One of the reasons creativity is so important to our future is the need for innovative thinkers who can find solutions to the major challenges we face. And our environment is one of them.
Global warming. The rainforest. Our dependence on fuel. These are big issues that require big solutions. And they won’t be resolved by our generation. We’re going to have to pass them on to the next.
And we need to prepare that next generation by cultivating an environment in which they can prepare.
We need to give our children space to experiment. To play around. To tinker. To explore. To wonder. To discover. To fail and then persevere.
If there isn’t soil on which they can to do these things, how will they ever grow?
If we keep measuring aptitude through specific answers to specific questions marked by a series of darkened bubbles on a test sheet, how will we ever know students’ full potential? How will they realize it?
As we move forward with school reform, shouldn’t planting a creative environment in the classroom be part of the dialogue?