Lately in Rogate, my gifted class, we've been talking about all this creativity stuff. What exactly is creativity? Researchers claim it is the ability to first use divergent thinking to generate unique ideas and then employing convergent thinking to execute these ideas in a practical way. You're looking a bit shocked that I haven't mentioned writing moody soliloquies deep into the night or painting your heart out. These are misconceptions about creativity; that it's exclusive to the arts. The idea is that we should incorporate this kind of thinking into our core classes instead of excluding it to art class only.

Researchers are noticing a steady decline in creativity scores in the U.S., while our IQ scores are rising. There's this interesting phrase that I think applies to this; be a writer, not a typer. The thing about our current education style in the U.S. is that we're trained to memorize facts and we're given very little freedom to actually bounce around with ideas. In other words, we're typers, never really coming up with new ideas; merely repeating what we've been taught. And, in all honesty, spitting back memorized information doesn't take too much brain power. For instance, in my English class, I was asked to write a "silly story" that incorporated vocabulary words we've been studying. At first glance, I thought this would be pretty neat, but then I realized that the plot was already written out for me. Needless to say, I furiously deviated from the pre-written plot and wrote a rap for the story instead. Not expecting an A on that one.

In China, their education is progressing in accordance with their social progress. They are no longer using the "drill-and-kill" teaching style. Instead, they're using problem-based education. This challenges the students to think in innovative ways to solve real-life problems. Because I'm all for progressiveness in life, the idea of problem-based education is appealing to me. All the while, as I'm reading this information I can't help but feel angry-truly, deeply frustrated. Why are we going back to antiquated teaching methods that are only doing us a diservice? You really think that hitting us over the head with textbooks will push our math and science scores forward? Giant squid of anger here.

With my dad in the Air Force, I've been to six schools so far. Not to say I'm some sort of education connoisseur or anything, but I kind of am. The most interesting school I went to was one in, get this, Texas. While I hated the state of Texas itself, the particular school I went to was an open floor plan school. There were no doors, no constricting hallways, and the gifted program I was in was stellar. All this created for an open-minded atmosphere and I really enjoyed my four months as a student at the school. The last school I was at was less fortunate. They offered four electives, there was no gifted program for middle school students, and it was an incredibly small school. Through all of this, I've seen the schools that need updating and the ones that are pulsating with inventive and creative thinkers. I've been lucky enough to have my own views and ideas encouraged and supported by most of my teachers.

In my gifted program in fourth through sixth grade, I was in a literature circle where I was to read novels and create ads marketing the books I'd read. Not only did this get me interested in marketing, it opened me to the world of filmmaking. In fifth grade, my teacher, the zany Mrs. Jaeger, challenged me to take a problem in life, come up with a solution for it, and market it at a convention called Marketplace for Kids. I also enrolled in this fantastic program called Starbase, where we studied STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). We built our own robots, designed race cars, and presented our projects to judges. Incidentally, my team won nationals for both of these projects. Coincidence? I think not.

My best friend recently moved to Louisiana, which doesn't have a reputation for great schools. She's a freshman in high school and she's not only limited to a few electives to choose from, but her core classes are sub-par. Kind of sucks to know that you're not being given exploratory classes but that you're also getting a crappy education. It's unfortunate that these students are not being given a great foundation for exploring their creativity and skills.
I don't think creativity is lost altogether. I think it's a matter of infusing it back into schools and cultivating creative thinking.