Teaching creativity

[Lamplighter]

Years ago I participated in an faculty committee reviewing undergraduate requirements for medical students.
Of course, there was a lot of discussion about science and math courses.
But I advocated for the requirement for arts and music based on the idea that once
entered medical / dental school, there was little or no time left for students to explore the fine arts.

Now, I'm distressed that our public schools are short-changing students due to budget cuts,
and the fine arts are not doing well in the competition for teacher-time and effort and funding

Yesterday, our Oregon Public Broadcasting had an episode about teaching creativity in schools.
Maybe this is happening in your school systems, but if it is not I believe it should be.

FYI before you watch the program here
Prineville is a old, small town in Central Oregon - ranching, timber, cattle, sheep
Rex Putnam is a Portland high school being hit by extreme budget cuts

[Flint]

It is a shame if our public teaching institution have lost sight of what creates a successful person, and a successful culture, to the point that they don't realize that creative thinking is what spurs invention and innovation. This is short-sighted thinking--a symptom of our "bottom line" culture that is being left in its own self-imposed dark ages. Memorization of facts, and high scores on a test that you have been trained to take (like a monkey) creates a useless person. Useful only to a soulless machine state.

However, as the parents of children, we can, and should take the driver's seat in the task of traning the next generation of adults of to "think" effectively. My family has struggled financially to exist on a single income, so that one parent can be on hand 24/7 to address any "teachable moments" that occur during these formative years.

[xoxoxoBruce]

With human knowledge growing exponentially, and what we thought we knew changing rapidly, (plus revising to be politically correct), there's a lot of pressure on schools and students, for both time and resources. The three R's are not even being taught well in a lot of poorer school districts.

I saw an article recently where a CA school district were wailing because they couldn't afford instruments for all the students. WTF, when I was walking uphill both ways, we had to buy or rent our own instruments. I think sticking the taxpayers with the instruction is quite enough.

Yes, music and arts should happen at home, except lots of parents were never expose either, but the taxpayers are struggling too. I've been paying a fortune for a long time to fund these schools, and I've been angry more than a few times about how they piss away money. No, Johnny doesn't need a brand new computer, he can use the one Jenny was using last year, same as the textbooks. No, we don't need lights on the outside basketball courts, when the kids go home in the middle of the afternoon, and the courts are locked up after school.

[Flint]

It doesn't require an unberable burden of resources to introduce elementary school children to classical music, teach them who Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart are. Teach them how to sing do re mi fa so la ti do. Show them what a color wheel is and how it works. What the primary and secondary color are. These are basic things that just require someone to consider them important enough for us to put an hour of the school day aside to show the children these things. Give them the chance to develop an interest.

All of these things I am doing at home, but every parent isn't going to do that.

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

Of course, there was a lot of discussion about science and math courses.
But I advocated for the requirement for arts and music based on the idea that once
entered medical / dental school, there was little or no time left for students to explore the fine arts.

I disagree. By the time med students, or engineers, get into college, they usually have a good idea on what they want to do and the classes they take are on their dollar. Instead of art or music classes they could get out a semester early, and avoid a semester worth of loans, or take more classes that will (hopefully) make them better at their profession. Even if they are forced to take those classes, which my classmates and I were, we took them pass/fail and did just enough to pass. I have an interest in a lot of the liberal arts classes but I'm going to choose studying structural design over John Locke any day of the week. I would recommend liberal arts classes that do have medical or engineering relevance though (drawing, powerpoint stuff, public speaking, etc).


In elementary school, I would agree with art classes if the budget allows but there should also be an emphasis on problem solving in the curriculum. If we are just going for creativity, problem solving takes just as much as art. But, I think there is more reasons to teach art at a young age than just creativity so I wouldn't cut it out all together.

[Lamplighter]

The trouble is that students are not medical or engineering students when they get to college... they are (only) high school graduates.
Some have ideas about what they may want to do, but those ideas are often immature and/or unrealistic
and/or coming perhaps from pressure or tradition of their parents, etc. etc...

Our family took the positions that undergraduate college was a place and time
to explore the world outside of the family, and not just a job-training program,
even if they wanted to eventually go into medicine or other graduate training.
The same can be said for colleges known for engineering or agriculture or business management or whatever.

A student can justify job training almost anywhere along the pathway to adulthood,
but it turns out to be very difficult after using the college years for job training to then try to go back to college
to pick up courses missed in history or literature or philosophy or art or music or whatever.

I believe that after a some years of actual employment in any field, people start looking for other areas of self-fulfillment, and
if they have not ever explored the fine arts or creative pathways
they are at a loss compared with those who have explored and tested their breadth of own interests.
It's those other interests that often can lead to what I perceive as contentment.

[footfootfoot]

Cribbing this post in its entirety from another forum:

Don't Work for Free - Read this post from a Craigslist Artist
note: I did not write this, but I totally agree with what it has to say. I saw this on Digg.com today and Craigslist has already taken it down, read it and take it to heart.

