A recent article in Newsweek, “The Creativity Crisis,” reveals a disturbing trend. While American IQ scores continue to increase with each generation, the exact opposite is true of CQ (creativity scores), as measured by the Torrance Test.
Why is this important? Because innovation is the foundation of American ingenuity and success, and, “the correlation between lifetime creative accomplishment was more than three times stronger for childhood creativity than childhood IQ.”
While our country is reluctant to admit this might be a problem, other countries are racing to foster creative development among children.
I am a member of Generation X, and as such, I’ve witnessed amazing advances in technology. As a devout music lover, I cut my teeth on 45s. I distinctly remember the advent of tape cassettes and the Walkman. If someone had told me there would one day exist a pocket-sized gadget that could house my entire 3,000+ CD collection, I would have called them Buck Rogers. When I was a kid, our TV had about 20 channels, video games were just being invented, kids didn’t have cell phones and we’d never even heard of email or the Internet.
While I’m the first person to admit I love modern day technology (I’m sitting by a lake, typing this on my iPad), I do worry about the effect it is having on our children.
As adults rely on and emphasize technology, are we turning our children into a generation of robots?
Think about it.
In order to be successful in today’s world, you have to be technologically savvy. Schools, even some preschools, have computer labs or computers in the classrooms. Where does the funding for this come from? Well, too often it comes from taking away programs like art, music and physical education.
To further exacerbate the problem, thanks to “no child left behind,” public schools are obsessed with test scores. Teachers rely on rote memorization and a standardized curriculum to ensure kids will pass national testing. In doing so, programs such as creative writing fall by the wayside. This type of guidance in no way fosters creativity.
What it fosters is a generation of robots.
Unfortunately, the problem doesn’t end at the schoolhouse door – it follows our children home.
Without strong parental intervention, today’s kids spend the majority of their time inside, watching TV, playing video games and wasting time online. My generation spent our free time outside, coming inside only for meals. The rest of the day was spent in the woods building forts, playing games and getting lost in the imaginary worlds we created for ourselves. Kids today play in imaginary worlds that others create for them.
When today’s kids have a question, they Google it and look no further than the closest computer to find the answer. They have become accustomed to allowing others to think for them, hooked by the lure of instant gratification.
The irony of the situation is that my generation and previous generations are so creative we excel at innovating addictive gadgets. The latest iFad, video games, TV programs and movies can be like crack cocaine for kids. When my kids (who are limited in their screen consumption) are watching a show, they completely tune out the rest of the world. You literally have to pause the action to get their attention.
You can warn a child that ants bite and hornets sting but unless they experience the pain themselves, the words are meaningless.
My 3-year-old son is fascinated by insects. It used to be next to impossible to keep him from picking up anything he came across … until he was bitten by a few fire ants. Now he understands the importance of “watch out for the red ones,” and we no longer have to caution him.
Self-discovery, and the feelings and emotions that come with it, are all essential building blocks for creativity. Schools, computers and television can teach facts and video games can teach strategy, but life itself is what teaches you to think creatively.
