With that being said, if money was no object, I would shut down the public school system all together and privatize education. Private schools are not always better, but with my model, they would either sink or swim, just as businesses do. The good ones would stay in business because they are doing a good job and the bad ones would have poor enrollment and be forced to restructure or close their doors. The parents of students would receive a voucher to attend ANY school of their choice, and because of this, the schools compete for your business and therefore would constantly be trying to one-up each other with the variety of subjects and programs offered.

The schools would all have an area of specialization that they would be known for. Some schools would be great for “ADD” kids and would focus and would focus on an intensly hands on interactive way of teaching.

Some schools would have great athletics, great arts programs, writing, and yes even history (some people find it quite interesting, and so it is they that can really learn from it, the rest of us just make it.). You name it there would be a school that offers it as their strength or specilty.

Trade schools would begin in the 7th grade, so that they enjoy their education and are able to use it once graduated from HIGH SCHOOL.

Why we go to school for 14 years (preschool through high school) and have no specialized skills to boot is beyond me. What is the point? Surly it does not take 14 years to master the “basics”. What more is that then if we want to learn a specialized skill, or trade, or area of study, we then have to go back to school on OUR OWN TIME to finally learn something useful. Again, I just dont get it. It’s no wonder some kids are totally put off by the idea of continuing their education after high school, they are so burnt out by that time (if they haven’t dropped out already) that the last thing they want to do is do another 4 to 8 years of it, 2 of which are spent on MORE GENERAL ED! The public school system is a disaster, and the unions who support them are largely to blame.

That is the reason that I am seriously considering HOME SCHOOLING my two children. My son who is 4 shows the “symptoms” of a child that may be labeled ADD or ADHD. I watch my brother who got that label early on on school, just barely passing one grade to the next, because he learned differently. I will not watch that happen to my kids.

The first thing I would change is to develop a class system based on communication styles. Then when the students feel comfortable relating there thoughts, ideas and opinions with people similar to themselves, then branch the classes out to mix the different communication styles. As far as I know there are 4 types I learned about so 2 and 2 could interact at a time then switch it up.

The second thing would be to include the concept of an Idea Journal starting in classrooms as early as kindergarten. This way teachers are able to visually depict the creativity that is sparked within each child. Enhancing the mind at an early stage is vital in order to bring out talents that may lay hidden. We wouldn’t want to deprive a student of possibly stumbling upon something great, that potentially might change the world we live in today.

The third thing falls along the line of creativity at every corner. This means a tentative schedule every school day so that if something inspires a student at any time of the day while instruction, he or she are able to act upon it. This could be in the form of drawing, acting, singing, dancing, or even playing. No boundaries or limitations. Rules are in place but limited in ties to creativity. Let an idea be carried on and not forgotten because the mind is feeble and able to disregard information at any time.

Who knows what the capabilities of students are? Let’s not under-mind human imagination. For things in this world would not be possible today if someone hadn’t thought up the idea!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze5UVLtgj4s

2) Starting in elementary school all the way through high school imagine before each certain class the teacher would do a 10 minute assignment with the students where they would have to either draw, write, sing, dance, read… anything about whatever topic the class is about. So if it was a science class the students would have 10 minutes to come up with some creative ideas about any field of science and then present it the class by any means they feel like. From personal experience I find myself to be more creative on my toes without much preparation and by doing this exercise starting from a young age it would accomplish 2 things. First it would spark a different fire in the child’s brain to make them think on their toes and be able to come up with creative and effective ideas on the fly. Second, how many time have you heard in school someone, or maybe yourself say, “oh I have stage fright, or that your scared to talk to a group of people.” Thats probably because back in elementary school you were never used to the idea of talking to a group of people. By allowing children to create and present daily or weekly in the class rooms would encourage and make the students more comfortable not just in the class room, but for the rest of their life by making them more comfortable to speak to a group people.

3) A small and simple way to help ignite creativity with students in elemetry school is on the first day of class have the room completely cleared of desks, cubbies and have everything off the walls. Have different colors of paint and other materials in the room and allow the students to each design a certain part of the class room, whether be painting a picture on the wall, painting the walls certain colors, maybe even instead of the traditional layout of the students facing the front of the room and the teacher standing in front, position the desks in a circle and have the teach stand in the middle… Let the students design their environment. Small things go a long way.

The first thing is a course that would be a class to determine the fields of interest for the kids. See what sparks there minds. Some children would be interested in arts, while others would be interested in science. The purpose of this course would be to discover what the children find interesting and then i would put them on a path to explore that field. With out hindering the kids with specific rules and guidelines on on the subject, i would let there creativity lead them.

The second thing would be the removal of exams. Exams mainly cause stress to the students. Tests cause students to overwork themselves and focus on what they would need for the exam. This kills creativity. I believe that the professors should just grade them based on how well they are doing and this would promote creativity.

