocking out wrong answers or answers that are not exactly what the teacher wants to hear. Students should be praised for their ideas; regardless of whether it is exactly the answer the teacher is looking for.
8. By making schools more focused on theory rather than hands-on learning and activities.
9. By providing students with multiple choice questions instead of short answers where they are able to justify their answer.
10. By focusing on memorization instead of finding a different strategy to teach students. For example, a history teacher should not force students to memorize dates but rather allow students to gain a more in-depth understanding of certain points in history, why they happened and the repercussions.
For another perspective, take a look at this video: