IS CREATIVITY DYING? ARE WE IN A CREATIVITY CRISIS?

A couple of months ago, I was fascinated by a speaking event in Palo Alto, CA led by Po Bronson.  Rather than discussing his latest book NutureShock: New Thinking About Children co-authored with Ashley Merryman- he discussed all of his research going into a Newsweek article posted this week.  As our overall focus with ChicaCircle is on inspiring creativity - it was as if this event and the article were speaking to me.

Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman now provide a compelling and alarming discussion in the Newsweek article around declining creativity.  The article discusses the science of creativity (who knew it could be measured?!) and real life examples of parents and schools that are keeping creativity alive.  They are sounding the alarms that creativity is on the decline despite proof that creativity can actually increase overall brain function and problem-solving.

A particular call to action is that parents and schools need to foster a creative environment for problem solving, fun and learning- especially since our inquisitive kids stop asking so many good questions around middle school.  This involves more than handing out an art kit - but posing the open-ended challenges or questions to help inspiring the use of the tools at hand.

I won't do the science of creativity topic justice by recapping it here - but will share some of the ideas from Po using our own real-life examples on how to inspire creativity with your kids:

•Encourage problem-based learning.  

Next time my daughter shrieks with delight around iPad time, I will ask her what new iPad game she would would create if she couldn't play Diner Dash?

•Feed your kids open-end questions.  

Why do you or your kids think the World Cup octopus can pick the winners so accurately?

•Encourage self reliance & risk taking.  

My tween daughter recently challenged my husband to race up 9 flights of stairs in our building.  He responded by taking the elevator while she ran.  I would not have let her do it alone- but will reconsider my stance after seeing how proud and excited she was to win the challenge and to have some independence (she really did win the challenge).  Her boosted confidence gave her additional energy through the rest of the day.

•Teach adaptability and flexibility - chaos with a foundation of order.   

While all of the above involves a little bit of chaos- bring it all together while insisting on some order- whether it is coming up with a method to pick the favorite answer among their ideas or giving structure in the day's schedule.

As a side note around chaos, creativity and order- check out the Creative Chaos blog.  Despite the blog name -Karen Aguirre shows that out of her inspired chaos comes beauty and a sense of order.

Bottom line- every parent should read the Newsweek article (or at least use our abridged highlights above).  It will change the way you interact with your kids. Also, check out the Nutureshock website for more information.

What will you do to foster creative expression and problem solving skills for yourself and your kids?

Post by Lynnee Jimenez