Creativity and Curiosity: My Thoughts - Special Post #12A.

Do modern day educational institutions destroy the curiosity and creativity of their students? This is the main question that I will address in this EDM310 special assignment. I will also address the seven questions that Dr. Strange listed on his EDM310 class blog, and at the end of this blog post I will respond to the original question, that is stated above, with a clear yes or no response. Each question that I will address will help develop a better understanding of my final responce. I ultimately plan to make known the relationship between student curiosity and creativity, and the influence that public education has on each student's curiosity and creativity.

Have schools in the United States systematically destroyed the development of curiosity and/or creativity in students? I personally feel that schools have drained students of their curiosity, and by doing so they have unknowingly robed students of their creativity. Creativity is the product of curiosity, and every human has been given an unquenchable curiosity about the universe around them. Students have a strong desire to learn, but when education ceases to provoke curiosity students will then cease to respond with creative analysis. The schools in the United States have put too much emphasis on lecture, and have put too little emphasis on creative analysis and student participation.

Can a curriculum be developed that increases the curiosity of students? All assigned curricula can be interesting for students, and it can provoke curiosity in the mind of students. I personally feel that students should be given more control over their own curriculum. Each state has centered its educational requirements around a fixed curriculum that each student is forced to endure, or should I say suffer, and each student's curiosity is murdered by enslaving the student to the abominable state wide examination process. Therefore I feel that curriculum should undergo some serious improvements if schools plan to provoke student curiosity.

Can a curriculum be developed that increases the creativity of students? This question is hard for me to address because of how restricted educators are when it comes to developing different curricula. The majority of the courses that students take are required for their entry into higher levels of education; however, I do feel that students should be challenged in areas which provoke right brain thought processes. The brain is divided into two separate halves: the right half produces the artistic thought process, and the left half processes a more logical and mathematical thought process. Schools in the United States have, in my opinion, put far to much emphasis on left brain development, and they have placed far to little emphasis on right brain development. Student creativity has much to do with both halves of the brain working together to process information.

Can a teacher's actions increase the curiosity of students? ABSOLUTELY!!!!! In the same way that a cause results in an effect, so does an action result in a reaction. The curiosity of a student, in my opinion, is totally dependent upon the actions of the educator. For example, any educator who would take advantage of his or her ability to lecture, with a monotone voice, would produce in me a process of total apathy. Do not misinterpret my point, lecture can produce student curiosity when it is used appropriately, but I have generally found the interesting educators to be those individuals who would use different stimuli to provoke curiosity among my class.

What would help you become more creative? What would help you become more curious? What role would teachers and/or schools have in that process? Yes I know, I did combine the last two questions into one large concluding question. I did this is because of the similarity between creativity and curiosity, and because of how similar my responses would have been for each question. My curiosity and creativity are totally based upon the relevance of the material that is addressed in class. A vast majority of educators feel that it is their job to dictate information to their students and demand that they memorize it, but in actuality educators who feel this way miss the most important reason for the existence of education. The most important reason for education is to provide students with the skills that they will need to succeed in their personal and professional lives. If the addressed curriculum in schools, and the educational actions of the teachers, where directed toward making information relative to each student's future, then I do not think that there would be a problem with curiosity nor creativity in the school system. People learn through doing, not through being told what to do! Curiosity proceeds action and creativity fuels that action!

With all of this said I will now respond, as promised, to the first question that was stated.  Do modern day educational institutions destroy the curiosity and creativity of their students?  Yes.