Written by One paragraph in and I know I”m going to love this weeks topic! Week 7 in my “current issues in education” class has us looking at creativity. This is a topic I am becoming passionate about as I read and learn more about authentically creative experiences, the school experience and how often the two do not allow for much overlap. I hope to change that, even if it’s just in my corner of the school building.
“Dr. Csikszentmihalyi has observed that the most creative people share a common experience in childhood: that of being left alone, often in a barren environment, and of being bored. Paradoxically, solitude and boredom become the springboard from which a creative passion is born”
When was the last time you let your kid be bored? How hard was it for you as a parent to step back and let them be bored in a world that increasingly is asking you to structure your child’s time with sports, and toys and tablets? In a world where a child left alone to play outside can be seen as neglect and where parents feel immense pressure to give their kids all of the experiences?
I wrestle with this question often. I have a two-year-old (*gasp* almost three-year-old) who I want to grow up to be confident. I want him to learn how to read his body as he plays and jumps and climbs and have been trying to curb my instincts to shout in a panic “that’s too high, come back down” and instead try to calmly ask him “do you feel safe?” More often than not the answer is “yes mama” and he climbs a little higher. Once in a while, he says no and lowers himself slowly. I know he is not experiencing true boredom, and he’s learning a lot about balance, safety, motor skills and trusting himself. I am not sure if toddlers can ever be bored, there is so much for them to experience in their world. I wonder if it is something we grow into? My child can spend hours outside in a wooden playhouse that has a door and a window. No furniture. He spends his time creating. Sometimes it’s a garage where he fixes his trucks, sometimes it a replicate of our own kitchen and he bakes cookies. Sometimes it is a hospital.
I was really lucky to grow up in a house where my teenage writing was encouraged, so much so that my parents let me write, in permanent marker no less, on the walls of my bedroom. I wrote all kinds of things. Song lyrics I loved, poetry I had written, stunning lines from novels that moved me to happiness, and the opening lines of Little Women, my all time favourite book. They knew they could shut the door if they didn’t want to see it, and eventually, paint over it when they wanted to sell the house.
How does all this come full circle into my classroom? My experiences as a teenager and as a mother? I’m not sure yet. I’ve only read one paragraph of this week’s readings and felt prompted to write this blog. I’ve dabbled in some creativity reflection, after watching some of Ken Robinson’s TEdtalk videos. I’m not sure how to marry the structures of curriculum outcomes, and authentic creativity – yet, but I know that this year I’ll have some time to explore it with Cohort21 and for that, I am eternally grateful and optimistic.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2012). Reflections on some dangers to childhood creativity. LEARNing Landscapes, 6(1), 19-25.
Hi Mary-Ellen! I love your question, “Do you feel safe?” That is such a great way to check on your worries without stifling the potential for childhood adventure. I spent a lot of time at my grandparents’ growing up. There weren’t many toys, just the woods to explore and unending summer days of going where my mood took me. I know I am creative and I am so grateful that I had what I needed to develop that skill. My firstborn was a challenging child and so we helicopter parented a lot. Never a dull moment for him when he was younger and now he cannot self-entertain himself, so to speak. We virtually ignored his little sister (because of how needy he was) and now she can go off for hours and play by herself in her room, in the yard, or in the basement. Our sample size is small, but there definitely seems to be something going on here. Of course, technology at the ready is just one more way a child’s schedule can get filled with stimulation and true boredom has become rare indeed. Food for thought for sure. Thanks for making me ponder this!
Hi Mary-Ellen,
I loved your use of “yet” in this post when you wrote: “I’m not sure how to marry the structures of curriculum outcomes, and authentic creativity – yet, but I know that this year I’ll have some time to explore it with Cohort21 and for that, I am eternally grateful and optimistic.”
I am also optimistic! With my classes, I find getting outside of the classroom the best way to inspire students to be more creative. Getting them outside (without their devices), and being asked to sit in silence then writing has been a great way to get their minds thinking more outside the box.