The last thing that i would change would be the funding. If schools can afford to help people educate themselves and provide the necessary materials, then more people can explore there creativity. They can become educated and this would in turn help bring about new changes in our lives. For example, lets say the next great scientist who would change the way we think about life could not afford to go to school. This would not only be a loss to himself but to mankind. We would lose out on the new perspective that he would have created if he did not have finantial difficulties that held him back.

Second, I would make it mandatory that every teacher encourage their students to pursue their dreams. Like Sir Ken Robinson said today a degree does not mean the same as it used to. Students are not encouraged to pursue what they want in life so many choose, like me, to get a degree no matter what it is. If students are continually encouraged as we grow, it is more likely students will try harder to pursue the career they desire.

Third, I would implement that all schools grade K-12 would set aside one day every two weeks to allow all students to be creative. Whether it is draw all day long or write in a journal all day long, they do something they want to do and is creative. This will allow students to escape from the everyday routine of the normal school schedule and do something they want to do. Areas or classrooms can be designated for those who feel like cooking, drawing, acting, writing, debating, singing, etc. I feel this will allow students to explore their creative side more than they already can in the school setting.

During high school, we were to read a newspaper for 15 minutes everyday. The newspapers we read in most cases had the sports and comic sections taken out of them. Like most high school teens many students would just act or briefly go through the newspaper and a waited the 15 min buzzer to go off. I felt this exercise contained no educational value and the time spent during silent reading. Students may have been able to use there time wisely and benefited from it. I always thought to myself why can’t we just draw, write, or read material we were interested in. Thus, my first suggestions in helping our education nurture creativity. Instead of having students read a newspaper students would be allowed to use the 15 minutes during school to do anything they desired as long it is creative, and productive. Students may read, do home work, draw, paint, and listen to music as long as it is education and creative. Student would keep a journal of what they had accomplished and learned during the 15 minutes of creative time. Student would then turn in the journal at the end of the year and then evaluate what they had year over the course of the school year. I feel if students that are allowed to do something creative and productive they will be able to open there minds more and think outside the box.

My second suggestion on how I would change our education system to enable us to nurture creativity would be to add a creative course in student’s standard education requirement such as English, Mathematics, Science, and History. A creativity course will engage in projects and assignments that allow students to use there creative thought process. A student’s grade will not be determined by the A-F standard grading system. As other students mentioned a use a pass or fail system would be more effective and will be solely based on the participation of a student not quality of there work.

For my third suggestion, I would like to see grade schools offering and encouraging there students to part take in creative events, which will be similar to college week only with providing potential students information on design, culinary, music, and art schools. By making a few changes to education system, and how they deal with nurturing creativity could go a very long way.

I also think the way art is taught to kids should be changed. From what I remember being taught art in school, it was the only thing that it was okay to be bad at. We were always told its okay if you can’t draw good as long as you try. I’m not saying we should be totally critical on little kids and tell them they are wrong. But I think that basic skills should be taught to them, and each unique student’s skill should be noted and improvement should be encouraged. Teachers should use that technique “oh I really like how you did this it looks really nice, why don’t you try to do this” If kids are actually encouraged to work on their skills, they wouldn’t see it as a subject that is unimportant and more kids would realize the rewarding feeling of being challenged and creating something unique that they worked hard at.

Another problem with the public school system is more of a social problem. In regards to kids being afraid to answer questions in class. I think this is because of kids wanting to fit in and not wanting to be wrong because they would look stupid to their classmates. This is not only the teachers fault its just sadly the way lots of schools are. I think that teachers should just do their best to create the best nurturing environment for kids to put all these other things aside. This is not an easy task, but offering extra credit for participation or calling on the quieter students could help getting everyone to share their ideas. Most teachers preach about class participation in the first day of class, but few follow through for the rest of the class.

secondly, for any given visual art class given, i think there should be no grading scale based on the content of what is produced but instead it should solely be based on participation. whether a student gets an A of F, they are being graded on what the instructor considers to be art. this may limit creativity and therefore cause the student to feel as though there is a structured or way to “create”. something i don’t believe to be true.

and finally in order to incorporate more creativity, i would change the structure of a classroom setting. teachers shouldnt limit teaching classes in a white, four wall room with all the seats facing the same way. students would be able to expand their creativity more if they are given more hands on expirences indoor and outdoor as well!

Secondly, I would implement more of the arts in elementary, middle and high schools. There are so many requirements that students must accomplish that are geared toward mathmatics for example, but none for foreign language and music/ arts. Robinson talked briefly about the arts and their importance and I agree. I never took any sort of art or music class in high school (except maybe the one intro to art that was required at my high school; but it was structured in a typical classroom format leaving little room for interpretation or pure creativity). Basically, I think students should still learn the basics as in a traditional sense, but also that the public school systems should structurally mirror the college system of learning.