The Post
------------------------
Every day, there are more and more Craigs List posts seeking “artists” for everything from auto graphics to comic books to corporate logo designs. More people are finding themselves in need of some form of illustrative service.

But what they’re NOT doing, unfortunately, is realizing how rare someone with these particular talents can be.

To those who are “seeking artists”, let me ask you; How many people do you know, personally, with the talent and skill to perform the services you need? A dozen? Five? One? …none?

More than likely, you don’t know any. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be posting on craigslist to find them.

And this is not really a surprise.

In this country, there are almost twice as many neurosurgeons as there are professional illustrators. There are eleven times as many certified mechanics. There are SEVENTY times as many people in the IT field.

So, given that they are less rare, and therefore less in demand, would it make sense to ask your mechanic to work on your car for free? Would you look him in the eye, with a straight face, and tell him that his compensation would be the ability to have his work shown to others as you drive down the street?

Would you offer a neurosurgeon the “opportunity” to add your name to his resume as payment for removing that pesky tumor? (Maybe you could offer him “a few bucks” for “materials”. What a deal!)

Would you be able to seriously even CONSIDER offering your web hosting service the chance to have people see their work, by viewing your website, as their payment for hosting you?

If you answered “yes” to ANY of the above, you’re obviously insane. If you answered “no”, then kudos to you for living in the real world.

But then tell me… why would you think it is okay to live out the same, delusional, ridiculous fantasy when seeking someone whose abilities are even less in supply than these folks?

Graphic artists, illustrators, painters, etc., are skilled tradesmen. As such, to consider them as, or deal with them as, anything less than professionals fully deserving of your respect is both insulting and a bad reflection on you as a sane, reasonable person. In short, it makes you look like a twit.

A few things you need to know;

1. It is not a “great opportunity” for an artist to have his work seen on your car/’zine/website/bedroom wall, etc. It IS a “great opportunity” for YOU to have their work there.

2. It is not clever to seek a “student” or “beginner” in an attempt to get work for free. It’s ignorant and insulting. They may be “students”, but that does not mean they don’t deserve to be paid for their hard work. You were a “student” once, too. Would you have taken that job at McDonalds with no pay, because you were learning essential job skills for the real world? Yes, your proposition it JUST as stupid.

3. The chance to have their name on something that is going to be seen by other people, whether it’s one or one million, is NOT a valid enticement. Neither is the right to add that work to their “portfolio”. They get to do those things ANYWAY, after being paid as they should. It’s not compensation. It’s their right, and it’s a given.

4. Stop thinking that you’re giving them some great chance to work. Once they skip over your silly ad, as they should, the next ad is usually for someone who lives in the real world, and as such, will pay them. There are far more jobs needing these skills than there are people who possess these skills.

5. Students DO need “experience”. But they do NOT need to get it by giving their work away. In fact, this does not even offer them the experience they need. Anyone who will not/can not pay them is obviously the type of person or business they should be ashamed to have on their resume anyway. Do you think professional contractors list the “experience” they got while nailing down a loose step at their grandmother’s house when they were seventeen?

If you your company or gig was worth listing as desired experience, it would be able to pay for the services it received. The only experience they will get doing free work for you is a lesson learned in what kinds of scrubs they should not lower themselves to deal with.

6. (This one is FOR the artists out there, please pay attention.) Some will ask you to “submit work for consideration”. They may even be posing as some sort of “contest”. These are almost always scams. They will take the work submitted by many artists seeking to win the “contest”, or be “chosen” for the gig, and find what they like most. They will then usually have someone who works for them, or someone who works incredibly cheap because they have no originality or talent of their own, reproduce that same work, or even just make slight modifications to it, and claim it as their own. You will NOT be paid, you will NOT win the contest. The only people who win, here, are the underhanded folks who run these ads. This is speculative, or “spec”, work. It’s risky at best, and a complete scam at worst. I urge you to avoid it, completely. For more information on this subject, please visit www.no-spec.com.

So to artists/designers/illustrators looking for work, do everyone a favor, ESPECIALLY yourselves, and avoid people who do not intend to pay you. Whether they are “spec” gigs, or just some guy who wants a free mural on his living room walls. They need you. You do NOT need them.

And for those who are looking for someone to do work for free… please wake up and join the real world. The only thing you’re accomplishing is to insult those with the skills you need. Get a clue.

[Lamplighter]

After I submitted my post above, I realized I had not included the pic's that I thought would help make my point.

Here they are...
These are two bridges in Portland across the Willamette River, built about the same time (1925 - 1929).
But one is and always has been an eye sore.
The other gets raves from residents and tourists alike.

There are parks beneath each bridge with grass and benches and parking.
The St John's Cathedral Park is often crowded while the Sellwood Park is usually deserted.

I contend the differences are based on history and art and religion and design, beyond just the knowledge of structural engineering.

