Creativity:
I feel a little passionate about this- I feel like education in this day and age does in fact "squander" children's creativity! As we tell kids to use such and such specific program on a computer to show creativity, we are taking away the thoughts of "should I act it out? make a poster? write a report? color pictures?" We expect them to use what is on this specific program. I think we need to let them be kids! Let them be original... they will learn how to use a computer in due time! They don't need to learn to draw on a computer paint program! Give them a piece of paper and box of Crayons! let them create something outlandish! We get so worried about preparing them... we need to calm down and realize that they are still kids, and that is OK! We need to challenge them to think and be independent, but let them have fun... and make mistakes. The goal isn't to make the perfect child who never makes a mistake, but it is to mold a child into thinking for themselves and knowing what to do after making an inevitable mistake.
I love how Sir Ken Robinson said "all are born artists, but most grow out of it." This is so true- if we box them in to only what is on a computer or what we want them to do, we are discouraging this creative drive. As we continue to stress ourselves out about forming children who will meet the demands of our coming day and age, we automatically take out all the fun creative things that come with being a child, because we think there is no time for that, because we have to raise them to run the world! So we have to start now! In a (very small) way, I agree with that, but let them be children first! A kindergartner does not need to know how to make a google portfolio! Let them go build a tree house, learning how to creatively construct by making mistakes and learning from them! There is something fascinating about watching what a child will come up with, given a field, tree, and a stick of wood! Where I grew up, my town was a tiny farming and logging town. Building tree houses and digging bunkers into a hillside is what we did. It taught me problem-solving, curiosity, creativity, and so much more. At our house, my parents said we were never allowed to say "I am bored!" And we never wanted to! But as I see other kids who grew up in other situations, with their creativity being stomped out, they can't function without having the amusement of a television or computer- they can't make their own fun, solve their own problems, or come up with their own solutions. But it is OK, because they can just google anything to find the answer so they never have to think for themselves! I hope you find this as sad as I do... I don't see the great advances that this day and age has brought us. We need to push kids to create and imagine (not just on a computer!), and they will grow into the demands of this society as soon as they become established as a creative, curious, common-sense, and problem solving person.
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Hi Jesse,
ReplyDeleteI just had a long response typed out to you and I pressed a button and poof, it was gone.
First of all, several students in our class have done this assignment already and have some very strong opinions. I'm so excited for our discussion Tuesday night!
I totally agree with you that kids should be allowed to be kids with a box of crayons or leaves they find outside or whatever! A kindergartner should never be expected to create a google site to house their portfolio. That would be an extremely inappropriate use of technology. I do believe, however, that technology can and should be used at the lower levels by teachers to help the kids store their creative efforts. Much like the video tape of the kindergartners portfolio that we saw last Tuesday (after I got the sound working.) Technology can also aid the teacher in getting things done more quickly and efficiently.
Just a personal example... My first year teaching, I had a first grade teacher come to me and wanted to collaborate on a unit she was doing with her students. Through wonderful, beautiful books she had selected from the library, she was teaching her students about animal habitats. She would read a book about the ocean and for the week, they would intensely study the ocean environment. When she got to the plains and praries, she selected a book called "Where the Buffalo Roam." It was based on the song "Home on the Range". She had each of her student take a verse of the song and create a detailed picture showing their verse. I then taught the song the the children and they each had a solo on their verse. To culminate this, we videotaped the children holding up their pictures and singing the song. It took us about an hour to get a descent "take" and even then, it wasn't everyone's best effort. The children were soooo proud of their "movie". We even had a parent's night where they showcased each of the environments they studied and showed their movie. The parents loved watching the video.
If I had to do that project over today, I imagine it would be much more efficient and the quality of the final movie would be so much better. I would probably take a photo of each child with their picture and then I would have them sing their verse individually and I would record it in garageband. I would then take their best take and combine it all into one sound track. I would import it into I-movie and then combine it all for the final video. They actual instructional time it would take to do this with the students would probably be less than 1/2 hour and I would have a much higher quality of video.
I very much agree with you that kids need to be kids! I really think that where the technology comes in the younger grades is 90% teacher directed. I would not let a young child just have at a computer. However, as this semester goes on, I hope you will see how you can greatly enrich a students learning, by teacher use of technology.
Sorry for the typos. I didn't dare go back and fix them. That's how I lost my last post.
ReplyDeleteSee you Tuesday!