Effects Of Increased Standardization On Children

Increased Standards on Children Causing a Decline in Creativity

Creativity is important not only to the individual, but society as a whole. Creative minds are more able to create new inventions, think of new programs and regulations for our government, as well as being able to create art that can bring joy to others. It promotes divergent thinking, which is being able to have many alternate solutions to a situation whereas convergent thinking has only one. In modern education today, much of the standardized curriculum now taught in schools teaches with the goal of convergent thinking. In many ways standardized teaching is important because it ensures that children learn and gives them a platform where they can be prepared for the next grade

With the rise in standardized testing in education, the level of creativity found in children has been shown to decline, according to Dr. Kyung Hee Kim of the College of William and Mary (Psychology Today). The strive for students to succeed in the standardized tests has cast creative freedom to the side. Tests such as the SAT and the ACT stress upon the convergent thinking of the individual, instead of divergent thinking. It teaches them that there is only one answer instead of alternate ones. It is important for students to do well academically and many argue that increased standardization has no effect on creativity. However, the increased amount of standardization causes students to be less thought provoking and creative with their problem-solving skills, which is important in today’s modern society. According to Dr. Mark Batey, a creativity researcher and chairman of the Psychometrics at Work research group at Manchester Business school, states that creativity is one of the most important skills to have in the 21st century. Being able to collaborate, work in teams, as well as creating profitable organizations all require creative output (Psychology Today.com). Standardized curriculums take away the space for creative output, making it more based on convergent thinking rather than the critical divergent thinking many organizations and businesses want in

Being able to create an idea that reflects who you are as a person. For children, creativity is important in their development because it frames their personality and character. It allows the individual to put into perspective their feelings, intellect, as well as their passions. Psychologically, creativity helps with the development of the self as well as their self-expression. According to Leslie Owen Wilson, author of The Second Principle, she states that highly creative students are more likely to be confident, imaginative, interrogative, persistent, as well as innovative (The Second Principle). However, when creativity is suppressed these characteristics in children will also be suppressed, thus hurting their self-esteem and development. Most times, creative minds are suppressed by important influences in the child’s life such as parents and teachers. This is because parents and teachers want the best for their children, however suffocating them with work and accidentally judgmental comments about their ideas can prove harmful for the developing child’s creativity. For example, if a child or adolescent wanted to be a professional singer, most of the time the parent will tell their child “there is no money in that”. Although the act is out of love and concern for the child’s future it will cause them to shut out an option that could possibly be an amazing opportunity for them to try. According to Dr.