[kerosene]

Originally Posted by footfootfoot

Cribbing this post in its entirety from another forum:

[footfootfoot]

I have to look around in my notes from school (furniture design) where I read that in Victorian times the shape of the mouldings, cornices, and other architectural details were not simply ornamental but had symbolic meanings and referred to broader concepts. Looking at a Victorian building with an educated eye one could essentially "decode" a message.

Here is a link to other Victorian symbolism:
http://victorianhairjewelry.com/symbols.html

When I was younger I worked at a high end woodworking tool store and we had a bunch of tools wired to peg board as samples. One day I had to get a new caliper from stock for a customer and he said it wasn't the right one, even though the stock # matched. I checked the new tool against the old one on the peg board and was disheartened to see how cheaply made the new one was.

The old caliper had a beautifully turned adjusting knob with fine knurling and a delicate bead and cove detail, the handle had a small turned finial, and the whole thing was polished. The newer one in comparison, from the same company, had a die cut flat knob with coarse knurling, a stamped caliper and a small steel dowel as a handle. Probably made with five steps as opposed to fifteen or twenty. Score one for the bean counters who do not factor in the lifetime of handling and working with an object of beauty.

Early American Furniture is segregated into different periods and the first period or style of furniture is often called "Survival." It's the Pilgrim's equivalent of cement blocks and pine boards for a bookshelf, characterized by lack of ornamentation and finish, it is wholly utilitarian. It wasn't until later when houses were built, fields were planted, and people had a leg up that furniture began to become decorative. It seems strange that we've regressed in many ways to an aesthetic that is so primitive and brutish.

You really only see such crappy work as the second bridge when you look at eastern germany and russia during communism.

[warch]

Ok, this is up my alley. I teach visual art, and recognize the unique sort of knowing that happens with hands on creative studio practices. That said, creativity isnt just part of arts education (although, in schooling it is most often where its able to exist) Creative thinking should be supported, invited, encourages across and through all primary education. thinking such as metaphor making, perspective shifting, question finding or raising, and good old reasoning are practiced in creative arts, science, design practices. And those are the practices that make up 21st c life...at least a participating, functioning, agentic life...which is what I would hope for all kids.

But back to the art programs in K-12...for some kids art is the critical link that allows, invites and motivates them to find meaning in their schooling. Along with art studio practices are moments of expression and if lucky, a pivotal moment of , for lack of any other way to describe it, an aesthetic experience of possibility, value, validity, future. The payoff for both teacher and students.

There is much focus on art studio habits of mind: looking at the processes of art learning, rather than sole focus on products. Naming these maps them out but when rolling, they're fluid and spiraling rather than linear.

develop craft-- engage & persist--envision---express--- observe--reflect--stretch & explore-- connect with art worlds.

So support arts in schools=== quality teachers are more important than snazzy gear. And visiting artist and field trips are not enough to cover for the elimination of a comprehensive arts program. Visual arts and language arts have never been closer in content, processes and in real world creative literacy application. I think that's pretty cool.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by footfootfoot

You really only see such crappy work as the second bridge when you look at eastern germany and russia during communism.

But they work, they are cheaper to build, and way cheaper to maintain. And with the money left over you can build a park with fountains, sculptures and swans, out of the way of the damn traffic.
But I do agree on the tactile pleasure of using my old school machinist tools.

I'm not sure I see the connection between art and critical thinking, except expanded knowledge/experience shows there's more than one way to skin a cat. But however kids get it, the younger the better, methinks.

It's a shame that most (make up a big percentage for the internet) kids, don't have the luxury of using their undergraduate years to find themselves and their social status. No, most have to struggle to even get in four years, and then struggle to get out from under the massive debt. That means learn something useful, get out as quickly as possible, and get a job.

[warch]

regarding critical thinking...
When engaged in actively making meaning from something like art with multiple possibilities you have the great potential to exercise many forms of critical thinking. When that process happen within a group of people- as shared audience or collaborative makers, its really rich. Its what so many do here with image of the day....it sparks connections, personal narrative, cultural references, it leads to judgment, debate, and the negotiation of what this thing might possibly merit and mean to anyone or everyone

[xoxoxoBruce]

OK, so it is the expanded scope of possibilities then, either by personal broader experience/knowledge or by collaboration.

Hey, isn't there something about art by committee?

[Lamplighter]

Actually, the St Johns bridge was built as it is because it was lighter
and therefore less expensive than the older Sellwood type.
It's construction was completed early and under budget.
But it's artistic beauty was not requisite for a suspension bridge design

While some students entering 4-year colleges may be there for some sort of job training kind of experience,
I think you see such attitude and experience more at the community college level where costs are lower
and the age of the students tend to be older.
Many students at community colleges are already working...
at jobs they either don't like or they are specifically in need of job training,
OR they are students taking college credit courses for financial reasons (e.g., still live at home).