Due Thursday---#1 Journal Modern American Themes: Facing the Future With Creativity
Teachers like me can get you (sometimes) to be a bit creative within the restrictive academic structure that is St. Mark's. Maybe you'll compose a sweet poem, write a whopper of a story, or do an Irish dance in front of your classmates (one little soph girl did!). But after your brief flight into the creative stratosphere, your prop plane sputters and you parachute safely into the safe rows and desks of the classroom, willing, like a circus animal, to jump through a hoop that I hold there for you while you are safely on the ground. And believe me, I'm NOT criticizing you.
During Monday's class, I noted six points of Sir Ken Robinson's TED talk and we later talked about them briefly in class on Tuesday. Here they are:
1. Kids will take a chance: e.g. the picture of
God and “Frank sent this”
2. “All children are born artists” Pablo Picasso.
3. Robinson’s book Epiphany, and one of
its subjects, Gillian Lynne.
4 Educational system is like strip
mining.
5 . There was a wonderful quote by Jonas Salk, who said, "If all the insects were to
disappear from the 6. Earth, within 50 years all life on Earth would end. If all human beings disappeared
from the Earth, within 50 years all forms of life would flourish."
6. Educate our children’s whole being so that they can face this
future.
Normally, I ask three direct questions and ask you to respond to one. This time, however, I want YOU to think of your own prompt that is based on anything in Sir Ken's talk. I'd like to give you some suggestions, but I want you to think; I want you to respond to the talk in any way. Anything more than 100 words will do. With this assignment, I'm more interested in your original ideas or experiences than your ability to write.
In 1974 I was a white and (not completely) nerdy senior at St. Elizabeth's High School, a decent basketball player and golfer, without a musical muscle in my body. But I convinced by my friend Bobby Szczecinski to try out for the school musical, Once Upon a Mattress. I didn't get a part---I was "just" part of the chorus---but I'm glad I went through the experience. I was christened Sir John, had one memorable line that I "killed" (that's good), and wore purple tights (why do knights have to wear tights?) on stage in front of thous... well, a few hundred people. That was one time that I took a chance. It was my "picture of God" and "Frank sent this" moment.
No, I didn't become an actor, but if I break out in song or play a tune on Youtube once in a while during class, you know that it's because I have a love of music that includes cheesy show tunes.
posted by JTF @ 9:39 PM
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46 Comments:
Is the new developments in the medical and health field better or worse for students?
Gillian Lynne is an extremely talented dancer that has choreographed incredible musicals such as The Phantom of the Opera and Cats. But as a child, she could not pay attention in school and constantly fidgeted in class. When Lynne’s mother took her to the doctor, he proclaimed that she was a dancer and should be enrolled into a dance school. If Gillian Lynne was taken to a doctor today, she would be diagnosed with ADHD and given proper medication to help her calm down, and her talent would never be known. In the past few years, medicine has grown rapidly and has helped countless people. But the new method of simply giving drugs to fix problems may be destroying kids’ talents. Doctors and parents may be more inclined to simply medicate until the problem goes away instead of looking for and treating the underlying causes. Despite this the development of medicine has helped many kids overcome other mental and behavioral conditions. The development of the study of autism has helped many disabled children learn and grow in ways that help them. And the new medication for mental disorders such as anxiety and clinical depression has helped countless people as well. The new developments in medicine and healthcare has hurt and helped many people. The best course possible in the future is to continue the development of new medicines, but to put more emphasis on therapy and first looking into those routes instead of simply prescribing drugs.
There was a wonderful quote by Jonas Salk, who said, "If all the insects were to disappear from the Earth, within 50 years all life on Earth would end. If all human beings disappeared from the Earth, within 50 years all forms of life would flourish." What does this tell you about humans and their relationship with the rest of the world? We must really be screwing up. What is the reason for this? What do we do the the Earth to cause so much destruction? Why do we seem to be doing this when other species don’t cause such destruction? What we really need to do is find out what we are doing to cause this destruction. Some of it we have no idea that certain actions cause this. No one is looking into this. No one is preventing this. Why not? This will cause our demise. We need to actually start caring and working to stop this madness. How should we do this? Look at all of the animals, plants, and other types of creatures that are close to extinction. What is causing their demise? Once we find this out, we simply work to stop this. By saving what species we have left, we are working to make the Earth better and stop our own demise. There may be no help for already extinct species, but there is still hope for human kind.
Anyone who knows me will tell you that I don’t have an artistic bone in my body. I am quick to tell people that I am artistically challenged, whether it be singing, dancing, acting, drawing, you name it. However, that is not to say that you’ll never hear me singing off key to a song or moving my body parts spasmodically in what only I can call a dance move. I have one of the most curious collections of stations on my Pandora you’ve ever seen and you will more often than not find me doodling during class (sorry Fio, it’s a bad habit). I’ve taken part in two school plays in middle school (because it was required, but it wasn’t the teeth pulling-esque experience I expected) and love to go to the theater whenever I visit New York. I believe that it is important for kids to be well rounded and to be educated in the arts and to have that time to be creative. You don’t necessarily have to be the best singer or dancer (let’s face it, we can’t all be child prodigies), but you don’t have to exclude yourself from the arts just because you don’t have an aptitude for them. Instead, use that time to be an enthusiast and lose yourself in the world that that song, or play, or painting creates. Use that time to let your imagination work in a way that it can’t during a normal 9-to-5 (or for us 8-to-3) day. Because when you watch someone creating that art, they look happy. And when you see someone else that at peace with the world, you can’t help but be like that, too.
As a child, the one thing I could not stop doing was tapping my feet and fingers wherever I went. This single act annoyed the heck out of everyone around me (especially my parents, my older brother, and my teachers) and everyone would always ask me to stop. They would ask and I would stop (for a few minutes) and then go right back to tapping again. I could not explain to my parents or my teachers why I did it, but for some reason I would always keep tapping. Looking back now, everyone was trying to strip me of what I did that was different (tapping) and make me more like everyone else. However, on my tenth birthday my Uncle, trying to be funny and annoy my parents, gave me a drum set. After picking up the drumsticks I sat down on the stool and I began playing. My family was astonished when they heard that I could keep a beat and I had never played before. I was hooked to drums and was a natural the day I got them. My success at home with the drums led me to join my band at school and I played in it all the way until I graduated. My whole child hood everyone around me wanted to make me normal and if they had succeeded I would have never found my love for music, which I still have today. Although I have switched to playing the guitar and singing, all I ever want to do is play music. Similarly to my tapping as a kid, I can’t help but sing or hum my favorite songs all day long. For some reason I was born with rhythm and music in my blood and no one has ever successfully taken it out of me and I will never let them succeed. My dream job would be to become a country singer and hopefully one day it will, but if it does not I will keep tapping my feet and humming my favorite songs until the day that I die.
