Students Should be Allowed to Graduate on Their Terms

One of my fifth grade teachers introduced me to Edward de Bono and his 6 thinking hats. The 6 thinking hats is a tool that describes individual thinking. The only hat that I remember now is the green hat which stands for creativity. It was, and still is, my favorite hat, although I find that the green hat is often left on the rack these days.

I was always thinking of new and creative things to do as a kid. I created a slingshot that could launch a golf ball 150 yards out of an exercise band and a few pieces of wood for fun. I invented a product that could organize my pens and pencils out of paper and tape for fun. I built a simple model of a house of paper and tape for fun. I was a creative child that liked to create things. I find this to be different now.

I created all of these things before high school. Before high school I was encouraged to do new creative things. School was all about learning and joy. Then high school came and told me that all I needed to do was to get a good grade and good test scores. Life was all about reaching certain objectives and earning certain letter grades. The days of learning and creating were a thing of the past. Yes, creating things was still cool and fun, but I would not receive any extra credit by being creative. It would not help me to obtain my "goal" of graduating high school and going to college.

Ken Robinson tells a story of a little girl that was a "trouble" child in class. She could not sit still and could not do her work. Turns out she was a "trouble" child because she loved to dance and move around. She learned better by dancing. She would later go on to become a very well known dancer.
The education system was telling her to sit still and do what everyone else was doing. With some help and potentially some medication she may have been able to sit still and be like everyone else, but what good would that have done? The girl would have never discovered her true passion and love in life.

The education system is trying to mold students to fit one certain mold. Every student is supposed to get good grades, take high level classes, and score highly on standardized tests. The education system does not promote learning new things, or learning things for enjoyment. It is not looked down upon to be creative, but it is not encouraged. Students should be able to take classes that intrigue them. They should be able to find their true passion in life and pursue it. I am not saying that students should not have a goal to graduate from high school, but rather they should have a goal to graduate from high school by taking classes that intrigue them and that they want to.

Without creativity this world would be nothing but a string of numbers.