Children and Creativity

John Florez---Deseret News--  June 1, 2013







It's only when they start meeting the demands of adults to focus that they start losing their innate ability to create. Adults call it learning. Infants are taught to focus and do it the right way. The message is don't risk, focus and do it the right way. In doing so, we limit a child's ability to be creative, innovate and imagine.

When Mae Jemison, the first black woman astronaut, who also has a long list of degrees, spoke at a National Association for the Advancement of Colored People meeting in Salt Lake City, she made an important statement about children. She said everywhere she went people always asked what motivated her. She said that all children are born motivated, the question is: What do we do to take it out of them?
She is right. All infants are born motivated, with a sense of wonder and creativity. They see the world in awe. And while adults around them try to get their attention with goo goos and baby rattles, they are still checking out their new world. They soon begin to crawl, to stand and to fall. They take chances and fail more often than succeed. They don't know failure as we define it; they are too busy trying new things — innovating and creating.
It's only when they start meeting the demands of adults to focus that they start losing their innate ability to create. Adults call it learning. Infants are taught to focus and do it the right way. The message is don't risk, focus and do it the right way. In doing so, we limit a child's ability to be creative, innovate and imagine. It's called teaching: focus, follow the rules and learn facts. Failure is frowned upon, which squelches the innate ability and creativity a child brings into the world. And we call it education.
We still don't seem to see how our century-old education system that prepared children for past economies is now stifling our ability to prepare students for a digital economy, where innovation, creativity and imagination are the skills needed to succeed. Our schools continue to teach and test for jobs that are done by machines or that no longer exist. Today's students face a future where if they lack the ability to create and innovate they will not have jobs that pay a living wage.
While policymakers and educators struggle to find ways to teach creativity and innovation, they fail to understand it's not to be found in lesson plans, rather in creating an environment that nurtures the innate talent all children are born with — curiosity, creativity and being unafraid of failure. Children don't know what they don't know, until adults and our schools tell them differently. As the story goes, a first grade girl was in her art class drawing a picture when her teacher approached her and asked, "What are you drawing?" And the girl replied, "A picture of God." The teacher then said, "But no one knows what God looks like." And the girl said, "Just wait a minute and they will."
In our highly competitive society, parents often structure their child's life to accelerate their learning and shield them from failure. Often parents don't realize we deprive them of the opportunity to learn from failure needed to allow for their creativity to flourish. To deprive them the chance to fail is to deny children the chance to grow. While the hard skills are important to learn, the arts and physical activities may be just as important in cultivating the innate creativity and imagination within them.
Our world is in the midst of another social revolution where those societies that cultivate the creative and innovative talent of their young and old will thrive; those that don't will be left behind. While we talk about teaching out-of-the-box, maybe, if we watch and learn from infants, we could learn about creativity.

A Utah native, John Florez has been on the staff of Sen. Orrin Hatch, served as former Utah Industrial Commissioner and filled White House appointments, including Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor and Commission on Hispanic Education. Email him at jdflorez@comcast.net.

Invisible Baggage

John Florez: It's the invisible baggage that prevents learning

By John Florez,      Deseret News

Published: Saturday, March 23 2013 12:00 a.m. MDT

 

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These are the kids who must endure the “invisible baggage” they carry on a daily basis — poverty, hunger, poor health, whether it be mental, physical, or emotional, vision and dental problems, no clothing, cramped housing, homelessness and no transportation.

 

 