This Ted Talk by Sir Ken Robinson was one of the first of it's kind, and he really set the bar quite high. One point that we focused on was how he explained that all children are born artists. This really made me think. When people think of artists their may minds drift to Davinci, Freda Kahlo, or even the local Andrew Wyeth. Children's minds have not developed to a point where they can think abstractly, but this is the beauty. Their picture of the world is exactly as they see it. They are not trying to be someone that they aren't and in most cases have no filter, which can cause some amusement at times. But along the way we start to loose this ability of complete expression. We are shaped by society. We learn how we are supposed to act and then our ways of thinking are not so transparent. Thoughts are not about what is on the surface or exactly what we see, it's deeper than that. This is not to say that gaining the ability to think deeper into things is not an important skill we need, but what if we could get back this child like state of mind? I think this would provoke a greater interaction between people above anything else. As a child, everyone is friends with everyone, there is no status quo. But as we age this begins to shift. Cliques form and people become excluded. What if we did not put up these walls? Where would society be today? Most likely in a place with less crime and better relationships between individuals. We all have different strengths and weaknesses, if there was more of a collaborative effort between social groups I bet that we would be so much farther ahead in advancements. So Picasso is right, children in their own way are artists. They are not afraid to be exactly who they are, this is something that we should try to remember.
Prompt: Imagine your life if creativity was promoted in your daily life.
The bright sun shines through my window, waking me around noon for a full day of school. My assignments from yesterday are completed and hanging from my wall. English homework was to read a short story and illustrate the characters however I imagined them in my mind. Math homework was to count the number of things that brought us joy as we encountered them, and art homework was to take pictures of these things. I only had three classes, and I had the ability to choose them. After three weeks, I could drop, swap, or add classes to create a dynamic mix of subjects. And after six weeks, there were student designed field trips that intertwined the subjects, which was my favorite part. School was always exciting, and the moment it began to dull, a student never failed to bring up a new idea to improve the system.
Sir Ken Robinson quotes Pablo Picasso in saying that “All children are born artists.” When most people hear the word “artist” they think of people like Degas, Monet, and of course Picasso himself. We have this scheme of what an artist is, but in reality everyone is truly born an artist. Children say what’s on their mind and are creative beyond belief. They don’t have the full knowledge of the world around them, and this allows them to be creative and imagine things. At some point in life, this creativity and imagination is lost. Every kid likes to color or draw or sculpt play-dough, but not everyone is as creative as they continue through life. Why is this? It’s because of society. Everyone is so concerned with fitting in rather than being their own unique individual that that creativity and inner artist can get lost. Talent is not what got people like Pablo Picasso so incredibly famous; it was the fact that he never lost his childhood sense of creativity and imagination. We all have this inner artist. It is up to us to keep it alive.
In his TED talk, Sir Ken Robinson talked about the hierarchy of importance placed on different subjects in school: math and science first, then the humanities, and finally the arts with art and theater, and dance last. In my grade school, I watched as art was pushed into the background. Near the end of grade school, the only way a student could participate in art if in middle school was if he or she went during lunch. I listened as my teachers, my parents, and other adults constantly lectured on the importance of math and science. I quietly accepted the fact that to get a “great” job I would have to get into a top university. And to get into a top university, I would have to have the high grades, high SATs, leadership, and extracurricular activities all bundled up in a perfect little package that would define who I was in the eyes of a college acceptance committee. I internalized the opinions of those who constantly said that I could not get a good job if I went into the arts or even if I went into the humanities. So, I gave up my dream of becoming an author shortly after middle school. My mom said I did not have the patience to write a book anyway. And in my junior year, I decided to pursue a career in the medical field. Maybe if I was daring enough, reckless enough, to ignore all those internalized opinions, I would have the courage to go into the movie production business. I have always loved a good movie: the subtle nuances of the lighting and the setting, and the delicate balance of just enough dialogue to convey an emotion. But despite knowing how to become an engineer, a doctor, and a businesswoman, I have never been taught how to go about majoring in something that would allow me to go into film production. Besides, even if I did, it wouldn’t get me a good job anyway, right?
I was born singing. That’s not an exaggeration. I was born one month prematurely, and as a result, had excess fluid in my lungs. To get it out, the doctor held me upside down and hit me until the fluid came out. The sound that erupted from my mouth is what the doctor called “singing.” In a very literal sense, I was born to sing, to make music. I felt a strong connection when Sir Ken Robinson spoke about Gillian Lynne, the famous choreographer who was thought to have a learning disability because she could not sit still. When I was in fifth grade, my humanities teacher recommended to my mother to have me tested because they thought I was unfocused and flighty. Their main concern was the fact that I couldn’t stop humming in class. Of course, they found that there was nothing wrong with me. I just loved to sing and make music. What the teachers did not see, is that it helped me focus. Since then, I have suppressed the urge to hum because it’s a distraction and an annoyance to other people, but I have not stopped using it to focus. When I’m at the height of focus, I often “play the flute” on my desk. By that I mean that I rest my fingertip on top of my desk and act like they are actually on my flute. Usually I play a simple scale, other times I play an entire song that I’ve memorized. Most people think it’s bizarre, but I do it all the time, and that’s not me being unfocused. It’s the exact opposite. I have often gotten the questions, “why aren’t you studying music in college?” To be honest, I don’t have a good answer. I always tell people the same thing: “It’s not practical, I won’t find a job.” But that’s not the real reason. I am afraid. I have been conditioned from a young age to think that music is not a real field of study, not a real career. So now, even though it’s my first, and sometimes my only, love, I do not plan to study music in college. And I often fear that in 20 years I’m going to look back and wish that I had taken a chance and pursued what I loved. Music is very intimately part of my very being, and somehow, I was talked into denying that part of me for the sake of practicality. I believe that this is what Sir Robinson’s entire point was in his TED talk. Even though it was my choice in the end, the educational system certainly played a role in my decision to discontinue my formal study of music. In many ways, schools are truly killing creativity.
If you know me, or have seen me in the ice cream aisle of a grocery store, you know I am a very indecisive person. I wish I wasn’t so indecisive but because of this, I am more willing to take chances because I want to try anything and everything and I consider all of the options available. In this TED talk, it was mentioned that kids will take a chance and that holds true for my childhood. Growing up, I wanted to play every instrument. I wanted to play the guitar, so for one birthday; I got a pretty pink guitar. Sadly, this didn’t last very long. Truthfully, I just liked how “cool” I thought I looked holding it more than actually trying to play the instrument. I also wanted to play the violin, and I did. I knew nothing about the violin but in 4th grade, I took a chance and picked up the instrument. That lasted about 4 months, but I did learn how to play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” as well as “Mary Had a Little Lamb” so it wasn’t a complete waste. I also tried playing the keyboard and I can proudly say that I know how to play the first few notes of Fur Elise (I can’t promise that it sounds good though). Although I’m clearly not musically gifted, I am glad I took a chance and tried all of these instruments as a kid because how would I know I’m not a musical prodigy if I don’t test out the waters first?
