How Schools Are Stifling Your Kids’ Creativity and What You Can Do About It

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Hey there! Let’s chat about something that’s been on my mind—how our education system might be dampening our kids’ creativity and what we can do to change that.

The Problem with Routines

Schools thrive on routines, and while there are valid reasons for this—like making things easier for teachers and providing a sense of security for kids—we might be going overboard. Picture our brains on a seesaw: too much surprise can lead to anxiety, while too little can cause boredom. Both states aren’t great for learning. It’s all about finding that sweet spot!

Research tells us that surprise is actually key to learning. Surprising events grab our attention and stimulate our emotions, making it easier to absorb new information. Even babies are natural explorers when faced with the unexpected! When we introduce surprise into learning, we’re not just making it more fun; we’re actually boosting creativity by forging new neural connections in our brains.

Ways to Add Surprise to Learning

So, how do we infuse a little surprise into classrooms or home learning? Here are a few fun ideas:

1. Ask Thought-Provoking Questions: Instead of the usual queries, throw in some wonder-sparking ones like, “Why do you think clouds are fluffy?” or “What do you think makes a hero?”
2. Give Assignments a Twist: How about a math problem with a fun scenario? “A dragon accidentally drops a treasure chest from 50 feet! How long before it hits the ground?”
3. Use Mystery: Tease new topics. “Today’s lesson is a surprise, but I won’t say what it is yet!”
4. Play Games: Turn concepts into interactive games, like broken telephone to illustrate communication!
5. Engage with the Real World: Write letters or go on spontaneous adventures—field trips can happen anywhere!

The Importance of Embracing Uncertainty

Another key area where schools fall short is teaching kids to tolerate ambiguity. We’re great at teaching them facts, but not so much at helping them sit with questions and uncertainty. When I taught college, my students often felt lost about their futures, thinking they were failures for not having everything figured out.

In Hawaiian culture, students are encouraged to ponder their questions for a day before seeking answers, fostering a sense of curiosity and resilience. Many unschooling families travel to expose their kids to diverse perspectives, helping them embrace life’s uncertainties.

Want some easy ways to encourage this? Here are my top picks:

• Encourage Daydreaming: It’s good for creativity! Set aside some time for the family to just dream together.
• Ask Open-Ended Questions: Promote discussions with questions that have no right or wrong answers like, “What do you think is the meaning of life?”
• Respond with Curiosity: When kids ask questions, turn it around. “What do YOU think?”
• Invite Diverse Friends Over: Different cultures bring new ideas.
• Create Freestyle Artwork Together: Forget the templates and let imaginations run wild!

I’m not saying we should ditch all structure—there’s a balance to be found. School should feel as exciting as a great book or a thrilling video game. The reason we keep turning pages or playing games is the element of surprise mixed with predictability—it keeps us engaged!

In the end, we want our kids’ learning experiences to feel like adventures filled with discoveries rather than a monotonous routine.

Summary

To sum it up, schools may be unintentionally stifling creativity by leaning too heavily on routine and not enough on surprise and ambiguity. By introducing unexpected elements, encouraging open-ended questions, and allowing kids to explore the unknown, we can foster a more enriching learning environment.

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