Argumentiave paper

Ashley Baustert

Ms. Megan

Eng112-12

2 May 2013

Should they keep creativity in Schools?

Recently there has been a spate of interest in creativity in schools. Should it stay or should it go? Is the question people have been asking themselves? Having creativity in schools today is a big deal. Some schools are taking out related arts and not replacing the creativity in the core classes, so the students are losing their creative side. This paper gives you different ways of keeping creativity in schools if they take out related arts. In the paper I will first tell how creativity needs to stay in schools, and then I will talk about how to keep creativity in schools if the schools system takes out related arts. After that I will give points to both sides of the argument and see how they can come to an agreement.

“Creativity is not what the students are going to school for they are going to learn.”  (Untz) As Mrs. Untz says in the quote the students are not at school for the related arts but they give the students a break and let the mind wonder. I see there Mrs. Untz is coming from by saying this but you have to think about the whole picture. By having related arts in schools it does give the students a break from their core classes but it also lets the students see that there is not just Math, Science, Social Studies, and English. Most of the students that go to school love going to art or P.E. because art lets them do what they love and P.E. gives them the activity time they might not get at home.

Most people think that creativity in schools is only in related arts, but creativity is everywhere in schools. Education systems in some areas are taking out related arts and focusing more on the core classes, by doing this the students are only getting related arts once to twice a week. Wright says “While personality is a significant influencing factor in creative individuals, it also links closely to the areas of intelligence and knowledge.” (Wright pg.8) This can mean a lot to a parent or student by telling them that personality is part of creativity. I think that with you take out related arts than there needs to be some type of creativity in the core classes. For example the teacher could have games sat out for the students to take a break from sitting at a desk all day and learn a different way.

Some games the teachers could have out would be Bingo, Simon Says, Role Play. In bingo the teacher could have a math problem on the board and the students would have to find the answer and then see if they have it on their bingo sheet. This can take a break from learning the normal way and is a creative way to get the students involved with class. Simon Says is creative because the class would have to think of what to do. One student could be “Simon” and come up with moves to the subject they are in. Role Play is also another great game. This game is a great one to use in Reading or English, because you can have the students act out what they are reading or learning about. These are just some creative games that a teacher could do if the education system did take out related arts.

 Keeter did a comic book at her school. Keeter says "These people are simply not aware of the diversity and depth of graphic novels." (Keeter n.p.) This also could be a way that the teachers let the students have some fun but at the same time they are also learning. Keeter had a comic book at the whole school made up the words to and awarded the winners with candy. I think this could be a really great idea because what kid in school does not like candy.

As Keeter and her school have a comic book contest other schools are not even acting like taking related arts out of their schools are hurting them. Most parents are not aware of what is going on in the schools with creativity and related arts. The teachers are the ones that need to make sure that there is creativity in the school other than related arts so the parents and students do not have to."Teachers who understand that creativity combines both originality and task appropriateness, are in a better position to integrate student creativity into the everyday curriculum in ways that complement, rather than compete with, academic learning." Beghetto Kaufman writes. This is a great quote because it tells the reader that if the teachers care about creativity then the students will be better off in the long run.

I think by having both related arts and creativity in the core classes are great because the student does not have to just think about creativity in related arts. When Mrs. Untz said that “Creativity is a part of schools but maybe too big of a part and taking away from what the students are there to learn.” (Untz) I do not think Untz sees that creativity is everywhere not just in related arts. Untz Says that “the education systems are doing the students a favor by giving them more time to learn the big subjects.” I can see where Untz is coming from and why I think that if related arts are taken out then the students will get more time in the core classes. I believe that creativity is more than just in the related arts it is in mind itself. What I mean by that is that you have to be creative to do almost anything in the world today.

“Thinking styles are not abilities, but how individuals use their abilities and skills to learn and solve problems.” (Wright pg.9) This quote by Wright is going back to having games in class because it is the individual’s creativity to learn their skills and solve problems. I think this is true because when you have a group of students together not all of them will think the same way. They will have a different idea on how to do something. I have always liked to do a group with people because I learn different ways I would never think about. If the group is willing to give ideas to help the student learns they will do some much better. In the book The Arts, Young Children, and Learning by Susan Wright says creativity within you. I like this a lot because this is so true about me and I know more people.

I think that the education system needs to look at this problem and think of ways like I have to keep creativity alive in schools. If they look at this and fix the problem then the students will do better in the long run. The students will look farther into the arts once they are out of school or as a hobby and be happy that the schools had a little creativity so the creative mind did not die.