Let’s talk about creativity. There is a great TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson where he talks about how public education kills creativity. I like to think of myself as creative. As a teacher, I try to be creative. I try to mix things up and keep things interesting. As a teacher, this is necessary if you want to have engaged students. No one, I mean no one, even a grown up, wants to sit in a class 5 days a week doing the same thing. Do they?
That said, If I get to be creative, shouldn’t my students? I mean, shouldn’t they be allowed, no, encouraged to think outside the box, come up with alternative ideas, solutions, even new ways of doing things? Shouldn’t they? But we have this system that has decided that testing is the one way to measure proficiency. We have this set of standards that we are supposed to teach. (Which is all wrong and I will get to that.) We put them in desks, we create assignments and assessments that are one size fits all. Unless of course, you have special ed kids- then you create the one size fits all and then a few extra in different formats for those other kids. Common Core is all about thinking and explaining and analyzing. It is all about achieving higher level thinking skills. Go figure.
Since I have brought it up twice, let’s talk about standards. I lived with standards for 20 years as a teacher. The concept is the same, always. Just the content is what changes. We currently are all about the Common Core Standards. Like I said above, they are about thinking. Sure, they have lists of content, but there is a focus on thinking skills, higher level thinking skills. Many people would agree that there is a problem with the standards. I don’t think it’s the standards. When living in KY I witnessed educators teaching the standards. Yeah. That’s what I said. But, you may ask, isn’t that what they are supposed to be doing? Stick with me here. The standards are goals. They are the things we want the kids to be able to do. We don’t teach goals, we achieve goals. When my kids were in school in KY is when I realized the problem with the standards. It wasn’t that the standards are bad, it was they were being implemented incorrectly. Or at least where I was. I asked for some math curriculum. I was told they didn’t have one but they were following the standards. Now, the curriculum is the map that is developed to get to the goal. They were teaching standards, in other words, they were teaching goals without a direction. Worksheets. They used a lot of worksheets. No creativity. No thinking. The Common Core lends itself to creativity. If done right, kids would not be doing worksheets.
I have come to see this in my own kids. I look at the work they bring home. Sometimes I get asked to help with an assignment. I think to myself, “The kid should be making these worksheets. Especially with the math. The kids should be driving the ideas about the math. Not being handed them.” I left KY. I am in NM in a town that has an excellent school system. There is a lot of creativity, but they are also missing that piece I am trying to discuss. That creativity. One of my kids is weird. He has a very existential way of looking at the world. He also has a bit of a fixation on death, especially when he is angry. He tends towards these dramatic moods. That usually happens when he is hangry. I am going somewhere with this, I promise. My son turned in a paper. He turned in a paper about recycling. The teacher sent me the paper and wanted to me see the disturbing point of view he presented. I do not know what the actual assignment was so I made assumptions. He talked about plastic and pollution on earth. He opined that the best solution to the problem of waste and the environment is for humans to kill themselves. Now, I know this is disturbing. I know it is dark. But, this is my kid. I know him. I laughed when I read it. He wasn’t being sarcastic. It is how he feels. He feels that humans are bad for the earth. His solution is drastic I know. But, here’s the thing. It is out the box of normal answers. He took a risk. He didn’t follow the standard response. He was thinking. So, in my mind, I was impressed with the paper. I found out he wasn’t supposed to have an opinion so he had to delete the parts about all humans doing themselves in. But, I felt that was a squish. He got squished. He got admonished for having a free thought. For having an opinion and an idea. He got squished for having feelings too.
I get it the teacher had an assignment and my kid went outside the box. Way outside. But isn’t that what we want? Don’t we want kids to be thinkers? That’s how Common Core reads to me. I hated Common Core at first. But after a few experiences, a lot of reflection, and a second look. I realize, it is a step forward. But is a goal. It is not a method. Teachers have to find methods to get their kids there. But one thing that will get them there faster is letting the kids help in the process. Get the kids to come up with the strategies and the plans. Get the kids to figure out how they are going to meet the goal. I know this is crazy talk. Put the class in the control of the kids? That’s not teaching? NO. It is leading. And leading is a great form of teaching. I have taught in the classroom for 20 years. But, I have also taught outdoor sports activities. When teaching these things I give instruction, but then let go and let the student figure it out. Trial and error. Practice. Why can’t that happen in the classroom? Why aren’t we encouraging more risk taking? Why aren’t we leading kids to find the solution? Not just work the problem. Isn’t that what the standards are? Take a look at them. Read them. Then think about what I am saying. They are goals, not methods. Let’s give our kids more time to be thinkers. Let’s let them think and encourage them to be creative. I wish my son’s teacher had embraced the fact that he was thinking. That he was applying what he had learned and made connections. Sure, it was dark and disturbing, but we can work with it.
Educational Rant 
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