Role of Education in Developing Creativity Among Children

Creativity is a blessing from nature but we can develop it by careful planning through education.
This is all the more important in a democratic country like India, where we accept even the mediocres to contribute their best and create something new.
Hence, it is necessary that parents and teachers provide healthy conditions at home and the school. This would enable children to express themselves and contribute something new for the society, which may be termed as creativity.

Our suggestions

1. Freedom of Response:

Children generally respond teachers in a usual and routine manner. Parents and teachers should encourage children to respond in their own way. They may be allowed to say what they would like to say. This would lead to creativity. If there is problem in the class, let every child respond in his own way. The teacher should keep in view that every child has a contribution to make. Allow them to think in various directions and express their creativity.

2. Satisfy the ‘Ego’ of the Child:

All of us have a ‘self ego’. We want to be recognized by others. This ‘ego’ is all the more stronger during the childhood stage. We, as parents and teacher should try to provide opportunities to satisfy it.

3. Encourage Original Ideas:

If we find that a child achieved his original ideas about a particular aspect of life, we should encourage it. Constant submission to facts suppresses the opportunity of the child. It has been correctly said, ‘Uniformity is the enemy of originality’.

4. Remove Hesitation and Fear:

Children are generally kept under strict control. They fear their parents and hesitate in speaking their mind. This kills the initiative of the child. Originality is only possible when we give enough freedom and space to children to express their own views.

5. Provide Suitable Atmosphere:

The watchwords for the provision of this type of atmosphere are: Sympathy, liberty, and the proper provision of co-curricular activities in the school.

6. Development Special Habits:

Children require special habits to be creative. These habits are hard work, persistent effort, self reliance and self confidence. We should encourage children to develop these habits. We can then expect any thing that is creative from them.

7. Let the Children Meet Creativity:

Every community has centers where creativity can be seen easily. We may organize excursions to centers of art, art galleries, museums, and places of artistic excellence. Thus the children will come in contact with creativity and get an inspiration to create something new.

8. Avoid the Stumbling Block to Creativity:

Certain factors like conservative outlook, an unsympathetic attitude towards children, fixed and rigid habits of works, unnecessary anxiety, over emphasis over school works, authoritarian attitude of teacher, etc. are some of the stumbling blocks in the path of creativity. We should try to avoid these stumbling blocks as far as possible.

9. Reorganize the Curriculum:

Certain principles should be kept in view while reorganizing the curriculum. These are:
a) The Curriculum should be a child-centered
b) The Curriculum should highlighted ideal concepts then facts
c) It should highlight that children have the capacity to find out truth and discover things.
d) It should reduce the importance of annual examination.
e) It should allow the child to do something in the academic field freely without the fear of examination.

10. Reform the Evolution System:

Much has been said about the reforms in the system of evaluation. We can say that the child’s progress should be judged for what he dose during the entire year and not on the basis of his achievement in the annual examination. The day to day progress of the child should be properly assessed and entered in the cumulative card. Any other observation showing the creativity of the child should be clearly indicated in the card.

11. The use of some Special Techniques:

Mention may be made for special psychological techniques to find out the creativity of the child.
These are:

a) Brain Storming:

It implies storming the brain of the child with new ideas and nothing down the reactions and techniques of solving them as suggested by the child. This reaction takes place in the classroom where every child gets an opportunity to express his ideas. When the reactions of the entire class are noted down, a free discussion follows. Common suggestion are weaned out and these lead creativity.

b) Using of Teaching Models:

Certain teaching models suggested by psychologists are of immense value form locating the creativity of the child. Mention may be made of such two models:
i)

Bruner’s Concept Attainment Model

and
ii)

Suchman Inquiry Training Model.

c) Use of the gaming technique: Children like pay. We should like to find out their creative talent through games. We may organize games of this type in the class. Some examples of such games are
1. Name all the square things you can think of.
2. Name the new type of programs you will like to have on T.V.
3.Tell all the aspect in which a cat and a dog are alike.
4. What will do if you get oil paints and a brush, etc.
They may also be given some materials like. They may also be asked to play with wooden cubes and construct some new and novel designs. They may be asked to color a picture, etc.

12. Self Example is Better than Precept:

Parents and teacher may keep in view that if they want their children to create something new they themselves should be devoted persons and put forward an example before their children in the field of creativity.

Created by
Raheesh V.C