Louisiana Gumbo: Understanding Creativity

CTD: What other attributes do creative children tend to have?

Bonnie Cramond: The main thing is risk taking—having the confidence to have an original idea or do something differently. 

CTD: What home and school factors contribute to the development of creativity in children?

Cramond: The number one thing that schools can do is to create a psychologically safe environment where children feel comfortable trying something different.  It is important to teach children how to think creatively and to give them some opportunities to practice being creative without fear of ramifications.  It is important to teach students to think strategically and recognize situations in which it is more expeditious to use a certain learned strategy and those for which it is better to think of a new way to do something.

Parents also can show children that creativity and risk taking are important.  They should de-emphasize grades, and emphasize learning instead.  They should teach their children how to learn, and bounce back, from failure.  Some of this is done by modeling, and some is done by the messages we give.  For example, the parent who encourages the child to take a more challenging course even though it may result in a lower grade is emphasizing learning and risk taking.  Parents can also emphasize creativity by providing resources, opportunities, and stimulation.  However, I do think that many children are over scheduled.  A child who is constantly bombarded with stimulation will not have time to be creative.   Children also need time to lie in the grass and stare at the shapes in the clouds, dance in the wind, and play imaginatively.

CTD: How can parents and schools deliberately foster creativity?

Cramond: Value it and make it a visible part of the curriculum and home.  Encourage children to think of solutions for problems, use toys and materials in many different ways, and try new things.  Openness to experience is a temperamental trait related to creativity, but it can be encouraged and developed more in any of us.

CTD: What advice would you give to parents and teachers of a highly creative child?

Cramond: Help your child find his or her passion and nurture it.  For younger children, this may mean some experimentation in different activities.  For older children, this may mean finding coaches, teachers, or mentors who can help the child at whatever level he or she is working.  Don’t push, but encourage and enable.

Parents often ask how to balance a child’s needs to experiment in different areas with the parents’ need to see some commitment.  For example, if a child insists on violin lessons, should you let him quit after four weeks of lessons and the purchase of a violin?  Depending on the age of the child, parents should negotiate a minimum commitment from the child and measure the monetary commitment in those terms.  For an elementary age child who wants violin lessons, agree on one term of lessons after which a decision will be made about purchasing an inexpensive violin.  In the meantime, rent one.  An older child may be requested to invest part of the money in the lessons or materials from allowance or work money and the requested time commitment may be longer. The key is to garner some obligation from the child without forcing the child to stay with an activity for which she has no proclivity or interest.

Most important, help inoculate your child against the negativity that any creative person is sure to face.  Help children learn to evaluate their own work with reasonable standards.  Help them see that creative people must learn to overcome adversity by reading biographical material of highly creative people in various fields.

CTD: Thank you.

Bonnie Cramond, Ph.D., an expert on creativity, is an associate professor at the University of Georgia, where she has taught since 1989. Cramond has written many book chapters, monographs and journal articles and spoke on such subjects as “Creativity: Problem or Promises” and “The Nature of Creativity” at various gifted associations and conferences.

CREATIVITY RESOURCES

Ideas for Parents to Foster Creativity

• http://ohioline.osu.edu/flm97/fs06.html -- a list of general guidelines for parents for encouraging creativity in their children
• http://cals-cf.calsnet.arizona.edu/fcs/content.cfm?content=creativity -- general information on creativity, guidelines for developing creativity, a list of pertinent books, and some good links
• http://home.san.rr.com/kathleenkrull/bio38.html  -- 38 ideas for using biographies with students; good for parents and teachers
• http://www.creativeparents.com/librarynotes.html -- ideas for using biographies with kids

Great sources for biographies of creative people in various fields:

While all of the people listed might not be creative, the variety of fields represented helps demonstrate that creativity is not limited to the arts.  Perhaps it would be helpful to determine a definition creativity before choosing the biographies to read.

• http://www.sanantonio.gov/library/web/biography.asp?res=1024&ver=true -- biography links sorted into the following categories: general, African Americans, artists, astronauts/aviators, authors, award winners, business people, celebrities, dancers, deceased, government officials/politicians, Hispanics, inventors, mathematicians, military figures, musicians, Native Americans, religious figures, scientists, wild westerners, women
• http://worldofbiography.com/ -- rich source of biographical information on individuals classified into categories according to their accomplishments. From architects and artists to the terrorist, Osama Bin Laden, this site has lists of many biographies of famous people 
• http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/ref15.00.00 -- this link to the Internet Public Library has links to many sites on biographies as well as a great deal of additional information, like any library!
• http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/authorbios.html -- a list of biographies and autobiographies for young people
• http://www.oup.co.uk/oxed/children/oise/sites/people/ -- features famous men and women in science
• http://www.famouscreativewomen.com/ -- specializes in biographies of women, specifically 800 notable women

Sites that Publish Teens’ Creative Work

• http://www.cyberteens.com/
• http://dmoz.org/Kids_and_Teens/Teen_Life/desc.html
• http://www.mesalibrary.org/teens/books/books.asp