Throughout history creative thinking has improved our lives materialistically, health-wise, and financially.As society grows and changes, the need for creativity does, also.Creativity, as the Nobel Prize winning physician Albert Szent-Gyorgyi put it,“Consists of discovery which is looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different.”
Our daily routines such as brushing our teeth, driving to work, cleaning house, and tending to other daily requirements that are needed to live do not require creativity.If we didn’t have daily routines, our lives would be in chaos.We do these things each day without thinking; therefore creativity is not required.
Creativity is required when a working mother has to design a schedule that allows her to get herself ready for work, her children fed and to school or day care, and still arrive at work on time.At the end of her work day, the children are picked-up, taken home, homework done, quality time given to them, the evening meal prepared, and children put to bed, and she still must find time to spend with her husband.
Creativity is required to schedule our busy lives today.This is one small reason why it is important for students to be taught how to think creatively. The way students are educated today has changed considerably over time.Education of the past was based upon students learning facts and details.It wasn’t important for students to be able to show application of the information, thus, little was retained for future use.
Students’ education has changed drastically since that time. Teachers are now encouraged to create a learning environment that requires application of new information by using the creative thinking process. Because of this, classrooms have become a richer learning environment.Creative thinking is an important lifeskill needed by our young adults in order for them to succeed in today's world.
There are many activities available to encourage creative thinking.The following activity is one way to have student’s think creatively.Share it with your students and see how they solve the problem.
Activity:“An eccentric old king wants to give his throne to one of his two sons.He decides that a horse race will be run and the son who owns the slower horse will become king.The sons, each fearing that the other will cheat by having his horse run less fast than it is capable, ask the court fool for his advice.With only two words the fool tells them how to make sure that the race will be fair.What are the two words?”(Answer:Switch horses.)
Resource: Oech, Roger von.A Whack on the Side of the Head. New York, New York: Warner Books, 1990.