Another interesting thing I tried when I was younger was auditioning for a Shakespearean play. I have no acting or singing abilities but my sister had me audition for A Midsummer Night’s Dream at UD. (Fun fact: Allan Carlsen’s dad was the director of this play). I was a fairy, which I pictured would be one of those fairies you see on Disney Channel with the cute outfits and sparkly wings, but to my surprise, I looked more like an old tree with algae growing from it (I was a forest fairy). I was fitted for a tan full body leotard with green moss, lichen, and hay growing from my arms, legs, and head. You’d laugh if you saw a picture of me in my costume. The play wasn’t what I imagined it would be but it was something I will always remember. I am happy that my difficulty to make decisions gives me the desire to explore all options, to take chances, and to try new things. Taking chances has made me the charismatic, often weird, person that I am today. I continue to take chances and try new things now, like playing field hockey and lacrosse for the first time as a freshman. Taking chances keeps me young and on my feet. It allows the kid in me to break through every once in a while.
This Ted talk begs me to ask one question: can the lack of creativity cause lack of motivation? My answer to that? Absolutely. From the time I was young, I thrived in school. I got mostly As, and always had honors. I thrived because I was interested in school. Some kids would get extrinsic motivation, such as $10 per A, but I never needed that. I enjoyed learning. In the good old days, we were always working in groups, coming up with creative ideas and activities, and even math problems had creative questions, unlike today's boring, straight foward questions. Around 7th grade, school began getting serious. My teachers told me, "you're getting ready for high school; this is real now." This is when I began to not care about school. A lot of people said that it was just puberty making me not care. I know otherwise. Assignments became chores. There was no creativity, just black and white questions and answers. It made me use interest. I've never been a black and white person. I like taking chances, exploring new things, but school suddenly took that out of me. The creativity is gone, and I've been trying to find it, but high school hasn't really given me the opportunity. Almost all of my classes are black and white. Learn, take notes, memorize, take the test. It's not really learning, it's survivng. Also, I started working recently, and I learned when I graduate college, I will not be able to work for somebody else. I need to be my own boss no matter what it is. Owning a business? I don't know. Hopefully. I don't enjoy the black and white instructions and procedure I'm expected to follow. That's not me.
As children we told to grow and sprout new branches of unique ideas and different views. Yet at some point between blossoming as a young sapling who is constantly being told to be different and act as ourselves, we are trimmed of what sets us apart from others. We are pruned our qualities that are so important, such as out creativity and outgoing mindsets. They strip us of the compliments that we were once engulfed in, denying us of out nutrients that we thrive off of and replacing them with criticisms. Those criticism seep into our bark’s cracks and roots like a disease, slowly killing our crucial childish traits that we so desperately need later in our lives when were grown and matured. Eventually we reach a point in our lives where we are brittle and dead, with no point of return, we must try not to reach that point. We must rise above these people who limit us and grow into a strong solid tree that cant be damaged.
Sir Ken Robinson’s Ted Talk touched on many topics that allowed for the expansion of the creative mind. One idea that was continuously touched on was Picasso’s idea of children as born artists. Throughout art classes we learn of many different artists: Degas, Monet, etc. But will all children grow to become like such artists? I myself definitely do not fall under such a category. Creativity and imagination are two things that are emphasized and encouraged to children at young ages, these items are said to be “good for the mind” and “good for society in general.” But what causes children to slowly begin to lose touch with such ideas? What causes every child at a certain age to begin coloring the sun yellow instead of tie-dye pink and red? Everyone slowly seems to fall into the same routines, to conform to societies view on things, and drown out any ounce of imagination or creativity left within them. The outcome of such changes causes us to become clones of one another, not one person unique from the rest. However, there are those that attempt to disregard what everyone else does and attempt to be creative, but where does that get those individuals? They become outliers. Picasso said it right when he stated, “children are born artists.” We should allow for them to grow on their own and not force them to condone to societies view on imagination and creativity, we should allow for their minds to roam freely in the “creative stratosphere,” we should all be born artists of our own lives.
It is true that kids are willing to take chances that adults do not. Sometimes a child does this due to lack of knowledge or otherwise out of sheer curiosity. When I was about 6 years old, I was running around a raging bonfire screaming Native American chants at the top of my lungs. Soon I was the only one left outside by the fire. I looked at the flames in amazement. Then I shifted my attention towards the metal cylinder that was containing the blaze. Without thinking I reached my hand out and laid my palm on the metal. The pain was excruciating and I spent the rest of my night in a backwoods hospital somewhere in western Pennsylvania. If I were just a few years older and a bit wiser I would have known not to do something so foolish. However, I had a question. How is hot that metal crate? In my young mind there was only one way to find out. As children we are much more willing to take risks. Sometimes they payoff and other times they don’t. In the long run though, our decisions always provide us with experiences from which we learn. That night on the campsite did not just teach me that fire is extremely hot; it also taught me that the easiest way to discover the answer to a question is not always the right way.
Sir Ken Robinson feels that our education system does not allow children to be creative. He talks about how students are punished for mistakes, destroying their ability to take chances and be original. Does he have a better system, or does one even exist? He points out what he thinks is a serious problem without offering any sort of solution. How do you encourage creativity? Should we substitute an English or math class with a creativity class? We could put every child in a room with a radio and see if they dance. Once children reach a certain age they could be given a creativity physical at a doctor’s office, looking for any potential signs of an original idea. Robinson wants a system where all children can grow up to be innovators, but everyone can’t be the idea guy. There needs to be people who put those ideas into action, people who do the grunt work in making other people’s ideas happen. Can we make an education system that accomplishes both goals, and how exactly do we create that system?
