Child as Totem: Redressing the Myth of Inherent Creativity in Early Childhood
“The idea that children see the world more clearly
than adults, with its implication that exposure to
adult culture corrupts this innocent sight, is a form
of mythic speech that supports the myth of inherent creativity.” – McClure (2011)
To state that children see the world more clearly than adults is a naïve and oversimplification of how children view the world. Children are not fully competent individuals, hence why we teach them certain skills, value, morals and life lessons to better themselves to become competent and well rounded adults. Nevertheless, I do believe that due to children being less conscious beings they intrinsically reveal a much more creative outlook and output of work through art than the majority of adults. 
However, I do believe that there should be some restrictions on children’s output through art. Children are a by-product of their environment. Whatever the environment that the student is encountering at home, he or she is most likely to consider it “normal”. The difficulties emerging teachers experience is the over exposure of adult content to children which is growing exponentially. The advancements in technology and lenient access to social media sites and applications are some of the reasons why I believe there is an increase in mental health issues. Cell phones and social media are equivalent to drugs and alcohol for adults. These tools affect the neurochemistry in the brain, and effect the dopamine level.
In the kindergarten program, the words creative and creativity are stated 35 and 17 times, respectively. The importance of facilitating an environment that promotes this creativity and gives students the opportunities to explore materials through problem solving strategies (How Does Learning Happen, 2014). Through the production of artistic output, a child’s work is his or her way of communicating and expressing feelings and ideas.
    Creativity does not occur in a vacuum. Art making is a process requiring both creativity and skill, and it can be cultivated by establishing conditions that encourage and promote its development. Teachers need to be aware that the atmosphere they create for learning affects the nature of the learning itself. A setting that is conducive to creativity is one in which students are not afraid to suggest alternative ideas and take risks. (The Kindergarten Program, 2016). 

Needless to say, I still believe that there should be some restrictions on what the child should or should not create in terms of art. There are many types of current or generational trauma and violence that can be overwhelming chaos for students. This can include: mental health, bullying, violence, drugs, gangs, malnutrition, alcohol abuse, gun violence, poverty (low socioeconomic status) and divorce (parental partner instability) (Carpenter & Stacks, 2009; Evans & Wachs, 2010). These have negative implications for the neurological and emotional development of young children, who rely on caregivers to respond in a predictable sensitive way to their needs and provide a safe and predictable environment for them to explore.
Creativity is relatively unknown phenomena in psychology, in terms of, how creative ideas are outputted from the brain and how some individuals are not. Some people are born with creative abilities and some are not. Allowing students to have more freedom with less constraints most likely will allow them to produce creative works and ideas. However, some restrictions can promote individuals to be creative. If individuals are constrained with parameters, the individual must find a different way to solve the problem in order to complete the task. Needless to say, like anything else, there must be fine line of balance between the two.


References
Carpenter, G. L., & Stacks, A. M. (2009). Developmental effects of exposure to intimate partner
violence in early childhood: A review of the literature. Children and Youth Services Review, 31(8), 831-839.
Evans, G. W., & Wachs, T. D. (2010). Chaos and its influence on children’s        
development. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
McClure, M. (2011). Child as totem: Redressing the myth of inherent creativity in early

childhood. Studies in Art Education, 52(2), 129.

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2014). How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s Pedagogy for the
Early Years. Retrieved from:  http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/childcare/howlearninghappens.pdf

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2016). The Kindergarten Program. Retrieved from Government
of Ontario: 
https://files.ontario.ca/books/edu_the_kindergarten_program_english_aoda_web_oct7.pdf

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Learning from the land: Indigenous land-based pedagogy and devolonization

Learning from the land: Indigenous land based pedagogy and decolonization To understand how learning from land has been impacted by colonialism we must first be explicit in our definition of colonization. “Colonization is fundamentally about dispossessing Indigenous peoples from their land. Decolonization must involve forms of education that reconnect indigenous peoples to land and the social relations, knowledges and languages that arise from the land” (Wildcat, McDnonald, Irlbacher-Fox, & Coulthard, 2014). Therefore, Indigenous people are intrinsically intertwined with the land they live on. The importance of learning history in general is very important, however learning our Canadian history has a sense of greater meaning to us as Canadians. As Canadians, we must not be ignorant or turn a blind eye towards the atrocities committed by previous individuals and government. It is our duty to be aware of our past history and determine what is the best course...
Read more

Friction in Forest Pedagogies: common worlds in settler colonial spaces

Friction in Forest Pedagogies: common worlds in settler colonial spaces In terms of the environment, I do believe that individuals should participate voluntarily in actions that preserve the environment, to the best of their abilities. However, this should not impede the progress of the individual without diminishing the basic needs of the individual. However, I do agree that individuals, in this day and age, are much more wasteful and partake in impulsive consumption, which typically pollutes the environment. Tsing (2012) reiterates this claim by stating, “this is a time of global surprise about the losses the world has suffered in the name of human progress and widespread human disregard for our interdependence with other speicies.” If individuals can participate in an exercise that demonstrates how wasteful you (the individual) can be and presents an emotional connection at the same time, then I’m optimistic individuals will realize they can make a less waste...
Read more

Assessments

Image
Assessments             Previously in education, the way of assessments were completed was through a norm-referenced approach. Now, we as educators, have realized that was a wrong way to approach assessment. A criterion-referenced assessment sets up on expectation that the student must meet in order to receive a satisfactory grade. Fairness in an evaluation or assessment needs to be grounded in the belief that all students should be able to demonstrate their learning regardless of their gender, ethnicity, geographic needs, socio-economic status and/or other factors. “The Kindergarten program is a child-centred, developmentally appropriate, integrated program of learning for four- and five-year-old children. The purpose of the program is to establish a strong foundation for learning in the early years, and to do so in a safe and caring, play-based environment that promotes the physical, social, emotion...
Read more