Creative experiences for Children

Creative Experiences for Children 2(1+1)

Lesson 8 : Methods of Teaching Creativity

Hazards of creativity

1. Failure to stimulate creativity: Creativity appears early and is shown in a way a baby plays with toys. At this time any condition that obstructs its development may stifle it. Lack of stimulation may come from ignorance of its importance on the part of parents and other people in the baby’s environment.


2. Inability to detect creativity in time: Young children have knowledge and skills on which to build creative thinking and activities, but it can be identified at early stage. If their creativity is neglected then it will be too late for stimulation and it limits full development of these potentials.


3. Unfavourable social attitudes toward creativity: Unfavourable attitudes toward children who are creative and lack of social rewards for creativity hinders child’s creative ability. Sometime in schools encouragement and rewards are given to convergent or conventional thinking rather than to a creative divergent thinking.


4. Unfavourable home conditions: Within the home there are many conditions that affect the development of creativity such as
   1. Discouragement of exploration (not allowing to answers their questions or overprotective nature)
   2. Regimentation of time (strict time table and very less leisure time to develop their hobbies)
   3. Expectations that to do things together in family and less recognition for personal interests and preferences.
   4. Discouragement of fantasy (considering it as waste and unrealistic ideas)
   5. Provision of highly structured play equipment or no opportunity of creativeness while playing with such equipments
   6. Conservative parents (who afraid to deviate from approved social pattern)
   7. Over protective parents deprive the children to explore new or different ways of doing things
   8. Authoritarian discipline makes any deviation from parent approved behavior difficult or impossible.


5. Unfavourable school conditions: the age of school entry, material and opportunities available in the school, relationship with teachers and overall climate of the school may be favourable or unfavourable to creativity.


6. Excessive day dreaming: Day dreaming is one of the most potentially dangerous form of creativity because it can so readily became an habitual method of escaping from unpleasant realities. By observing children’s behavior and attitudes assess whether they are excessive day dreaming. Children spend hours at a stretch in isolation and doing nothing but looking into space indicate unhealthy day dreaming.