Taurman's reaction to Bruce Jones comments on creative minds and gifted
people.
>> How much improvement of creativity can be enforced externally
>> by training rather than be gained by internal self-learning? Here we
>> must be very careful to set up a training course which strictly
>> forbids any manifestation of creativity other than those allowed and
>> seeked by the course itself.
>
>When my son was in grade school I had the opportunity to coach a group of
>gifted and talented students in the area of Creativity. The name of the
>program is Odysee of the Mind, it is a program designed to increase the
>skills of creativity. The group would be given a problem or a task that
>required a creative solution. The solution could be either a way of doing
>or an interpretation that was unique. They then took these solutions to
>competition and were graded against the solutions and uniqueness of other
>problem solvers. The challenge and creative endeavor for me was to
>"teach" creativity. I found this to be both frustrating and rewarding.
>HOW do you teach creativity? Traditional methods DO NOT WORK. The "sage
>on stage" style of teaching that is the "norm" in most school settings
>does not work. I can not impart my creativity by lecture, it is something
>that has to be learned and developed internally by the learner. This
>pretty much follows your statement :
Comments on Creativity
I have for years work with people who wanted to find the creative people
and bring them to the fore to use their ideas for better products. These
people feel that creativity is a gift and in the minds of a few.
I have found that the old saw, "Necessity is the Mother of invention"
applies.
When I present a facts about a situation everyone responds with ideas and
solutions. I have come to believe that Creativity is nothing more than a
response to a situation. All that is necessary to harness creative powers
is set up situations where we can listen to the ordinary people and we
will find new ideas are there ready to sprout, if only the 'powers that
be' will listen.
I have concluded that, Creativity is not the gift of a few but the human
response to our situation. Harnessing it is a leaders job. The leader may
choose to listen or not. If leadership looks only to the few whom they
believe are gifted with creativity then they deny their organization most
of it's creative power.
I have no idea if creativity can be taught but I believe cultivating a
creative environment can be taught.
et
Eugene Taurman
interLinx ilx@execpc.com http://www.execpc.com/~ilx
What you are is determined by the thoughts that dominate your mind.
Paraphrase of Proverbs Ch 23 vs 7 KJV
--Eugene Taurman <ilx@execpc.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>