In second grade I decided that I wanted to be the biggest baseball star in the history of everything. I never watched a game, I rarely played the sport, and to top it off I had no experience. I did however, have my mind set on that goal. I was going to take the game by storm and obliterate each ball with my mighty bad bat. I would send the darn thing flying with all my might. Well at least that was what I pictured in my head as I signed up for a little league team. Much like all dreams it was merely a fantasy. It turned out that I was horrendous at the sport, and I mean absolutely horrendous, my greatest accomplishment was hitting a double. (Which may have been pretty hard for a second grader.) The only game we ever won was due to the other team lacking a player. We played them for fun anyway. (We still lost.) I was placed on the worst team in the smallest league, and to make matters worse I was the worst player. I stuck it out for the whole season though, usually playing outfield and spending more time playing in the field than in the game. I suppose no one felt the need to focus me or direct me, but I spent most games rolling around in the dirt and playing with flowers. The coolest part about baseball was the bubble gum, everyone chewed it. Big league chew, hubba bubba, you name it I chewed it. That was the place I learned how to blow a bubble, and I thought that was the neatest thing. So at least I learned two things from the whole experience: 1. I hate baseball 2. How to blow a bubble. That was my childlike attempt at trying anything, my “frank sent this” moment. I may not have been the best at the sport but I did make it work for myself. The best part is that to this day I can still blow some kickass bubbles.
In his TED Talk, Sir Ken Robinson emphasized the notion that “all children are born artists.” While this may be true, the critiquing nature and stringent standards of society that we are forced to conform to wither away at this creative ability as we age. Not only is this decline relevant in one’s capacity to think imaginatively, but also in one’s desire and willingness to be different from the crowd. As children, we did not feel obligated to impress others or act in a certain way that may be considered socially acceptable. Children speak what they think and do not feel the need to alter their thoughts so they can tell others what they want to hear. But nowadays, it seems as if people are being told who they can and cannot be, and are being constrained by the irrational judgments of others. In addition to the impossible standards of society, technology has become a large factor, and even a hindrance, in one’s ability to think creatively. When I was younger, my teacher gave each kid in my class a blank journal and asked us to fill a page a day with a new story or drawing of whatever we so chose. Like the other students, I had no problem doing this, and actually enjoyed transcribing my untamed imagination onto paper. However, as I’ve grown up, I have had fewer opportunities to express my creative talents, and have rather had a mindset “to do what I’m told” instilled in me. This has made it much more difficult and unpleasant for me to utilize my imagination and the natural creativity that I so enjoyed exploiting as a kid. Likewise, people seem to be more hesitant to take risks because they are afraid of being criticized for the mistakes that may result, and this is diminishing our innate ability to think innovatively and outside of the box. And even when given the opportunity to be creative, the internet has corrupted this capacity to think on an individual basis. When we are stuck, we turn to the internet and dive into the jungle of information, looking for a previous idea or concept to spin off of. But we must remember the artists that are within us, who aren't afraid to be unique or to try something new, striving for originality and pure creativity.
At the heart of Sir Ken Robinson's TED talk is the fact that all children have some innate quality of creativity and passion. Whether they know it or not, there is something, somewhere, that they are not only good at, but passionate about. Sometimes children discover their talent or gift at an early age like the 11 year old violin prodigy Sirena. She not only excels at playing the violin, she loves to play. However, some people often spend their entire lives searching for their one passion and never find it. These people usually end up settling for some average desk job with no desire to actually work. In my life, I had never really found something that I both love to do and am actually good at. Yes, I'm in the minority of people who sort of like school and take every opportunity to learn, but I'm not at the top of the class. Yes, I've always enjoyed playing soccer and volleyball especially with my friends, but I'm not exactly an all-state athlete. Throughout my life I'd always been someone who's decent at a lot of things but never the best. Now, you need to understand I'm not complaining about not being good at anything and I'm not worried about finding my number one passion in life before I go to college, I'm just saying that there'd been nothing in my life that I was super passionate about. That was until probably around this winter. I had always been a fan of the show Survivor, but had fallen out of favor within the franticness of high school. However, this winter I hopped back on and reestablished my love for the game. Now, being older and more internet savvy, I'm involved in online communities talking about the show. I'm what's called a "superfan" and, after bingeing over winter break, I've watched almost every one of the 30 seasons of the show. Having amassed all this knowledge my ultimate goal is to eventually be on Survivor and win the million dollars. I know it might sound silly, my life passion being a stupid competition game show on cable TV, but it's what I love. I love talking about the game, debating with other superfans, and proving my trivial knowledge. Maybe it's just a hobby or something but it's a dream of mine and it's always good to dream.
There was a wonderful quote by Jonas Salk, who said, "If all the insects were to disappear from the 6. Earth, within 50 years all life on Earth would end. If all human beings disappeared from the Earth, within 50 years all forms of life would flourish." In these three short sentences, we see just how dependent we are on nature. Although I would surely not call my self an environmentalist, I do take for granted the natural world that surrounds me. Humans may be on top of the food chain because of our ability to think and create far more then any other animal in the world, but that does not mean we should neglect all other life forms on this earth. This short idea shows that even something as small as an insect has the ability to determine whether or not we survive as a species. There is such an intricate food chain and system in which we live, and we must realize our dependence on other life forms. Neglecting nature and all other creations can be one of the many ways that we could all cease to exist.
Are teachers over eager to attribute a misbehaving child as having ADD or ADHD?
I went to Kindergarten in Kenya. During that time I remember being given a lot of time to just play around outside and generally be active. The teachers didn’t seem to mind if we got a bit dirty during our play. Their primary concern was our safety. I loved this, and I would actually look forward to going to school. However, when I came to America and started 1st grade, I experienced a drastic change. I was expected to sit still for most of the day. This change from an active environment to one where I was expected to be passive was hard for me to adjust to. My mom was told by one of my teachers to have me be tested for ADHD. My mom didn’t take me, and eventually I was able to adjust to the classroom setting. Many teachers are more than willing to give a child a drug so that they will be quiet. I believe that we should be looking for other ways for children to release their energy. l
Even if some think they aren’t, everyone is creative in some way. We might not all become famous painters or sculptors or musicians, but as Pablo Picasso once said, “All children are born artists”. I had always thought that my creativity peaked when I was the only one in my preschool class to color a rainbow in the correct order, but I was wrong. One of my specialties is poster-making, especially for extracurricular activities and clubs. And although my art teacher throughout elementary school tended to draw my projects for me, I somehow became pretty good at nail art. I personally would not consider that a valuable skill, but a lot of people compliment my “talent” and tell me they wish they could do the same. We all have some sort of creative outlet. Mine happens to be painting my nails, but someone else’s could be playing music or even cooking. So I am encouraging everyone reading this to find something that you love to do and that makes you happy because whatever you come up with, you will be using your talents and skills in your own unique way. And isn’t that what creativity is all about?
