Raising Creative Thinkers Network discussion

What would have happened if we would have educated toward creativity like Michelangelo’s? Children today are like diamonds – full of multifaceted ideas, interesting questions and astonishing insights. Michelangelo was like that. In fact, everything was against him. Sculpture wasn’t esteemed. Certainly not as a professional guild that brings status and fortune. What he had was the passion to sculpt, perseverance, and love of learning. The printing revolution enabled him to learn from books. Today we are at the artificial intelligence revolution. It enables children to order stories, paintings, and homework answers. Why do we need creative thinking for children, then? Because, during the process of enrichment and research, like the one Michelangelo did toward every new artwork, there is also inner research. The inner world of the child reveals itself. It was self expression that gave Michelangelo’s sculptures their great impact. And that is something the computer cannot replace for us. When we, parents, teachers, and grandparents, observe the children’s inner world revealed in writing, painting, scribbling, or playing, we can see how to direct the kids to fulfill their personal gifts. I believe that is the way to build an inner anchor for perseverance against all social-emotional, learning and behavioral challenges. Michelangelo knew that he just wanted to sculpt. And this anchor kept him going. To provide that for children we must first let go a bit of the rope. A little less of exams. A little less of constructed learning tasks that lead to one expected answer. And a little more time. Yes, first of all time, to converse, to express what the children learned by a metaphor, a poem or a digital image. And inviting the children to present their original product drawn based on their learning. I sum this up in 5 E’s: Explore, Experience, Examine, Elevate and Express. What’s most important is to go beyond instruction. To be the educator, the pedagogue that leads the child. Their inner world will be fuller, and their grades will rise higher.