Creativity has long been recognized as an engine of economic growth, social progress, and personal improvement. But the conversation about creativity keeps getting louder, especially when it comes to our kids. More and more, people are talking about the role of creativity in the lives of the next generation, and the resounding message is this: creativity matters now more than ever. Here’s why.
84% of executives say creativity is extremely important to their company’s success. In fact, the World Economic Forum predicts that creativity will be in the top three job skills by 2020. That’s soon! That’s pretty much now.
But, creativity isn’t just essential to job competitiveness, it’s a vehicle for creating lives with purpose in and beyond the work we do. Through the creative process, kids discover what they’re good at, who they are, and what they want to contribute to the world around them.
The reality is most schools deprioritize creativity, failing to meet the growing demand for self-directed creative thinkers!
CREA is changing this. We harness creativity to ensure the personal and professional wellbeing of the next generation, and we want to equip you with some tips and tricks to do the same!
#1: Adopt an Appreciative Mindset
For the most part, schools examine students through a deficit perspective, using data to identify gaps in their understanding. This isn’t inherently wrong, but it prioritizes what students don’t possess over what they do, and it overlooks information that’s essential to fostering creativity. Instead of asking “what does my child lack & how can I fix it?” ask, “what does my child do well & how can I foster it?” Albert Einstein said it like this, “Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it’s stupid.” The things your child naturally gravitates toward are where their creativity lives. Start there.
#2: Expand your Definition of Creativity:
You’re not likely to foster your child’s creativity if you conflate creativity and the arts. This limited definition of creativity marginalizes the majority, making us belief if we don’t draw, act, dance, or sing we’re not creative. The truth is, there’s no such thing as creative people & non-creative people. There are only people who use their creativity and people who don’t. Before you can cultivate creativity in you kids, you have to acknowledge that creativity exists in every discipline: math, science, the humanities, the arts, athletics, the list goes on. AND, it exists in life outside of school, too – in business, in leadership, in our relationships. Pay attention to how creativity plays out in all spheres of your child’s life. Then, you can begin to foster it.
#4 Use Identity Developing Language:
If you ask a group of 1st graders if they’re creative, every hand goes up. Ask the same question to high school seniors and only handful – if that! – will raise their hands. Picasso had the right idea when he said “every child is an artist. The trouble is staying an artist when you grow up.” In order to grow the creativity every child possesses, we have to validate it through language. The ways we talk to our kids informs how they come to see themselves. Peter Johnson calls this noticing & naming. If your child resolves a conflict with their sibling in a new way, say “what a creative problem solver you are!” When they’re writing, drawing, or building something, say “you’re creativity inspires me,” ask “what are you creating today, ” or position them among a community of creatives by saying, “the way you write reminds me of…” This kind of language helps kids own their creative identity in a world that tamps it out.
#4: Model it
One of my all time favorite quotes is from James Baldwin, who said “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” The best way to cultivate your child’s creativity is to honor your own! Does this mean quitting your day job to become a painter?! Ha, no! Instead it’s about owning the ways you’re already creative & demonstrating them to your kids. If you love to cook, start trying new recipes! If you work in an office, recognize the creative ways you build relationships and continue to stretch yourself. I promise there are creative outlets built into your work & life already. Acknowledge and lean into them! Your kids will take notice.
#5: Establish a ‘Consume to Create’ Approach
We live in the age of consumption. In kid language, it’s called GEEKING OUT! Geeking out looks like binge watching every video on a YouTube channel, scrolling through your favorite influencer on instagram until your thumb is sore, reading all the graphic novels in your school’s library in the span of a month, listening to the new Ariana Grande album on repeat, or playing video games until midnight. These patterns make parents nervous, and there’s good reason for that. But, these obsessions are also hints! They tell us what our kids find inspiring, what mediums and topics pique their interest. Reframing consumption as a launching pad into creative expression is a natural way to get kids making the kinds of things that matter to them! Nudge your videogamer to design his own game, encourage your YouTube fanatic to start a channel, help your avid reader start writing. Let the geeking out serve as research for your child’s own creative work!
Stephanie Finger is the founder of CREA Community + Consulting, an education initiative that brings creativity back into a child’s learning process.CREA is here to help you cultivate the creativity your child already has! They offer workshops, one-on-one creative mentorship, and facilitate creative collectives where groups of creative kids come together to make the creative work they’re called to make!
Connect with Stephanie Finger on Instagram @creacommunityconsulting.