20 Sep 2005 - 17:38

Susan on the creativity gap

Susan has a funny comment on the creativity gap:

"However, the idea that we have nothing to worry about because we're so darn creative is, I think, overstated."

I think it's bordering on myth. I almost posted over there because it was apparent to me that most of the posters, smart as many of them are, do not have children in the system. They seemed to be all over the map with what it all meant(children aren't valued, teachers aren't valued, unions are the problem, etc.) finally arriving at the ole' "we're so creative because we don't do as much rote." Give me a break. None of them has any idea how much rote Asian students actually do, it just has to be a whole lot because there can be no other explanation.

It's also fascinating how critics of Singapore and Saxon mention that they're okay curriculums if you just want to do good on SAT's and standardized tests. No, I want to to perform poorly, yet take solace in the knowledge that I'm just too creative for a standardized test.

It also seems apparent that some people are mixing up spontaneity with creativity. As someone whose career has been in the fine arts, I assure you that the two traits do not really mean the same thing, much as many people wish they did.

I'm LOL-ing over that one, because I always have the exact same reaction whenever people start carrying on about teaching that 'only' allows a child to do well on standardized tests.

My reaction is always: Oh, yeah. I want my child is to know nothing that might appear on an SAT. I want him to score a 10. Or, better yet, a zero.

And I want to live in a town where my property taxes go up each and every year so we can afford to purchase a curriculum that will make sure he retains nothing in long-term memory.


I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say this is a Geography of Thought moment. We Americans--apparently We Westerners in general--are Logic of Noncontradiction folks.

So if we start thinking there's a contradiction between doing well on a standardized test and being creative, we are going to Polarize Like Crazy. We're gonna choose sides.

I've done plenty of logic-of-noncontradiction thinking in my time, but never on the subject of standardized tests. My feeling, from the get-go, has always been: Yes, I agree, you're right, strict memorization of formulas and nothing else, so a child can score high on a standardized test, is a Bad Thing.

All the same, I would like my child to score high on a standardized test, thank you very much.

I refuse to Pick One.

on not living in a consensus culture

Here's the line I like from Geography of Thought:

In another experiment described in the book, Nisbett and colleagues found that Americans respond to contradiction by polarizing their beliefs whereas Chinese respond by moderating their beliefs.

When I read this to Ed, he said it's a commonplace in the field of history to call Asian cultures consensus cultures.

We do not live in a consensus culture.


how Asians and Westerners think differently
how Asians and Westerners think differently, part 2
How Asians & westerners think differently, part 3
Harold Stevens, RIP
describe this picture
creativity gap, part 2


keywords: polarize polarizing Western thought Western thinking

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Okay, I really want to change that "mentions" to "mention" in the third little paragraph down just to prove that I do understand subject-verb agreement. Is there a way to do that?

-- SusanS - 20 Sep 2005

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Hey!

I missed that!

-- CatherineJohnson - 20 Sep 2005

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"We do not live in a consensus culture."

Yeah. The opposite if anything.. Bernie points out that in this culture, mavericks are lauded. Think of that guy in Top Gun, or Jim Kirk, or Curious George. The literature is full of guys who stand up for what's right.

There was a good book about Japan that said Japan is a surface tension culture and western culture is more an internal skeleton culture.

-- CarolynJohnston - 21 Sep 2005

WebLogForm
Title:	Susan on the creativity gap
TopicType:	WebLog
SubjectArea:	CompareAndContrastPosts, SingaporeMath
LogDate:	200509201337