The possibility brought up in "The Creativity Crisis" that the way we are taught is not the best way to teach is an oddly comforting thought. Comforting, because that means that all the responsibility for those low essay, test or quiz grades is not entirely on each of our shoulders. Odd, because in our minds there has been no right and wrong, okay and better systems of teaching. It has always been a "if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen" sort of thing. And so, we stay in the kitchen and keep fighting not to melt under the pressure.
Thinking about why this particular "drill and kill" system is being used brings up a point of the reason being a natural inclination of all human beings; to compete with one another, and in turn find the "Alpha". Here, one could think of multiple explanations of why we love competition. Whether it is to watch, argue or actually compete, it is an instinct that everyone shares. One explanation for our love of competition would bring up Darwin's theory of Survival of the Fittest. But that would also involve egos into the mix because to compete, we must have a motivator. That motivator in this case, is to be the smartest but to also have statistical proof of that genius, because if it is on paper it must be true.
One could also argue that both methods of teaching have their advantages. The drill and kill method ensures that minor and major ideas are at least gone over, while the creative method involves going around and through using previous knowledge to get to an end point. The question is, how can one really measure intelligence or creativity? That depends on independent definitions of what exactly intelligence or creativity means to each person on the planet. For one, creativity could be proven with writing, and for someone else, intelligence could be proven in writing, and for another it may be considered that both could be proven in a piece of writing. The essential point is that those statistics are dependent on independent factors of a multitude of opinions and learning styles. Final question: If there are several learning styles, why is there only one teaching style being used?
I totally agree that our educational systems in America do not emphasize individual creativity. And that is really too bad, because creativity is one of the most important skill to have in the world today. It is also very true that this “drill and kill” system used in America often involves a ton of pressure and stress on the student’s part, when there are better systems to educate. School should not be about competition, grades and memorization (as it generally is now); it should be about learning, but also about developing, applying, and exercising one’s unique creativity. This would make school much more suitable and enjoyable for students, and more real-life applicable. It is scary to me that creativity in America is declining, because that really shows that as a country, we are doing things all wrong. In school, kids should be taught to be their own unique person and to express their creativity in a variety of ways.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful start up to the essay. The metaphor you use at the end of the first paragraph is a really nice one in my opinion. I however don't agree with you in that us being taught wrong is comforting. I have always thought that the education system was a joke. It stresses subjects that most of us don't care about or use and builds an army of professors instead of leaders and innovators. These I believe come from sports and social activities. I find the current way that the school teaches us scary. It stifles creativity and impulse and awards ultimate conformity to rules and regulations. I'm a free thinker and as such I believe school should be more based on creativity and changed to involve leadership training too.
ReplyDeleteThe point you bring on about competition in humans is very interesting too. I haven't thought about our education system like that yet and am really happy that you have shined this light on it. But I don't think we can change human competition. It IS in out genes in my opinion.
Also I'll answer your final question with a question: What other teaching styles are there? There are styles that focus on different aspects but they are all basically the same thing. Teacher teaches and gives homework as to make student practice.