I think it is great to teach our children to think creatively, collaborate, lead, take initiative and to use the other tools in the 21st century box. It is still, however, just that, a box. If those are the only things we teach them, or the only way we encourage them to think about things, they will still not explore beyond that realm. To most adults, using rote memory seems painfully simple. That is how most of us were taught to think. Maybe a few people had the good fortune of having a variety of teachers who taught them a variety of skills, and ways to approach topics, but I don't think that is the case for most people.
You see when we polarize our thinking we end up in a place where X=bad and Y=good or vice versa. Either way, we are reluctant (or even refuse altogether) to try anything that does not fit neatly inside the box that we have constructed. You may say, "but when we teach children to think creatively they will explore all their options." In response, I would say, "No, they will explore the options we taught them to explore, and then maybe, if we are lucky, they will take another tiny step and extrapolate a variation of one of the ways they were taught to approach a problem." Teachers are just that, teachers. The children they teach often have very little in the way of experience. While some are naturally creative, and most are naturally curious those are skills that need to be practiced and honed, even when they come naturally.
No comments:
Post a Comment