Where's the Creativity?

Consider this parable, The Little Boy, written by juvenile fiction and picture book author Helen E. Buckley. As you read it, ask yourself: “Does this really happen to children in American public schools?”

Once a little boy went to school.

One morning, when the little boy had been in school a while, his teacher said: "Today we are going to make a picture."

"Good!" thought the little boy. He liked to make pictures. He could make all kinds. Lions and tigers, Chickens and cows, trains and boats, and he took out his box of crayons and began to draw.

But the teacher said: "Wait! It is not time to begin!" And she waited until everyone looked ready. "Now," said the teacher, "We are going to make flowers."

"Good!” thought the little boy, he liked to make flowers, and he began to make beautiful ones with his pink and orange and blue crayons.

But the teacher said “Wait! And I will show you how.” And it was red with a green stem. “There,” said the teacher, “Now you may begin.”

The little boy looked at the teacher’s. Then he looked at this own flower. He liked his flower better than the teacher’s. But he did not say this. He just turned his paper over. And made a flower like the teacher’s. It was red with a green stem.

On another day, when the little boy had opened the door from the outside all by himself, the teacher said: “Today we are going to make something with clay.”

“Good!” thought the little boy. Snakes and snowmen, elephants and mice, cars, and trucks, and he began to pull and pinch his ball of clay.

But the teacher said: “Wait!” It is not time to begin!” And she waited until everyone looked ready. “Now,” said the teacher, “We are going to make a dish.”

He liked to make dishes. And he began to make some that were all shapes and sizes.

But the teacher said, “Wait! And I will show you how.” And she showed everyone how to make a deep dish. “There,” said the teacher. “Now you may begin.”

The little boy looked at the teacher’s dish, then he looked at his own. He liked his dish better than the teacher’s. But he did not say this. He just rolled his clay into a big ball again. And made a dish like the teacher’s. It was a deep dish.

And pretty soon the little boy learned to wait, and to watch and to make things just like the teacher. And pretty soon he didn’t make things of his own anymore.

Then it happened that the little boy and his family moved to another house, in another city, and the little boy had to go to another school.

And the very first day he was there the teacher said: “Today we are going to make a picture.”

“Good!” thought the little boy and he waited for the teacher to tell him what to do. But the teacher didn’t say anything. She just walked around the room. When she came to the little boy she said, “Don’t you want to make a picture?”

“Yes,” said the little boy. “What are we going to make?”

“I don’t know until you make it,” said the teacher.

“How shall I make it?” asked the little boy.

“Why, any way you like,” said the teacher.

“Any color?” asked the little boy.

“Any color,” said the teacher. “If everyone made the same picture, and they used the same colors, how would I know who made what?”

“I don’t know,” said the little boy.

And he began to make a red flower with a green stem."

Now, back to the question. “Does this really happen to children in American public schools?” The sad and definitive answer is “yes.” And it happens to a degree and with a frequency that is disturbing. So, the next question that should be asked is “why?” Why is it that one of the greatest gifts children carry with them to school, their creativity, is systematically undervalued and, over time, may be fundamentally squashed? There are three words that provide a sufficient answer. Actually, they are as much an indictment as they are rationale. Control, conformity and standardization.

The American system of public education is one that values standardization. We see evidence of this claim everywhere. We see it in the way schools are organized, how curriculum is delivered and how learning is assessed. Traveling from one school to another, one is likely to observe startling similarities in the structures imposed and the experiences of children. By its very definition, standardization suggests a lack of individualization. It is this distinction that is the root of the devaluing of creativity in classrooms. Creativity is not something that lends itself to standardization. Creative classrooms may be messy. They’re frequently noisy. The flowers drawn are likely to display vivid coloration and exotic interpretations. There is no “one right answer.” The solutions presented are as varied and unique as the learners themselves. They are environments that are vibrant. It is this vibrancy that makes them unpredictable, which seems to fly in the face of any expectations of conformity.

The learning environments alluded to in the previous paragraph are threatening to many educators. They fear that in embracing them, they may be abdicating notions of necessary control. I cite research in my book, The Education Kids Deserve, that speaks to this disquieting need for control and the devaluation of student creativity. Among them is Anna Craft and her 2001 Analysis of Research and Literature on Creativity in Education. She concluded:

“Teachers tend to devalue independence of judgement and the involvement of emotion - two factors in personality studies of creativity with high creative potential. Teachers put a very low value on creativity traits and their perceptions of creativity are centered around its intellectual aspects and problem-solving processes.”

Liane Gabora, writing for The Creativity Post in 2017, “What Creativity Really Is and Why Schools Need It” suggests:

“Although educators claim to value creativity, they don’t always prioritize it. Teachers often have biases against creative students, fearing that creativity in the classroom will be disruptive. They devalue creative personality attributes such as risk taking, impulsivity and independence. They inhibit creativity by focusing on the reproduction of knowledge and obedience in class.”

These two authors reinforce the answer to our fundamental question. Do American children experience a devaluation of their creativity in school? Despite the contemporary need for an educational experience that relies on collaboration, inquisitiveness, innovation (and, yes, creativity), we settle for the experience of the little boy.

“And pretty soon the little boy learned to wait, and to watch and to make things just like the teacher. And pretty soon he didn’t make things of his own anymore.”

That is not the education kids need or the one they deserve.