Amidst the flurry of applying for colleges, participating in extracurricular activities, and trying to tread water in the sea of schoolwork, I sometimes take a moment to step back and look at the big picture. It often overwhelms me and frightens me how involved I have become in my academic life, and how obsessed everyone in our class has become with grades. We have heard it hundreds of times by now, I’m sure: “This is the most important year for grades.” “Do everything you can to keep your grades up.” “Colleges will be looking at your transcript.” “That will look good on your applications.” Those phrases sometimes make me sick to my stomach. We have been swept into this wave of school and we have barely been given time to breathe, or even time to make a choice. If we get good grades and apply to college, we are seen as successful. If we decide to pursue our real passions, we are seen as lazy. There is a narrow line between these options. Is this the real meaning of life? I look back to how I used to spend my extra time doing the things that I love: when I was a child, I spent countless hours making crafts, coloring, playing pretend, and dancing around the house. Even a few years ago, I used to spend my hours teaching myself riffs on my guitar, because playing the guitar was something that relaxed me and gave me satisfaction. From my position hunched over at my desk piled high with schoolwork, I now look guiltily over at my guitar in the corner of my room, which has slowly been developing a thin layer of dust on its smooth surface. I try to convince myself that the hours spent doing work will pay off in the long run, and that there must be a reason we are all convinced that this is the way to go. But it makes me sad that we often abandon the things that we truly love in the process. I see my brilliant friends, so skilled in dance, in music, in piano playing, and in art, and I see how stressed out they have become with schoolwork. I can’t help but ask myself, is school educating the creativity out of us? Is this how it is supposed to be? Why can’t we do what we love?
After watching Sir Ken Robinson’s speech the thought that kept coming to mind was how could creativity come back into education and why did it leave? I thought of many different ideas such as forcing kids to take classes in the arts but realized that this will only reinforce the environment that has been created to reduce creativity. I finally thought that the best idea to do nothing at all. My idea is that for a couple of periods a day, students could go into a class that has no lesson plan, no notes, no tests and just learn about whatever peaks the class’ interest that day. This class would be guided by the students’ curiosity to learn more about something they did not know about before. This could lead to discussions, debates, or simply looking something up on Google. Too often in schools, students are told to not explore these curiosities that they have because it does not fit into whatever the lesson is that day, which could potentially be bad for students’ creativity. The lack of restrictions creates so many more possibilities for creativity because of the lack of structure. These classes could be something that a student could look forward to because it ensures that the student would be engaged because the topic being learned is something that truly interests the person. One of the biggest reasons that creativity has left schools is because kids going to school today are not always that engaged to what topic is being taught and this class or two a day driven by a student’s curiosity would ensure that everyone will be able to be engaged and appreciate what is being taught to them.
If I could ever go back and relive a time in my life, it would have to be back when I was ten years old. Ten was a great age. I took dance classes, played basketball, started playing softball, took figure skating lessons, and even played the clarinet. Basketball was the only thing that stuck with me out of all of those activities, but I can honestly say that at that point I enjoyed all of the other ones just as much. I may not have been the best at all of them, but I didn't care. It didn't matter if I was the best because I was just ten years old and having fun. Now, here I am at eighteen years old. I wish everything was as easy as it was back when I was ten. It was as if I could be anything I wanted and no one could stop me.
The story that stuck out to me the most in Sir Robinson’s speech, was the story of Gillian Lynne, the ballerina and world famous choreographer. It reminded me of my younger self. While I was never diagnosed with ADHD or ADD, it was impossible for me to sit still and concentrate in school. My mind would always wander to far off places when I was supposed to be paying attention to the lesson being taught in math class. Often my mind would take me to the previous night’s dance class, going over the combinations again and again. Often I would completely zone out and just listen to the classical music playing in my head, choreographing my own routines to the music. Like Gillian Lynne, I intended to let my creativity get the best of me and my education.
However, it is no longer a realistic idea to drop out of school anymore because a person is to creative and needs to focus on their talents. Creativity is put on the back burner for most children and it is a shame. I intend to bring my creativity “back to a boil” in college next year by taking dance classes again and being a part of my school’s dance ensemble.
Since a young age i was a big time dancer and i loved to sing, i mean a lot. I had one idol, the late great Michael Jackson. My sister and I would turn on his movie and dance until the credits. I rivaled his twirl jock grab move and eventually perfected the moon walk and i have the video to prove it. Unfortunatley on a phone that doesn't work anymore but thats besides the point. What is my point? Most people look at me and the sports i play and think there is no way he likes the arts, or music or plays but they could not be more incorrect. I have made almost every play since I have been at St. Marks and while they are no Broadway, I enjoy them. The nerve it takes to get up on stage alone and sing is absurd and there is no way i could do it. While at home or in the car or even in homeroom, i dance and sing to every song that comes on granted it has a good tune and I know it. I know the lyrics to probably over 500 songs completely and that is not to brag it is to demonstrate how much i really appreciate the arts. Except actual art like drawing, i cannot even draw stick figures correctly, but Annie Estes can, and that is worth celebrating.
In his TED talk, Sir Ken Robinson mentions Pablo Picasso and how he once said that all children are born artists. Most people think of painters, sculptors, actors, singers, and dancers when they hear the word “artist.” However, a person skilled at any particular task can be considered an artist. Everyone may not have a super amazing talent, but everyone is good at something – whatever that something might be. I agree with Picasso’s statement that all children are born artists because children have the most creative minds and aren’t afraid to explore their imagination. I believe that as we grow older we don’t necessarily lose the creative power that we were born with; it’s just that some people pursue their creative ability while others feel as though their creative ability isn’t good enough. Three of my closest friends have incredible artistic talent, whereas I can’t draw a stick figure to save my life. Some of my friends are also extremely gifted singers, whereas I sing off key and can’t carry a tune. Does this mean I’m not creative? Not at all. I played the piano for many years and I’m constantly listening to music – paying attention to the rhythm, lyrics, and instruments as I listen. I’m also not afraid to embrace my awkward dancing skills while I listen to my music. All of these things remind me that everyone has a creative bone in their body.
“All children are born artists.” Pablo Picasso was trying to instill a very important message when he said this, though I believe that often times, this message is misconstrued. Dictionary.com defines an artist as a person who practices one of the fine arts, especially a painter or sculptor; a person whose trade or profession requires a knowledge of design, drawing, or painting; and as a person who works in one of the performing arts, as an actor, musician, or singer. While all of these people are certainly artists, and Picasso himself was obviously an artist as shown through his paintings, an artist is not limited to someone in the “performing arts.” An artist is someone who captures the beauty of a moment, whether through words, or actions, or paint, or even just expressions. Children are all artists. They are not afraid to color outside the lines (literally and figuratively). They’re not afraid to make fools of themselves. They just see the beauty of life and they capture that in their very essence and being like it is second-nature to them. Acting like a child, being free in thought and action, being daring and brave, being an individual who doesn't care what society’s opinions are, is something to strive for. Freedom is the very thing that makes us human, but we wish it away. Rather, we force it away. Every child and young adult has heard at least once in their life, “Stop acting like a child,” or, “Grow up.” Why? Why do we say these things to our peers, to our children, to our students? Why do we tell them to give up that which makes them human to simply go through the motions of routine, “adult” lives void of the artistic beauty that we so clearly created as children?
