Importance of Creativity in Education
Since schools are trying to untie the barrier of creativity in the classroom, these measures, surveys and inventories could benefit the school as a whole. Some barriers that conflict the amount of creativity that occurs in the classroom include the notion that some teachers are ‘old-fashion’ so to speak, where they feel comfortable teaching utilizing the textbook where everything is laid out for them. The teachers that may have numerous years of experience also fear change and get accustomed to the content each year and may even become lazy because they have done it over and over throughout the years, so why change the way it is taught? Also, timing can be a major issue and concern. Teachers are extremely busy and have overloaded schedules. Additionally, “Policies for creativity and innovation in education need to be in line with other policies and with what is demanded from teachers and students, as contradictory messages will increase uncertainty and confusion and further impede the adoption of necessary measure for a creative learning environment.” Unfortunately, it can also be difficult to encourage creativity when sometimes the ultimate goal is behavior management. When I think of encouraging creativity, I also think about working in groups and giving the students some freedom to go above and beyond the norm. However, how would I consider allowing that to occur if a student is misbehaving and not attaining self-control? I think most educators would agree that it is definitely easier said than done. Can and should creativity be encouraged MORE in the classrooms? YES. It just takes time and practice in order to incorporate it the right way. Furthermore, all of the ridiculous testing such as the NYS tests are difficult enough for the teachers to spend time preparing for. Teachers become stressed and pressed for time due to the reflection it has on them. Also, working at a charter school can be stressful because our school can be shut down due to low test scores. Obviously, teachers at my school do their best to spend time getting the students prepared and spend time practicing for the tests. Consequently, it comes down to the teachers. They need to be taught how to teach creativity. If they don’t have the foundation or the skills of ‘how’ to teach creativity, how are the students supposed to be creative?