Can you teach creativity to kids? A ‘Yes’ and an emphatic ‘NO’.
Confused?
It is our long standing notion of creativity that prompts us to accept or reject the notion of the ability to teach creativity.
Table of Contents
Can you teach creativity? The YES argument
If creativity is all about a set of tools and how you can put each of them to use, to solve a unique problem, then – YES, creativity can be taught.
Can you teach creativity? The NO argument
However, if creativity is beyond that and it is about trying to solve a problem not with any predefined tool sets, but applying the complete gamut of experiences life has taught us, collectively, to approach and possibly discover, along the way, a unique mode of solving the problem – then the answer to the question is a resounding ‘NO’. Creativity, by this definition, becomes a personal quest at solving problems – you cannot draw upon the experiences of others in entirety, to the extent of crafting a solution from them.
My personal opinion
I personally stand by the latter and according to me creativity, going by its pristine definition, can never be taught.
Study creative instances and distill ideas.
However, students during their formative years can be trained to look out for instances that embody creativity and try to inculcate the same.
Put kids in challenging situations and let them learn
- They can be peppered with lots of instances where a solution seemed improbable, but then, a simple ingenious creative thought did the trick. Ex: The case of the soap factory and the need to identify and pick out empty cartons from the assembly line.
Manufacture challenges for kids
- Students can be given lot of hand-on tasks that give them opportunities to use their mind to solve problems on the go. Ex: STEM activities
These three practices can go a long way in honing the brains of students to be receptive to ideas and imbibe them.
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