A Broken System

We have established that the American education system is broken. Its dysfunction stems from the fact that it is built on 20th century industrial models and that it, does not target critical thinking skills needed for the 21st century marketplace. Some schools have addressed this through a complete institutional change by incorporating digital media and embracing cultural and societal changes developing in the contemporary, postmodern world.

According to Lehman and Gee, these schools are targeting something much larger than simply technology integration – these schools are targeting what Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman refer to as the “creativity crisis.” In their July 19, 2010 Newsweek article, The Creativity Crisis, Bronson and Merryman boldly claim: “For the first time, research shows that American creativity is declining. What went wrong—and how we can fix it?” (Bronson). Their article cites creativity studies which were looking for a very definable, measurable sign of creativity: the production of something original or useful. The researchers were looking for divergent thinking and convergent thinking, that is: “There is never one right answer. To be creative requires divergent thinking (generating many unique ideas) and then convergent thinking (combining those ideas into the best result)” (Bronson).

From these studies, researchers concluded that the reason for the creativity crisis in America is three fold: 1) children do not engage in creativity activities for fun – they are distracted by other forms of entertainment and no longer read for fun, draw for fun or play games of pretend, 2) this goes deeper, in that children no longer use their imaginations as they expect to be “shown” images of fantasy thanks to advances in special effects and new media/technology and 3) schools are test-orientated and approach education through systems/structures which emphasize rigor, repetition and test-taking skills (Bronson). Creativity is not an artistic or poetic faculty. Creativity is about innovative solutions, and the new education systems need to be solution-orientated.

This is the true premise of allogamy. “The necessity of human ingenuity is undisputed. A recent IBM poll of 1,500 CEOs identified creativity as the No. 1 “leadership competency” of the future” (Bronson). According to the same IBM survey, leaders will need to: 1) meet the new needs of employees and employers; this will require empathy, understanding and charisma, 2) teach creativity through structured programs and creativity coaching, 3) nurture and instill passion in employees, 4) make the tasks and work meaningful, 5) provide acceptable amounts of time, and 6) step away from the problem and try a different approach when you returning to it (Bronson). All of these needs are contingent on critical thinking skills, problem solving skills and creativity.

This is the institutional change needed in education systems today: a primary focus on higher order thinking skills. Creativity is the highest commodity in today’s marketplace. As a skill (and not a personal trait or inborn talent), creativity allows for innovative problem solving and better learning models. “While our creativity scores decline unchecked, the current national strategy for creativity consists of little more than praying for a Greek muse to drop by our houses” (Bronson). If we are going to meet the demands of the 21st century learner and 21st century market, we are going to need to reevaluate how we implement creativity in the classroom and how we structure education, focusing on (not just incorporating) creativity coaching.