We want all children to come to school ready to learn, but what about those that are not? What about those that come to school every day with backpacks full of "invisible baggage?"
They are the survivors who make it to high school. They show perseverance, the gift of life and hunger for knowledge. They show what the resiliency of the human spirit can do in spite of all odds. They come to school eager to learn, though overloaded with the “invisible baggage” they carry on a daily basis throughout their young lives. Because they seldom complain, some teachers driven by timelines and test scores overlook them. And those that do see a kid in need of help — where do they turn to help them?
These are the kids who must endure the “invisible baggage” they carry on a daily basis — poverty, hunger, poor health, whether it be mental, physical, or emotional, vision and dental problems, no clothing, cramped housing, homelessness and no transportation. They have no adults that can take them to or pick them up from school because they too are struggling to obtain the daily necessities to survive. They often have single parents who hold two jobs and have little time or energy to help their child with schoolwork.
Unlike most homes, there are no reading materials, books, newspapers or computers to use as learning tools, yet schools are structured where it is assumed that such support exists at home. Many of these children live with adults who are experiencing their own troubles, unemployment, divorce, drugs, alcohol, physical and mental health, and domestic violence. While we still have images of dinner table talk with children, for some there is no dinner, and no talk.
With the new economy, our schools are not organized to deal with many of the challenges parents face in educating their children. The old assumption that all children come ready to learn is not true. We now have more single parents and/or two parents working trying to make ends meet, more latchkey and unsupervised children, and schools are stuck in an old economy. School counselors now seem to be in a never-ending cycle requiring them to spend more time checking credit and graduation requirements, and completing Student Education Occupation Plans, than getting to know individual students’ needs.
So if a family or a student needs help with the “invisible baggage” that holds them down, who in a school is there to help? While there is panoply of social agencies and professionals to help, students and parents must discover them on their own. There is no one to reach out to who could help them navigate through the field of specialists. We have created an industry of specialists to help families, where individuals are processed, rather than actually helped to deal with the daily problems of meeting their basic human needs. You can’t learn on an empty stomach.
Everyone says, “It’s not our problem, it’s the family’s,” yet we spend more money on social agencies that purport to help needy families. History has shown hiring individuals as paraprofessionals from the same community who care, understand and have experienced similar problems, are often best able to help unburden families of the “invisible baggage” their students carry so that they can succeed in school.
It’s time for our education system to step up in a way that helps students and families empty their backpacks of their “invisible baggage” so that all children come to school ready to learn.

 

 

Great Food for Thought About Latinos

I always appreciate the insights of John Florez. 

John Florez: After election, politicians realize the face of America has changed

By John Florez , Deseret News

Published: Saturday, Nov. 17 2012 12:00 a.m. MST

Voters leave a polling place on election day on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. (Associated Press)

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."
Just as Dorothy knew something had changed, many now feel the same about the new demographics in America. It took this year's election for politicians and others to realize that the face of America has changed. According to Paul Taylor of the Pew Institute, "We are mid-passage in a century-long journey from the middle of the last century, when we were nearly a 90 percent white nation, to the middle of this coming century, when we will be a majority-minority nation."
The losing party is now searching and wondering why so much of the minority, especially the Latino vote, was lost. Consultants led them to believe that Latinos were more aligned with their values of family and being pro-life. However, Latinos are more than that; they are compassionate, care for the downtrodden, care about justice and are proud. They want what all parents want — an education for their children that will let their kids have a better life than they have.
Now more are taking a second look at our outdated immigration policies in order to gain support of Latinos for the next election. However, that alone may appear condescending. To gain the Latino vote, the rhetoric will have to change and public policies should be created with participation of Latinos, rather than mere token gestures. It starts with showing respect and appreciation for the contributions Latinos have made to build this nation. Immigrants should not be seen as the cause for our nation's problems, rather an asset in moving America forward in a world that has changed dramatically.
America has always used immigration as an economic and workforce solution. Whenever we had a worker shortage, we turned to foreign labor — the building of our railroads, mines, farms and orchards. When our men went to war, it was foreign labor that was brought in to keep our country growing, and many Latinos later enlisted in the armed services to protect our country. Many have won medals of honor.
If politicians want to win the Latino vote, they must touch the soul of the Latino culture, which includes a deep dedication to family, justice, fairness, loyalty and a sense of community. Latinos are a proud people, which runs deep and is called "orgullo." Successful businesses and employers benefit from the loyalty of Latinos.
The American dream was built by those immigrants who landed on this continent seeking freedom and a better life with nothing more than a dream, the willingness to risk and a strong work ethic. They asked for nothing except to be free from tyranny and an opportunity to seek a better life. It was true then, and even more so today. It's what fuels the entrepreneurial spirit we see in Utah — from Maurice Warshaw's fruit cart that became a grocery store chain in Utah to Nathan Rosenblatt's junk wagon that became EIMCO, an international company, and today's taco stands are destined to succeed because of the American dream.
Globalization and technology have created a flat world that is interconnected. If we are to succeed in the new world, we must cultivate the diverse and untapped talent that exists in our minority communities and see immigration as a way of enriching and revitalizing America's capacity to compete in the world marketplace.
Seven years ago, former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. was the first leader in Utah to advocate for enlightened and humane immigration policies and their importance to America's economy. Since then, Utah's leaders have continued to build on those principles. Like Dorothy, they know they are no longer in Kansas.

A Utah native, John Florez has been on the staff of Sen. Orrin Hatch, served as former Utah Industrial Commissioner and filled White House appointments, including Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor and Commission on Hispanic Education. Email him at jdflorez@comcast.net.

Copyright 2012, Deseret News Publishing Company