The Creativity Question: at 40,000 Feet
I was on a cross-country flight yesterday and watched a 2 year-old boy and his mom play with Mr. Potato Head. The problem was, mom didn't want her little fella to make Mr. Potato Head his way. The boy would reach into the Ziploc bag, pull out a piece and immediately mom was pointing to where junior should place the piece on the spud -- and, of course, it was always in the "correct" spot. If he deviated and tried to slip a tongue in the ear hole, mom was grabbing his hand and guiding it over to the mouth area.
What's up mom?
Why do we have such a hard time letting kids do it their way? Admit it...you have at some point, like me, tried to guide your child's creative ventures toward the "norm" -- the sun goes in the sky, every house has a chimney, hair should be yellow, not greeen -- or, in my own guilty case not long ago, the LEGO brick goes here, not there.
I consulted Wikipedia on the topic of creativity and found some fascinating reading material. No one seems to really be able to define, or more importantly, measure, a person's creativity or its significance.
I found one quote that sums it up quite well:
"Creativity, it has been said, consists largely of re-arranging what we know in order to find out what we do not know." George Keller
It wasn't until her 2 year-old, after repeated attempts to distort Mr. Poato Head's features, screeched at the in-air Bree Vandekamp that she, more out of embarrassment and respect for other passengers, allowed him to put the arm in one of the eye holes...at which point, all was suddenly right in that little boy's world.
And thus, the question is: are children simply small creators - after all, conception and birth are small miracles - born with the power to create? Are we conditioned away from being creative...by family, friends, colleagues, scoiety in general (how many times have you said "he's creative" which is a nice way of saying "he's a little off his rocker"?
By Keller's comment above, perhaps we don't want to know what we don't know, so we don't bother pursuing ways to throw order into chaos.
posted by dadinprogress @ 9:31 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Good entry. When my baby arrives in November, I'm really hoping I can stay away from the "guidance". Design school and working at LEGO helped me understand how to not get too sucked into the "one right way of thinking", especially with kids and creativity. We'll see how it holds up.
It's been amusing and frustrating all at once when I bring out the LEGO bricks at a family event. Once my aunt got upset with me for not helping my nephew finish the creation he was building from the instructions. Actually, I should say she got upset with me for not telling him exactly what to do. I just keep asking him questions ... "did you get all the pieces in the last step?" "I don't know, where do you think that piece goes?" at 5 years old, the kid put together a 7+ set in half the time I would have.
Heck my sister was shocked that my niece had the patience to put together that HUGE 5+ crane set. She told me "it's a good thing she has you to help her"....and was all surprised when I said I hadn't done much of anything.
Big talk from the non-parent. Let's hope it holds out! :)
Jake
communityguy.com
Similar to what Polly said in previous post comment, following your child's cues is key. a few weeks ago, I brought home a big jar of LEGO house parts for the girls and LEGO SpongeBob Squarepants for myself to build. We spent a Friday night building, and the girls seemed a little hesitant to dig in and build and the things they made were very simple. But the next morning, my wife and I were a little shocked that the girls hadn't come in to wake us up, and we didn't hear the Saturday morning cartoons. Instead, we found them both on the floor with the LEGO jar building away and they were so proud of what they made. It seems like maybe my presence there building my own model of something very specific may have made them feel incapable. But with me tucked away safely in bed, they were building amazing things, very detailed and had stories to tell us about their creations. So now, when we build together, I don't bring along a "Daddy model" just sit and build with them and it makes all the difference.
Unit now I have always thought that if I do something with my kids it will only encourge them but it can do the opposite too! wow.. you do learn alot & start thinking different(creative)from reading blogs;-)
And its very nice to see a caring dad who likes to blog too. Your wife & daughters are lucky to have you:-)
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