Rather than raising children with thoughts of, “I can’t wait to grow up,” we need to reconstruct our society’s views. We need to have a society full of children, both young and old. We need to have a society full of life. We need to have a society full of the art and beauty that children create. Without this freedom and beauty, what is our society even fighting for?
School has not taught us how to make the best of the moment we live in. It has taught us how to best prepare for the next stage in life. In school we are constantly learning information. And when a student asks “Why are we learning this?” the answer is always the same: “It’ll prepare you for the classes you will take in the future.” A version of this answer has been shoved in student’s faces so often that the idea has now become the student motto. When students are asked “Why are you taking this class” or “why are you apart of this club/sport,” rarely, in my experiences, is the answer solely “because I have a drive and a passion for it.” Instead, the student spits out the mundane response, “Oh, it’ll look great for colleges.”
That answer for some reason however does not upset us. In fact, it makes you think that the student is smart. They’re thinking ahead. They have their future in mind. They are prepared!
But when does the preparation stop? In high school we do things that make us attractive to colleges. In colleges we do things that make us attractive to graduate schools. In graduate schools we study hard so we will be attractive for jobs. And when we get a job, we perform with the hope of promotion or raise.
But when in our lives do we learn how to make the best of the moment we live in? When do we learn to muse in the things that excite us most? When do we stop worrying about what we must do to move forward and start being present in the spot where we stand? We have been taught to never be satisfied. We have been told to continue to work and your potential will be forever growing. But what is wrong with being content in an area of life that we find peaceful and pleasing? Schooling does not encourage us to spend time doing the things we love. They encourage us to get done what they view as necessary for success, and if you have time in between that work, then you can dabble in your passion. But shouldn’t we be devoting our lives to our passions, and dabbling in those areas which only mildly interest us?
That decision, unfortunately, is not for us to make. After all, school comes first.
When I was in eighth grade I got to explore my so-called “creative side” and it turned out to be an experience I will never forget. My best friend convinced me to audition for our middle schools spring musical. To be honest, I really didn’t want to do it at all but at the same time I didn’t want to disappoint my friend either so I ended up auditioning with her anyway. We both ended up making the play but we really didn’t get major parts. Even though our roles sucked my friend and I still really had a lot of fun being part of the whole musical thing. It was a cool experience that we got to share together and we still laugh about how it was embarrassingly kind of fun. I’ve never been in another play since then and I probably never ever be in another play again but it was pretty cool exploring that creative side that I never knew that I ever had. It’s a side of me that I never ever get a chance to use and sometimes I wish I had the opportunity to explore it a little more.
One of the most amazing things about children is their fearlessness. I was a swim coach so I spent a lot of time with young children, and some of the things they said we're quite amusing. One of the best activities to witness would be when they would all make up some totally random, but fun, game. Their creativity is amazing. Their way of thinking is so unique, like the little girl who drew the picture of God. But when does that creativity start to die? Why do children feel like they have to fit in at one point instead of expressing their true self? Understandably we are beings that feed off of companionship and acceptance of others, but why does that sometimes have to stop brilliant minds from reaching their full potential. I hope one day when I have children that they want to learn and will express their creativity proudly.
Twenty years from now when I am at my place of employment I will not be regurgitating material in an exam that will be forgotten in a week’s time. I will not be taking tests that produce a score which determines a GPA. I will not be doing numerous calculus problems of the same concept just to make sure the answers match the one in the back of the book. The education system of today is educating our students to know a little about a lot of things. There are facts and figures from a variety of subjects crammed into seven hour days. Students are prepared to pass a test which will define a student by its score. What if instead of being a construction of empirical content needed for the present testing demands the education system became a tool to create students prepared for the future? A successful future is not explicitly linked to a high GPA or the ability to memorize a lecture so that all of the details can be outlined in an exam. A successful future also requires creativity, courage, and connectivity. Sir Ken Robinson alluded to the very fact that our education system is ripping the creativity away from children. But there is such a need for creativity; a need that is arguably greater than the need to know what is the date of the Battle of Fort Sumter. Creativity is the root of ingenuity and innovation which help propel generations into the future; our education should focus more on this so that it is an education for the children to face the future. This idea ties directly to having an educational system where students learn to be courageous and that it is okay to fail. Kids want to take chances like drawing a picture of God or saying “Frank sent this;” so let’s not stop them and let them learn and grow from those mistakes. Thomas Edison successfully designed the lightbulb yet he failed but said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Thomas Edison had a respectably successful future because he was not afraid to fail. In order for students to be prepared to face the future they need to have the courage not to fail. And finally connectivity. There are millions of people throughout the world who will we come in contact with throughout our futures. The future does not have attendance sheets, ordered desks, and someone given to guide you along the journey. The future requires you to make connections with those around you to form relationships, collaborate on occasion, and find people to help support you on your journey. Too often in schools, especially with the new technology, there is a loss in the ability to connect. At some point learning the digits of pi and dissecting sentence structure loses its practicality in preparing a student for the future so our schools must be refocused to find what it means to prepare a student for the future maybe by way of promoting and encouraging creativity, courage, and connectivity.
Before cars, people had to get to work by snowboard. Spongebob lives just off the coast of Rehoboth, and the greatest athlete to have ever graced this universe with his insane talent is but 6 years of age. Acting as an adult- or at least pretending to be- we see these statements as false, but ask my little brother and he will quickly and sincerely explain their validity. He, as most kids his age surely do, lives in a world where reality and imagination are one in the same. Earth is malleable to the mind of a kindergartner. Give them a minute and soon a blistering volcano shall emerge from the center of the playground. It’s a world where girls have cooties, swings send you straight to the moon, and every shot you make in your backyard is a buzzer-beater. For my brother, this is the world we all live in, so when did we lose this same sense of wonder? Is this all just part of growing up? Sadly, even for Trevor- my brother- slight cracks in that shield of youth are beginning to show as he finishes his first year of school. No longer does he want to be in the Army because he fears they don’t make enough money. He wants to be the next Bill Gates and make $10/ a year. So maybe he doesn’t fully grasp the adult world yet, but there will come a day when he gets dragged into it forever. When that day comes he’ll have to learn that gravity pulls you down as you leap from a swing; that not every shot can be a game-winner; and that cooties really don’t exist- that last one might be debatable. As you get older, reality has to be a big part of your life but that doesn’t mean you have to completely grow up. Imagine.
