School is in session again, another year of excruciating AP and Honor classes, extensive long nights due to procrastination, and repeated stress from the year before. However, a question worth asking is: are all these rigorous classes truly necessary? Although achieving one’s goal of getting into a prestigious and beneficial college is of the utmost importance, it becomes necessary to realize when sacrificing one’s youthful creativity for the sake of education becomes too much.
Studies ignited by Think Tanks and National Associations support the central claim regarding creativity within students. In order to continue on, it is necessary to understand the meaning of “Creativity”. Creativity, defined by Merriam Webster, is the ability or the power to create and not to imitate. Moreover, creativity is defined as “thinking outside of the box,” as many would say. Ever since the 20th century, creativity has been on a steady decline that continues to this day. One reason, out of the many for the decline of creativity, is due to school and its programs.
Logan senior, Nhu Tuy Dang, has had personal experience in the decline of creativity without even realizing it. Dang learned that Logan was one of the many schools that experienced this creative decline. When asked if she saw an increase in AP and Honors classes, she found herself surprised by her own answer.
“Actually, Yeah! I’ve seen a lot of AP students, and now I’m an AP student…which I regret, a lot,” Dang said.
She goes on to talk about how she “hates” the classes for disabling her ability to live her youthful life. However, just like so many teens out there, she took the AP and Honors classes for the sole purpose of increasing her credibility towards her dream colleges.
Before realizing the decrease of creativity within the youth, it’s necessary to understand its effect on people in the New Haven Unified School District (NHUSD) community. Jesse D. Garret, the Co-Director of the Forensics Speech and Debate team, has seen a significant decrease in the number of kids on the forensics team. Forensics, Speech and Debate is a team filled with expressive and lively kids that use their voice in a beneficial way. Although the benefits of Forensics are substantial, the number of kids joining is starting to drop each year.
“We went from over 170 kids while Lindsey (former director of Forensics) was here, to now less than 130 kids in the last three years,” Garret said. This difference is the result of kids not creating time for fun and expressive activities that allow creativity to shine, this result is the result of core and advanced subjects occupying kid’s schedules. Although these core subjects are important for the presence of school, creativity is a superior substitute for the sake of a successful and beneficial future in many career fields.
Students, teachers, and parents are being affected by this decline of creativity. Aunya Shipman, a parent of a freshman at James Logan High School, has expressed her parental beliefs on the idea of the decline of creativity.
“Decline in creativity? I can’t say that I agree with the statement. I’m more of an optimist,” Shipman said. Shipman’s optimism about creativity in students is absolutely refreshing. However, she does desire that her kid, as well as many others, at least “experience a class,” that challenges them in a number of ways, including creatively.
“I believe students are wasting valuable time on gaming and other non-important things. The time could be better used exploring new topics or improving a skill,” Shipman said. Shipman, and numerous others, believe their kids are wasting their valuable time doing something non-essential for their future.
In the eyes of students, creativity is seen as a non-essential product of school. However, in the eyes of creativity, a child’s mind could expand to new horizons. The use of creativity is proven to be a beneficial factor in people’s lives. However, if creativity is not seen as essential to colleges or even the College Board themselves, then it’s off of the table for many students.
Most children have ample creativity and imagination when they are young. As children, most have created games from the wildest places in their minds. Moreover, children have expressed their creativity through art, catchy music, and their love for their parents. But the problem is, how did their creativity wither down into something little or unimportant by the time high school comes around? The answer ends up being rather obvious. Seeing things from a new perspective and developing that type of creativity of youth becomes the answer for how to create a beneficial and successful future for all.
