By Emi Gruender
Flying taco cats. Turtles driving taxis while racing in the Indy 500. Charming, colorful drawings appeared on paper as every second ticked by, the summer sun beating down on the grass outside. Little(r) hands grabbing at crayons and markers with a fervor, constructing fantastical and impossible creations without thinking twice. Finally being the age of the counselors I had always looked up to, I watched these kids create without boundaries in ways I could only have done when I was their age.
When asking high school students to perform the same task, many refuse— saying they’re “not artists” or “can’t think of anything.” The willingness to just let themselves create, without fear of judgment or “bad grades” lurking around the corner, plummets as students grow older. Is this phenomenon due to the fact that children are innately more creative than adults? Not necessarily.
Throughout middle and high school, especially in the academically-inclined Silicon Valley, students are told over and over again that their utmost responsibilities are only to get excellent grades and attend a prestigious college, and only then will they be able to succeed. Students’ worth and prospects are determined by the amount of extracurricular activities they do, how many hours of sleep they lose per night, and letters on an app. In order to excel in these classes, students must conform to one way of thinking in order to attain the good grades that guarantee their future. Students must memorize this equation, remember this formula. If a student wants to keep up with their course load, they must accept the way it is, rather than explore and understand at a deeper level. Every problem must be solved in the same way. Essays must follow strict guidelines. Reading—once a willing pastime—becomes a chore that keeps students away from books even after finishing school. More and more importance falls on standardized testing, on rote memorization.
Although certainly not purposefully, years of conditioning in a school system that only recognizes one or two facets of intelligence, can diminish creativity and willingness to think outside of the box. In fact, the underpinnings of America’s emphasis on education lie in the Industrial Revolution– when widespread companies first started to need to employ literate workers. The skills needed for these positions included the requirement that employees be able to read and write— perhaps be capable of basic arithmetic as well. Higher education was added to the standard high school curriculum, like foreign language and laboratory sciences, to enrich the educational experience of future American society. But many of these classes hinge on an innate ability to memorize and conceptualize— lest students be left behind in the dust, or looked down upon for an 89%.
According to The South African College of Applied Psychology, there are principally 9 main types of intelligence— Naturalistic, Musical, Logical/Mathematical, Existential, Interpersonal, Linguistic, Bodily-Kinaesthetic, Intrapersonal, and Spatial. Facets of intelligence like Logical/Mathematical and Linguistic are often, if not the only forms of intelligence measured by school. Any other forms of intelligence are often viewed as lesser— not worthy of being called an “intelligence” at all. Students that do not excel in these specific categories may be labeled as “dumb” or “less bright” than their peers just because their aptitudes lie elsewhere. They lie in an aptitude that society has devalued as “intelligence” as a whole.
Julian Astle, a former director of Creative Learning and Development of RSA Blog, cites Gillian Lyne— an extremely successful dancer and choreographer, and her experience with school. When she was young, her teachers recommended her to be evaluated because of her learning difficulties, due to her “inability to sit still and concentrate.” However, when Gillian was left alone to the tunes of a radio, the doctor told the parents that Gillian wasn’t sick or dumb— she was a dancer.
By continuing in the harmful trend that values some facets of intelligence over others, school can inadvertently decrease the natural skills of different students, thereby discouraging creativity. This heavy emphasis on only a couple of these intelligences, discounting the others as a valid measure of brainpower, discourages diversity in both thought and action. Creativity makes every person different from one another. When scholastic institutions emphasize only the prodigious intelligence of those who can write or do math, and ignore the prodigious students of agriculture, dance, music, empathy, and much more, students feel pressure to conform. To earn that coveted gold star in Mathematics and English, to be able to call themselves “smart,” students must stifle the different aptitudes they possess, and tape the walls around them. Look at them! They fit the mold! They can follow the rules and they meet the arbitrary standards of what it means to be “smart.”
Too many of us students believe the only way to succeed is to get that A, earn that trophy, get into that dream college. As a result, our creativity becomes abandoned on the roadside— remnants of a childhood we no longer need.