In Sir Ken Robinson's TED talk, he comments on Pablo Picasso's quote, "All children are born artists." As a child, we are given countless opportunities to express creativity and personality through everything we do. Children and even adults find pleasure in simply coloring a picture in a coloring book or doodling things on a piece of paper. If you have ever watched a preschooler play with his or her toys, you notice that they make different voices and noises for each Barbie doll or explosive sounds for toy cars crashing into each other. They are in their own little world and they don't care if anyone is watching. As they get older and go to school, however, they become more self-conscious and aware that people might be watching and laughing at them. Eventually they grow out of this fun stage in life afraid that someone might make fun of them because they still play with dolls. Sure, some people might grow up to be actors, but most people end their creativity of being someone else there. The same thing happens to meaningless little doodles. As we get older, we are graded in school on how well we do in art and the class is made into a requirement to take before you can graduate. Not everyone is an artist and being made to take the class makes it even less enjoyable to people. There seems to be a relationship between getting older and moving up grade levels in school to the decreasing amount of creativity each person is allowed to express. Going to school for high school kids is dreadful because of the amount of stress, work, and exhaustion they have, while preschoolers are over the top excited each day to go to school. Why is that? Preschoolers aren’t bound by many rules or expectations on how to do something. They are allowed to do whatever they want when they’re told to go play or paint a picture. When they get older, that creativity and freedom are squashed by rules and guidelines given by the school and teachers. Kids should cherish being the “little kids” while they can and not wish they were “big kids” because it is not as great as they expect it to be.
Every child is born with a creative mind. We are curious beings seeking answers. As a child I always wanted to know how everything worked. I was a daddy’s little girl who followed my dad all around the house fixing loose hinges and assembling new furniture. (Although sometimes playing in the boxes was more fun than putting together the new furniture.) We all have those childhood stories that come up every family Christmas party. Well my story beings with my dad and I working on our newest mission. We were going to try to hatch and raise Quail eggs. For any non-quail experts it’s important to know that they must be kept at a steady temperature of 101.5 degrees. Every day dad and I would check on our eggs and adjust the temperature knob to maintain the proper incubation environment. One morning Dad was surprised to see that mysteriously our eggs had reached a temperature of 167 degrees. He asked me if I had changed the temperature. I sweetly smiled and said “I fixed it,” with complete confidence. Well killing five very rare quail eggs, certainly wasn’t fixing anything expect myself a spot in timeout. As children we want to get our hands on everything and take risks. I was so confident in my decision to adjust the temperature knob just like I’d seen my daddy do. I didn’t understand how it worked, but no part of me knew what I was doing would kill the eggs. I have carried that confidence with me throughout my life. When I make a decision I do not fear the outcome, rather I fully commit myself to defending my choice. Sure a few bad judgments will result in rotten eggs, but why should that stop me from turning up the heat?
My post today will about how school has effectively stolen and locked away my creativity and turned me into a zombie victim of the American education system. Sure its important to learn mathematics and sciences and history but nowadays classes such as these have become so black and white and boring to the point of ridiculousness. Information is being shoved down our throats and we are required to simply just memorize the material and take a test on it. We are not learning the material. I can honestly say and I think my classmates will agree with me that after a test on a subject is taken, in less than a month we forget most of the information except for a few facts here and there because we are forced to replace that information in our brains with new facts. Teachers are so concerned with covering the entire textbook cover to cover that they move to fast and neglect students’ questions about topics. Instead, why not assign a project related to the material that makes the students think on their own. Students can learn much more about themselves when forced to think rather than be handed a paper with notes and tested on it. It was mentioned in class the other day and ever since I cannot get the topic out of my head about how awesome a debate class would be where students are presented an idea, theme, issue, etc. and are allowed to think creatively and respond to each other’s original thoughts about that idea. Memorizing notes and facts does not do much for us while open-ended projects and debates can teach us how to think. I’ve also been thinking that a philosophy class would also be a great way to stir creativity in students. A class that has no set course material, no tests, no notes or anything like that. Just a class where students are free to ask any question that comes to their mind and a very wise teacher or person can engage with the students in conversation and debate these topics. My creativity shines through now and then but for the most part it has been killed by the education system and practices of this country. I cant help but think that our generation and the next are going to struggle in society as we grow older because of the fact that we have not successfully learned much throughout our education years and rather just memorized facts and information to pass a class
I have always found the transition between arts and sciences as we age to be interesting. As children, everyone is encouraged to be creative. We all color in school, many children are dragged to piano lessons, and just about every little girl takes a class in ballet or tap dancing. Most kids like these activities because they allow kids to express themselves and have fun, without the fear of making mistakes or being judged. The arts are practically forced upon us, only to be forced out of us years later. Children are told that there are no jobs to be found for artists, dancers, and actors. Mathematics and science classes replace music and drawing classes. It seems that we search for talent when children are young, and the talented children are the only ones encouraged to continue with the arts. The non-prodigies are pressured to search elsewhere for success.
The problem is that we push creativity into the background, when it is really one of the best ways to prepare us for the world. A qualified engineer or doctor must have knowledge in science and mathematics, but creativity is just as important. Creativity and expression provide children with problem-solving skills that they can take with them into the future. Mathematics and sciences provide the tools, but art and creative thinking provide the blueprints to create a better world.
Sir Ken Robinson gave a fantastic talk about the creativity in children and how it is hammered out of children by the education system society has set up. What he said was absolutely correct. Today’s education was built for a previous generation. While it worked perfectly for an manufacturing based economy, it now finds itself lacking in a modern world built on ideas and silicon rather than muscle and steel. The silicon world needs brand new fresh perspectives to advance, and if people are taught to be afraid of mistakes, no one will break the mold and follow a different path to a novel new solution. Admittedly, some of my greatest ideas came from doodling in class. It especially gets touching when he gets to the arts part. Yes, everyone is born an artist. Perhaps not the greatest artist, but still an artists. It’s incredibly disappointing to me to see the arts disparaged in the modern day. I feel that art is treated as a silly subject, but I see it as another tool in the box for solving problems right next to the equations. It can be a literal tool (like drawing chemical bond), or it can help analyze a story in a different way. For example, I like to doodle little scenes and props from the history texts and novels to help me understand what happened from a different perspective. Sir Robinson talked about all of these problems with stripping away creativity by mentioning different ways we learn (art, movement, etc), so I found it hard to believe that he didn’t talk about studying a foreign language or culture. As a bilingual person, I often find it helpful to think in a different language or culture. Looking back, this reads like an analytical essay, so I will end with a creative note.
