Creativity - A Really Long Rant

When you look at standardized test scores of children all around the world, it's pretty easy to see that the US is falling behind in some areas. Some folks panic when they realize this. They see a doomsday future where Asian countries rise up with their superior math intellect and subjugate less number savvy nations. I doubt this will happen.

First of all, standardized tests are hardly a measure of a nation's worth. Rather, they are merely a shadow of a reflection of a snapshot of a sketch of the cognitive capacity of children. So what if Asian kids know their times tables earlier than we do? The US has something much more important. You see, we have been for many years and continue to be a crucible of creativity.

Think of all the major invetions created in our nation, Henry Ford's Model T, the Wright Brothers' Kitty Hawk, that stupid segway thing that only mall cops use.

I think it's most unintentional, but our society nutures creativity. We attract great minds from all around the world because of our fascination with new ideas and new technologies. With this in mind, it's pretty easy to see why rank nations by test scores, which are perhaps the most uncreative things in existance, is not necessarily a good idea.

American schools should worry less about test scores, focus more on expanding children's creativity. This works in the favor of schools since creativity not something you need to teach. Not in the way you need to teach history anyway. Kids are by nature very creative. Just go watch a little kid play for 10 minutes and you'll hear more new ideas than you would if you could sit in on a brainstorming session between Leonardo Da Vinci and Thomas Edison.

America's schools are pretty good at getting kids to fall in line. That's pretty much what they're designed for. And, sadly, falling in line is often the death of creative thought. S it's up to us parents.

Want to keep America great? Challenge your kids to be creative. Don't drive it out of them with soul-crushing standardized tests like SAT's. There's a lot of value to finding new ways to solve problems. And, as a parent, I have to keep this in mind when Baby J has used her toy box to escape from her little play enclosure. I have to remember this when she using my computer keyboard as a teething ring.

Listening To: Farm by Dinosaur Jr.