We are all naturally creative in our own ways but why is it that some people turn out much more creative than others? Could there be more to creativity than we realize?
I recently came across a Tedx talk that highlighted this issue and broke things down in a way that made me think more on the topic than I ever have before. This Tedx talk was from TedxTucson and is a few years old but covers some interesting information. In this Tedx talk Dr. George Land is seen speaking about the results of a creativity test that was developed for NASA but then ended up being used on school children.
Basically, he notes that he was contacted in the past to develop a test that would allow them to test the creative potential for NASA’s rocket scientists and engineers. This was, of course, quite the success and holds serious meaning. That being said, it was from this point on that a study was done in regards. For this ‘study’ scientists gave this same test to over 1,500 children who were merely four and five years old.
Almost all of those who were tested stood in the percentage range that caused them to fall into the category making them basically genius’ when it comes to creativity. From here the study according to Dr. Land was expanded and the children involved were tested again when they reached ten years of age. This made all the difference as the children now were mostly no longer considered genius’ in the world of creativity.
These numbers constantly dropped throughout their years being tested and it seems many believe the education system is to blame for this serious decline. We are taught to do things in the exact same way and rather than being allowed to cultivate creativity we are told that deviating from the normal mode in any way will get your grade reduced drastically. It’s like creativity and imagination has no place in the current educational system as a whole.
Even Sir Ken Robinson has gone so far as to speak on the topic of creativity and the broken school system we call our current model. He has noted that one of the best things a teacher can do in regards to actually teaching is letting go of control and allowing children to be themselves in their own ways. Through closing children off we are not only squashing creativity but also making them not want to do new things or take risks at all.
The further these children went in their educations the less creative they became and that in itself is worth noting. Sure, education is important but is creativity worth losing by allowing the status quo to remain? For more on this please feel free to check out the video below. Dr. Land has a lot to say and the more attention you pay to his words the more you will learn.