The Value of Creativity

I agree with Matt Damon when he says "As I look at my life today, the things that I value about myself, my imagination, my love of acting, my passion for writing, my love of learning, my curiosity, came from the way that I was parented and taught," Damon told the teachers. "And none of these qualities that I just mentioned, none of these qualities that I prize so deeply, none of these qualities that have brought me so much joy, that have made me so successful professionally, none of these qualities that make me who I am can be tested," he said. 1 (CNN.com)

It seems that children are not being taught but drilled to be able to pass a standardized test. For the past four years I know for a fact that yes teachers teach a curriculum but a lot of time is taken to make sure that know what is tested on the EOG’s (End-of-Grade the standardized test in my city). Which is designed to measure student performance on the goals, objectives, and grade-level competencies specified for the state. I think it takes away from the beauty of learning because it turns the focus of passing this test.

Stressful for young children to know that not passing this test can lead to them being held back. No matter how well that they may have done the whole year. This is a lot of pressure on young children as young as eight years old. It is also added stress on the parents and teachers who are working hard to just get the children to love the joy of reading, understanding math concepts and building a love of discovering science. The educational systems needs to be fine tuned to help are children learn for the success of this country in the future a touch of creativity is needed. We all can learn a little bit from Matt Damon’s past by helping to support are children in what brings them small joys being it sports, writing, arts, science along with sitting down and helping during homework time. Perhaps we should be teaching children to be future, inventors, scientist, and architect, to help this country continue to grow.

Reference

CNN Wire Staff. (2011, July 30). Actor Matt Damon rallies teachers in Washington. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/30/us.teachers.sos.march/index.html