I assigned my Ceramics students to watch Staley’s video, and then to answer the following question (among other prompts) in their sketchbook: “Do you think creativity can be taught? Why or why not?”
Here’s a selection of what I got in response. Obviously, not every response is included here – but this is a fairly representative cross-section. Some of the responses made me chuckle; a few made me cry. If I’m framing my work as teaching more than clay – well, then I’ve got my work cut out for me.
I personally think creativity cannot be taught. It is something you have or you don’t. That being said, you can bring someone’s creativity out. Engaging someone in something they are passionate about can really bring out someone’s creativity. This could be a sport, art, music, or anything. (11)
No, I think creativity is a learned thing. I think everyone has it, all their life. However, like Chris said, there are often things inhibiting your creativity. I think you can teach kids confidence (among other things) that will bring out the creativeness that people have had all along. (10)
There is a video game called Minecraft. You can build whatever you want. People that have the gift of creativity paint a picture in their mind and build. People who don’t have it build off their ideas. (10)
No. Creativity is your own original ideas. It is something you’re born with. You can be taught different techniques, but true creativity comes from your mind. (10)
You are born with creativity and therefore it can’t be taught. I also feel that creative people think a different way than other people. (9)
No, creativity is a single person’s original idea that is separate from everyone else’s way of thinking. It has to come from you and isn’t something a person could teach you to do. (10)
I do not think creativity can be taught because it is something that you need to come up with in your head. You can be taught ways to become creative, but it’s not like being totally creative. (9)
I think that we are all creative without being taught, but I think that we can be taught ways to express our creativity. We can also be taught or can learn to be confident in ourselves and not afraid of failing. (11)
Creativity can’t be taught but it can be learned. You can learn from yourself and bring it out in one of the many forms in which it can be expressed. (10)
No, I do no think that creativity can be taught. I think creativity is an attribute and you either have it or you don’t. (10)
Creativity cannot be currently taught thoroughly with the way the current education system is set up. It can’t be taught because of the society today. Society today is too heavily focused on grades and prestige. Creativity is overlooked and students become overly obsessed with their marks, and creativity is sacrificed as a result. Students are forced to buy into the system or they will lose out as a result. From my experience throughout high school, creativity only seems to be used in art and music classes. Occasionally there may be creativity used in a school project. Teachers will give small amounts of points for creativity and that is all I have seen in my high school career. (11)
