If you ask a kindergartener to draw a picture, they’ll probably give you bold colors and unique ideas on paper. If you were to ask a high schooler the same question, they’d probably respond “What would you like me to draw?”
This is because a kindergartener is still innocent to the rigorous systems of modern education. We value curriculum, standardized testing, and other methods that devalue exploration and, in turn, creativity.
With an increase in testing based on memorization, older students find it harder not only to express themselves adequately but also to differentiate themselves from their peers, who share similar knowledge and skills.
Kloe Diekevers, a fourth-year student at the University of Iowa studying elementary education, understands how the current education system was designed to encourage conformity rather than creativity.
“Montessori schools are, in my opinion, ultimately better [than public high schools] because there is more room for creativity. I think creativity can show a lot about how a child understands something,” Diekevers said. “Oftentimes, if they don’t know the words for something, they will draw or create it to communicate how they understand.”
Montessori schools, founded by Dr. Maria Montessori, were created in hopes that students would get to have a more holistic and creative environment to accompany their learning. It is a more hands-on method, rather than simply reading and memorizing information from a book.
Montessori schools allow students to have their own way of learning, rather than a set curriculum like many of us had growing up. In Iowa, Montessori schools are a rarity – there are only a few in the entire state.
It’s no secret that educators and students alike believe creativity is often overlooked in favor of a false sense of “intelligence.” An intelligence that the system drills into students through intense coursework and memorization of relatively unimportant concepts.
When I was younger, I was incredibly creative. Whether I was drawing, painting, playing music, or even just using my imagination, I was capable of anything.
Eventually, my life became increasingly centered around school, and my ability to be creative became a distant memory.
Aside from creativity serving as an outlet for expression, it can also lead people to explore a less-traveled career in the arts and ultimately broader societal development.
When we think about advancement, we often think immediately of scientific or technological developments like artificial intelligence. However, all of those things come from someone being creative; those advancements are not possible without thinking outside of the box.
How is raising an entire generation of uncreative students going to allow this rate of advancement to continue? In short, it won’t.
But it isn’t just Diekevers and me who think this way. In 2013, more than 120 authors, including prominent children’s writers, sent an open letter to former President Barack Obama, warning him that they believed creativity was at risk from modern education.
It’s also important to mention that the lack of creativity isn’t the fault of the teachers. In a column published by Midlands Daily News on Aug. 8, Justin MacDonald argues the issue lies in the use of an education system designed for a time when conformity was the goal — not creativity.
However, this isn’t something that can just be solved by changing education, because I don’t believe creativity can be taught in the classroom. It can only be encouraged and allowed to flourish.
An increase in promoting creativity can lead not just children, but everyone, to novelty and important development.