I'm back from vacation! It was a great time to rest and catch up on my reading. The number one book was "The Global Achievement Gap" by Tony Wagner. As I mentioned in one of the posts before, he is a serious about education. There is so much information to share but I'll list the 7 skills he lists in his book as needed by every student to succeed in the twenty-first century.
1- Critical thinking and problem solving;
2- Collaboration across networks and leading by influence (versus leading by authority);
3- Agility and adaptability;
4- Initiative and entrepreneurialism;
5- Effective oral and written communication;
6- Accessing and analysing information;
7- Curiosity and imagination.
Most of the skills are not a surprise to me, but what caught my attention was the last one. Many people believe that creativity is a talent that people are born with and cannot be developed. Yes, creativity can be developed and can be taught. Also, this skill is not needed in all profession. However, with globalization and economy issues, finding creative ways to solve a problem or improve a system is very appreciated by the leaders of companies.
What are we doing in our classroom or at home with our children to developed their creativity?
That's an interesting question, and the answer isn't as simple as it might seem at first. Traditional Montessori Education doesn't discourage creativity in young children but sometimes I think it does tend to channel it in specific directions. For example, it's very easy to put a work out on the art shelf, such as making a collage. But in the process, do we put so many steps into work that it becomes more an issue of following the steps correctly, rather than giving the child the technique and letting them create something original to the child.
ReplyDeleteCreativity takes many forms, artistic ability is only one of them. The ability to think creatively and use ones imagination applies across a wide variety of subject areas and interests. I think that what's important to to encourage the potential for creative and flexible thinking in the child. The question of the role of imagination in developing creativity opens a whole other can of worms...