Spring Pond
As a ripple streams
across the pond, I notice
Spring returning home.
-王智漢
In Sir Ken Robinson's TED talk, he speaks about how children are always willing to take a chance. Children are not ashamed to speak their mind no matter how others will view this. Children still have that innocence in their outlook on the world, and they are never concerned with the consequences of speaking their mind- they just do it. I believe we were all born with a unique mind and creativity unlike any other. As we grow up, we learn that sometimes it is good to suppress our thoughts or wants based on what others will think of us. This also prevents us from doing things that will make us happy because we can get so caught up in other people's opinions of us. Many of us in high school are so worried about what our peers think of us that it prevents us from doing what we desire such as joining a certain club or participating in an activity. So many of us say that we wish we could be children again so that we can be carefree. As children, we are more willing to take risks when we are unsure of something or just in general. We should all learn how to keep a small part of our childhood mind. This would allow us to freely express ourselves whether that be joining the school play or drawing a picture of your vision of God.
“All children are born artists” according to Pablo Picasso. Children express themselves creatively for different purposes. Sometimes, that purpose is to draw attention to themselves. Most of the time, it is because they do not know any better than to draw their chef-d’oeuvre anywhere that they may please for the world to see- such as a Crayola covered wall in the house or an ingenious way to get the parents to succumb to their wish. The education system may aim to spark creativity in these children in proper ways as opposed to the prior incidents, but maybe children growing up should try to see the world as their canvas for creativity, just not literally like before. The education system molds these creative thinkers into machines that must think and function in a certain way in order to receive the desired grade. While learning is still pertinent to becoming successful in life, cultivating a fresh and creative mindset with imaginative projects that would be graded based on completion would allow some freedom for the kids yearning to step foot outside of the mundane structured education system.
Every child is born an artist. At least, every child is born with the confidence and self assurance of an artist. For example, when I was young, I didn’t think I was an artist. I thought I was the artist. That is, the best artist to ever walk the face of the earth, of course. Whenever we would have guests over at my house, the first thing I would ask them would be, “Would you like to see my art box?” As you may be able to guess, my art box, was a cardboard box full of every single drawing I ever made as a kid. For all of our guests, I would have a mini art show in our living room. If they responded well to my art, then they were good people and I liked them. If they didn’t, then I didn’t like them because they’re obviously out of their minds. This level of confidence is a beautiful thing. The sad thing is that, as we grow up, we are influenced in the way we see ourselves. You see other people getting awarded and recognized for their art and you begin to compare yourself to them. When you’re told you’re not the best out there, you start to believe it little by little. At least, that’s what happened to me. So here I am, a retired artist, sitting in her bedroom writing a blog about her past life while staring at that old art box in the back of her closet.
The education system today is constantly and rapidly evolving. Optimistically, it is fair to say that this is still in its early stages. I could say that those who run the system take shortcuts and the easy way out, neglecting to acknowledge some of the most important types of education, but like I said... I'm being optimistic. As what learn about humanity, we learn about the importance of freedom of expression and creativity. While it would be extremely useful to include more life skills classes in school, it is most important to include classes where students are offered copious amounts of freedom to express themselves as they choose. Secondly, a testing environment is rarely beneficial to students versus experiential and hands on learning. An environment where participating in classroom activity is constantly encouraged with low-pressure, students can be challenged just as much as they would in a testing environment. Don't get me wrong, it IS good for some classes to be the typical structure, but I believe that it can be very beneficial to have a variety of classroom environments for students within a typical school day. Environments could vary within a classroom and even more outside of a classroom. By offering more variety, students will have more opportunities to express their creativity. Lastly, it is also extremely important to teach about culture and surround students with it. By culturing students, they will grow up with more worldly knowledge, wisdom, and openness.
As an aspiring engineer, I have looked into any new and different technologies in all kinds of fields including space, medicine, and production. In my research, I have especially taken an interest into 3D printing. I have found out that this concept of printing any object you can imagine is truly amazing and revolutionary. In a matter of years, I expect 3D printers to be a very common household object. They will be everywhere and used in every practice. From mass production to bioprinting human organs. In my future, I hope to be involved with this revolutionary process. I want to design, make, and use 3D printers in whichever career path I choose. 3D printing sparks my mind and I feel that I can use these machines to expand my creativeness.
In Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk he quoted Picasso saying, “All children are born artists.” When I think of this quote I automatically think back to my childhood and how much things have changed. One of the things that I love about children is their innocence. You hear it when you talk to them and see it when you look at them. Society has not scathed them, their true dreams have not been crushed, and the willingness to take a chance has not yet been lost. My prompt is to think back to that time before society told you no and when you had the determination to chase after your dreams and write about how it would be like now if you still had that same determination and innocence you once had as a child.
I really liked the point in this TED talk that we should educate our children's whole being so that they can face this future. I agree with this statement. I believe that parents sugar coat or “dumb things down” for children too much. Parents don't want their children to be subjected to certain things like violence and profanity. This is good to some extent, but I believe that children need to be subjected to a certain level of violence and profanity. Unfortunately these things are apart of everyday life and always will be so why should we hide it from our children? We should expose them to it and let them see how terrible it is and then teach them to avoid these situations. An example is my aunt questioning whether or not she should take her children (aged eight and below) with her to the 9/11 Memorial in New York City. She decided not to because she thought the pictures and stories in the museum would be too graphic for them and that they were too young to be subjected to that. I disagree with her choice. Children learn from experience. We must educate the younger generations about the evil of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I believe that children seeing the museum at such a young age would be beneficial because they would have those horrible images in their heads and know that bad people do really exist and they are not just in cartoons. This could raise a more peaceful generation that realizes that bad actions lead to bad outcomes, like how the 9/11 attacks led to a war that has lasted so many years. We must educate our children about everything, not just what is taught in school. This will produce more intelligent and wise children.
All human beings arrive in the world through similar processes. Although this is true, every person is born into a different environment, growing and developing based on their surroundings. Yes, these environments may vary from household to household, but each growing child still possesses the interest to discover and interpret the world. Pablo Picasso words, "All children are born artists," can relate directly to this idea of the ever present curiosity of children. I believe that Picasso was not simply talking about "artists" as those who paint pictures and create sculptures, but as those who never stop discovering and interpreting the world through their own perspectives. Children seem to be more active in this interpretation as they are discovering new facts and understandings about the world each day. They gain knowledge about what are their greatest interests and talents, whether it be figuring out a puzzle or building a Lego masterpiece for the ToysRUs in NYC. This could be described as an "instinct" that is present in children from a very young age (even from birth) thus solidifying Picasso's words that "all children are born artists."
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