Edgerton 1 Leah Edgerton Megan Keaton ENG 112 25 April 2013 Argumentative Essay Recently there has been

a spike of interest in whether or not creativity should be taken out of schools. While some people believe that creativity in schools should be taken out, a close examination demonstrates their method to be flawed. In this article I argue that creativity should be kept in schools for not only academic and personal purposes but for future purposes as well. In this paper, I will first show the different thinking styles involving creativity. Next, I will explain the difference between creative teaching and academic teaching. Lastly, I will discuss the connection between creativity and national prosperity. People all around the world experience and learn a certain way. For example one person may understand the teachers lesson better if pictures and colors were involved, while another might learn from listening to the teacher lecture. With that being said, there are eight thinking styles known to man; we will only be discussing four. First there is the visualization type of thinking. This involves great imagination and being able to see things in a different point of view. Visualization is found more in children than adults in our society. Next is Experimentation, which allows a person to be more experimental and have a divergent way of thinking (Wright 11). Another major thinking style is Logical thinking; making decisions and reasonable and responsible choices. Logical thinking is to pay more attention to what is real rather than what is a

Edgerton 2 possibility. Lastly is Evaluation, which means separating the relevant from the irrelevant and thinking not subjectively but critically and objectively (Wright 11). If teachers focus more on the how each student learns, then maybe our school system would see an increase in test scores and the positive attitudes of students. Creativity in the class room encourages the student to step out of their comfort zone and try things they wouldnt normally do. If a student shows interest in doing group projects or hands on work, then that should be an option for the students. An environment that supports creativity is one that encourages risk-taking, independence and flexibility (Gibson n.p.). The classroom should not only be a place for students to learn but also a place where they should be able to have fun while they are learning. In that particular environment, teachers should encourage students to step out of their comfort zone and try new things. Good teachers use a variety of teaching methods to accommodate the diverse learning styles of their students any student taught in the way that is responsive to his or her patters of abilities can excel (Sternberg n.p.). Teachers, in todays society, should be more involved with their students in the class room. Teachers should be able to see and understand the different learning styles their students have in order for teachers to see their students succeed. All teachers want their students to do well, but if they do not put forth the effort to try new things, then the students might not be as successful. Creative teaching requires an openness to experience, a willingness to take risks and healthy amounts of flexibility, spontaneity and open-mindedness (Gibson n.p.). What this means is that in order to have creativity flowing in the classroom, it is important to be open to new things as a teacher and as a student. According to education.com, creative teaching is defined as the development and use of novel, original, or inventive teaching methods. As a teacher it is important to use creativity to keep the class involved and paying attention. On the

Edgerton 3 other hand academic teaching is what our schools seem to be more focused on. Even though it is important to have strict academic teaching to help keep our students on task and focused, it is also important to throw a curve ball here and there. What I mean is that research found that creative individuals produce higher quality work when they are motivated by personal commitment rather than extrinsic rewards (Gibson n.p.). Students need to be able to do things because they want to do something amazing. Bribing a student to do something out of the box can make them do something creative but only for that certain amount of time. Let the students have multiple opportunities to do creative work throughout the school year. A fact known to Albert Einstein when he commented imagination is more important that knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world (1929) more than 80 years ago. (Gibson n.p) On another note, some people believe that creativity in schools is distracting and pointless. Some believe that creativity is a concept that has generally been considered illstructured, a fuzzy zone that is not well defined and hard for many people to grasp (Mirsha n.p.). Parents sometimes believe that if a teacher is being silly and playing games in class that they are not doing their job and teaching their students the correct way. That being said, it may lead to parents going to the Board of Education and complaining. Knowledge can straitjacket someone making the person a slave rather than a master of his or her knowledge or point of view (Wright n.p.). If we are not careful with the way teachers are teaching, students might be turned off and not be interested at all about going to class or school. Creativity may be about fun and games, but it is also Americas single greatest comparative advantage in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. (Wince-Smith n.p.) Creativity is known to improve how students learn and it is a freedom of thought and speech, a diverse population, an open society, capital markets that quickly move to support new and

Edgerton 4 exciting ideas, and a heritage of risk taking and pushing back frontiers (Wince-Smith n.p.). One way of describing creativity is innovation. Innovation means being able to see things in a new way and finding different routes to fixing a problem. Creativity is a way students in the classroom can look at problems and find new creative ways to fix them. I believe it is wrong for
parents to judge a teacher based on the creativeness in the classroom. They do not see exactly what their child may be learning and not realize that the creative teaching might just be strengthening their childs knowledge. Keeping creativity in schools is something that should be mandetory. Classes should be a place or students to have fun and learn at the same time. We need to add visual and kinesthetic activities in for the students to get their minds and creative juices running. Teachers should provide study times or study guides on how to study to help the student figure out the best way they can study. A group activity before and/or after the class might be a good idea for teachers to throw into their lesson plans. This way if the student has any questions or need help with something they can have that one on one talk with their teacher or talk with their classmates. All in all, creativity is and should be looked at as a pro and not a con. Creativity is more likely to help you succeed than cause you to fail.

Edgerton 5

Works Cited Sternberg, Robert J. "Wisdom, Intelligence, And Creativity Synthesized: A New Model For Liberal Education." Liberal Education 95.4 (2009): 10-15. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. Gibson, Robyn. "The 'Art' Of Creative Teaching: Implications For Higher Education." Teaching In Higher Education 15.5 (2010): 607-613. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. Mishra, Punya. "Rethinking Technology & Creativity In The 21St Century: Crayons Are The Future." Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning 56.5 (2012): 13-16. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. Wince-Smith, Deborah L. "The Creativity Imperative: A National Perspective." Peer Review 8.2 (2006): 12-14. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Apr. 2013

Edgerton 6
Wright, Susan. "CREATIVITY." The Arts, Young Children, and Learning. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2003. 89. Print. "Creative Teaching." Education.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2013.

Toulmin: Steps 1,2 or 3 (swales) Introduce problem Give solution (claim a reason) solution Warrants (unstated assumptions) Organization In this paper I will

Body of the Toulmin: 1. Side 1-side you support 2. Side 2- what you dont support

Edgerton 7 3. rebuttal- responds to side 2 (respond to what they are saying) Now what conclusion program that helps creativity get more into schools. We need to start every class periods with a kinesthetic activity in the class room what steps should we take?