Quote:
Originally Posted by boo boo
Schools teaching creativity is counterproductive.
How can you mold someone to be another cog in the wheel if they start being "creative"?
Schools don't want you to be creative, they want you to be efficient. Creativity is for commies.
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This does seem to be partly correct, boo boo, based on what I've seen while volunteering at an Iowan elementary school. The 1st grade class was so full of rules and negative vibes I thought I'd get an ulcer by just volunteering. Kids were told to *whisper* the whole time they did projects. If a child made an exclamation of joy or surprise, s/he lost a "cube" (and whichever team of kids ended up with the most cubes at the end of the day would get a prize). I understand that the teacher is trying to get strict discipline to make sure she can teach all the kids how to read, write, and do simple math, yet it was painful to watch children forced so strongly to conform, especially since I know from my own exprerience that educating children does not have to stunt their enthusiasm and creativity by loading them down with rules.
This grade school class in which I volunteer is completely opposite of the "Alternative Program" I attended in Iowa from 1st to 4th grade, back in the 1970's when people were trying to alter public education to inspire creativity. Our alternative class (for 1st - 6th graders, all in one classroom) had no desks. We got to learn at our own pace. We got to build forts and make homes for snakes we brought in from outside. We had lots of art and science projects that we could do, or not do, depending on what we wanted.
The basic model of this Alternative Program classroom was that kids (people) *love* learning and if you provide a lot of activities and opportunities for them they will naturally explore, learn, create. You don't have to force them to learn or to conform. We called our teacher Ruth. Our teachers were friends and guides. There was none of this "Mrs." and "Mr." so-and-so that is required in regular schools as a "sign of respect" for teachers. Notice how in regular classrooms the teachers don't call children "Mr." or "Mrs."--so you can quickly tell that the adults *don't* respect children as much as adults, and they feel being an authority figure is extremely important.
Eventually, the school district ended the Alternative Program class in our community...not because the students weren't doing well, but because the program so challenged the authority of the traditional school system philosophy. Luckily, I was a beneficiary of an open-minded school philosophy as a child before conservatives snuffed it out. Those were the best 4 years of my school career.