Educating Creativity

The very first thing that we learn about God is that he is a Creator. “In the beginning God CREATED…”. He formed the world in all its diversity, colors, simplicity, and grandeur. And then He declared it all to be good. This profound attribute of creativity is something that we, as image bearers, possess. We see this attribute displayed in the art we create, the concepts and ideas that we envision, the businesses we form, and so many other ways. However; in our educational settings we often squash a child’s creativity.

The typical classroom is sterile. It has florescent lights and cinderblock walls. We place an emphasis on memorization, fact acquisition, and quantitative analysis with no appreciation of other ideas, work, or cultures. We don’t allow students to experience or grow in their creativity. There is a tendency to put creativity in the “fine arts box” and ignore it altogether when studying the academic. What a shame! How much we miss when the creative Hand of God is not fully acknowledged and the creative hands of our students not passionately encouraged.

Creativity is what teaches us to think abstractly. Students who do not exercise their creative muscles might be able to learn what is presented to them; however, they will be unable to formulate new ideas.

We must educate students in a way that allows them to experience the divinely inherited attribute of creativity. Creativity is an attribute that God deemed important enough to instill in us when we were created. Therefore, we should deem it important enough to educate. After all, if we are indeed image bearers, and we choose not to educate part of that image, then we are essentially saying the Creator part of God is not as important as the rest of God.

The fact is children have this attribute of Creativity whether we educate it or not. The problem is we live in a fallen world, where sin is pervasive in our culture and lives. Our children are bombarded with examples of creativity which at their best glorify man and at their worst wreak havoc in relationships and lives.  As educators and parents we must ensure creativity is fostered and encouraged in ways which bring honor and glory to the Creator himself.  We must teach the created to exalt the Creator.