Essay: No More Music and Art

The average American student takes 112 standardized test between pre-kindergarten and the end of 12thgrade. This represents the obsession America has with standardized testing. Schools’ curriculums have enforced standardized learning over creative learning. Based on the “Creativity Crisis” article by Po Bronson, student creativity has decreased by 50% between 1st and 4thgrade. This demonstrates that their priority is standardized testing over creativity. The system believes everyone is the same, and it continues imposing standardized testing over creativity. It is a shame that despite the fact everyone is different, they continue enforcing it. This continually kills the different way of thinking by each student creating barriers that they may find difficult to overcome. America has become a nation in risk of losing its creativity and that is why the system should be focusing on creating a balance between creativity and assessment rather than enforcing standardized testing.
Creativity means almost nothing to America’s standardized-obsessed schools. American teachers stated that there is no room for creativity in class: “Overwhelmed by curriculum standards,American teachers warn there’s no room in the day for creativity class” (Po Bronson) and “Creativity should be taken out of the arts rooms and into the homerooms” (Bronson). It is clear that the system doesn’t want to put an effort on offering room for creativity. American education leaders preferred being strictly the same toward each student.
Meanwhile, other countries prioritize the amount of creativity to which a child should be exposed: “Around the world, though, other countries are making creativity development a national priority.” (Bronson). It is clear that other countries are taking advantage of creativity by seeing it as something that will completely benefit them for the future. The lack of creativity development in schools is having a negative effect toward students. Schools do not put an effort to help students follow their different dreams or ideas but instead, they seem to make it seem impossible for students to follow their own dreams. It becomes a matter of luck for students to have an opportunity to at least develop a little bit of creativity in schools. Creativity clearly does not have a large meaning to the system; however, it is something that must be taken into consideration since students are suffering from the consequences this has and as a matter of fact, students are the ones that are going to be in charge of the country in a near future. A balance needs to be found. It is clear the system needs to change and nurture creativity.
As stated on the Creativity Crisis article “IBM poll of 1,500 CEOs identified creativity as the No. 1 ‘leadership competency’” (Po Bronson). Creativity is what brings up the leaders of tomorrow and because of this, the education system should have an emphasis on the creative development in order to make everyone unique and able to think out of the box in their own way. As schools continue practicing the same standardized tests for everyone, every person’s independent ability to think and come up with creative solutions is being killed rather than nurtured. Uniqueness is slowly disappearing in schools due to the fact that kids are taught to think in the same way as everyone else. They overwhelm students by making them focus in math, science and other classes and do not give them time for creative activities. The system is not looking into future consequences of this action since by continuing on this path, unemployment rates will increase and companies will not be able to differentiate qualities of people applying for the same job. Ken Robinson stated “According to UNESCO, in the next 30 years more people worldwide will be graduating through education than ever before.”(Robinson). We will be facing a process called ‘academic inflation’. No one will be able to pull out that extra trait that makes them unique and that makes them shine in what they really enjoy. No one is trying to find a real balance between uniformity and individual creativity, which can diminish a student’s performance.
In order to find a balance between standardized learning and creativity, a variety of solutions should be taken into consideration. To start with, a classroom environment in which every student is granted the opportunity to participate and express their ideas should be implemented. By doing this, kids will be able to freely express what they are thinking without worrying if they are being judged by what they are saying of if it is right or wrong. Also, student should be motivated to work on different skills that they have not yet mastered. They should be taken out of their comfort zone for them to try different subjects that are not related to what they are comfortable with. For example, if someone is good in math or science, they should maybe try working on something related to art, such as playing an instrument, painting, sculpting, etc., something related to history, or even something related to a native or foreign language. Students should also be given the opportunity to follow their dreams instead of having their inspirations narrowed and constrained. They should be motivated to keep working on what they enjoy the most, although at the same time trying to learn something new from a different field, to be able to specialize in something but at the same time keep expanding their horizons. Finally, students should be given more teamwork for them to socialize with others and be able to come to and agreement or solution to something together. Through group work, students can listen to different ideas, become more open minded, and have a broader way of thinking for them to have a variety of ways in which they could solve a single problem. With all of these solutions, students can find a positive way in which they could balance both creativity and uniformity by dedicating a certain amount of time to each division.
After researching how creativity is diminished throughout the school system I was able to conclude that the United States gives really low importance to creativity. If the educational system continues following the same path negatives effects will come in society, in employment and in one’s personal and intellectual development. As Robinson stated “ the problem is to remain an artist as we grow up’’ (Robinson). Our society needs to have diversity and for that we need to be educated with a balance. The balance need to be found now, nurturing students with creativity in schools should be a priority in the United States too.  The educational system should start supporting more rather than undermining the creativity.