新编大学英语第二册unit8 Text A: The Case for Creativity - Encouraging
UNIT 8 IN-CLASS READING 2; New College English (II)
The Case for Creativity Encouraging Children to Think
1 Creativity is the key to a brighter future, say education and business experts. Here is how schools and parents can encourage this vital skill in children.
2 If Dick Drew had listened to his boss in 1925, we might not have a product that we now think of as practically essential: masking tape. Drew worked for the Minnesota Manufacturing and Mining Company, better known as 3M. At work he developed a sticky-side substance strong enough to hold things together. But his boss told him not to pursue the idea. Finally, using his own time, Drew perfected the tape, which now is used everywhere by many people. And his former company learned from its mistake: Now 3M encourages people to spend 15 percent of their work time just thinking and developing new ideas.
3 It is a strategy that more and more companies are employing and one that experts around the country say we ought to be following with our children, both at home and at school. The feeling is that if we teach them to think creatively, they will be better able to function in tomorrow's society.
4 Creativity's benefits reach beyond music and art. Successful students and adults are the ones who discover a number of ways to approach problems.
5 Creativity is not something one is just born with, nor is it necessarily a characteristic of high intelligence. Just because a person is highly intelligent does not mean that he uses it creatively. Creativity is the matter of using the resources one has to produce original ideas that are good for something.
6 Unfortunately, schools have not tended to promote creativity. With strong emphasis on test scores and the development of reading, writing and mathematical skills, many educators sacrifice creativity for correct answers. The result is that children can give back information but can't recognize ways to apply it to new situations. They may know their multiplication tables, for example, but they are unable to apply them to story problems.
7 In some schools, however, educators are recognizing the problem and are developing new approaches to teaching which should encourage creativity in their students. Some teachers are combining the basics with activities where the students must use their imagination. For example, instead of simply asking WHEN Columbus discovered the New World, teachers might ask students to think about what would have happened if his trip had taken him to New York first instead of to the Caribbean area. With that question, students would have to use what they know about Columbus, what they know about New York, and what they know about the Caribbean. Teachers feel that even if the answers seem silly, it's OK, that sometimes being silly is an essential step toward creativity. In the classroom as well as at home, children must have the right to have crazy thoughts, experts say. Then it is up to parents and teachers to work with the children to develop those thoughts into workable ideas. The best strategy is to encourage children by asking them questions, meanwhile praising their ideas and new thoughts. Experts say that it is important to create an atmosphere in which there is no risk in being creative a place where wild ideas are honored and valued, never scorned or dismissed.
8 There are things that parents can do at home to encourage creativity. They can involve children in decision-making if the problem is appropriate, asking the child for suggestions. Parents can help their children to understand the consequences of various decisions. Parents should also encourage their children to talk out loud about things they are doing. Thinking and language skills are closely related. Talking out loud improves language skills and thinking skills.
9 Having a sense of humor is also important in helping to develop creativity in a child. When parents show a sense of humor, children can see creativity in its purest form. By its nature, humor crosses conventional boundaries and breaks patterns. Creativity often does the same.
10 It is important to give children choices. From the earliest age, children should be allowed to make decisions and understand their consequences. Even if it's choosing between two food items for lunch, decision-making helps thinking skills. As children grow older, parents should let their children decide how to use their time or spend their money, but not automatically help them too much if they make the wrong decision. This may be confusing for the child, but that is all right. This is because one of the most important traits of creative people is a very strong motivation to make order out of confusion.
