Does school kill creativity?

[Iv000]

On the contrary, people with anxiety are afraid that they will offend someone.

I sometimes need 20 minutes to write a post, re-read it and make sure that it doesn't have anything that could be considered offensive or inappropriate. Most of the time I re-write the whole post at least 2 times.

Like I did with this one. This is actually the 3rd time I'm writing it :biggrin:

 

I am rarely offended, unless it's criticism or a direct attack/flaming/trolling. I have a problem with taking advice and criticism. It has to be very friendly sounding and well worded so I take it positively.

[naomis8329]

What you also have to remember is that various disorders mean that the individual may not understand the meaning that you are trying to convey. Dyslexics for example, many take what you say literally and I mean literally. Two of my daughters are dyslexic, they both have a brilliant sense of humour and together (they're twins) they are a classic comedic double act. However, individually the eldest of them actually has trouble with verbal sarcasm and dry wit. She will take it literally and at times can be hurt by someone actually joking with her. She has learnt over the years to "interpret" what someone is doing and now 7x out of 10 she will get the intended joke, she sometimes still has a problem with it. People with ADD and ADHD, aspergers, autistics and a few others also have problems with humour and recognising it.

 

We just have to be patient and if we think we have offended, explain the joke. As they get older they can, more often than not garner the humour from words even if they don't understand why it is funny. Depressives also have the most amazing sense of humour but this can also be the undoing of them. A double edged sword if ever there was one. What is funny to one set of people can be insulting to another, even if it is not meant as such. Words can mean many different things, to many different people and it is a matter of interpretation of the full conversation and not just a few words that will make the meaning of the statement clear.

 

So many disputes have been caused by not "listening" (reading can be substituted there in some cases) to the full context of the sentence or statement. Misreadings and misunderstandings have been the cause of many a conflict that could have been resolved if only they had the forethought to ask for an explanation of what was being said.

 

English especially is a language of words spelt the same meaning 3 or 4 different things. A word on its own can mean anything, it is the the surrounding words that give it context and true meaning.

 

Now I have ranted I shall let you continue lol.... Well not so much a rant as hopefully, an explanation of certain disorders. :D :D

[Iv000]

Truth be told, I sometimes do not understand things. This, 'taking a piss' thing as well. I know it's meant as something humorous, but I don't seem to get it. Or when something isn't explained properly, I misinterpret the sentence into something completely different. My best friend who also has ADHD once misunderstood something. I said 'Yes. I have to go now.' he understood it as in 'I am happy that I can leave you now' while I just meant that I have to go. He got sad then and I didn't understand why. We talked it out and it was fine after that. I hate when things like that happen, no harm was meant, yet it was interpreted as something offensive.

 

But that doesn't happen often, thankfully.

 

My sense of humor is also very random (and immature) and I overuse sarcasm.

 

But enough about me now. :tongue:

[dazzerfong]

@ lv000:

 

I know we're going completely off-topic (but not in a bad way), I'll just try and explain what it means, and if someone wants to return to the topic, I'll happily revert back to the topic.

 

For example, you put on a performance. Say that the performance was good. Afterwards, you go up to him, and say that it was a horrible show, but finish with something like, 'good job,' to symbolise your intent.

[Keanumoreira]

@ lv000:

 

I know we're going completely off-topic (but not in a bad way), I'll just try and explain what it means, and if someone wants to return to the topic, I'll happily revert back to the topic.

 

For example, you put on a performance. Say that the performance was good. Afterwards, you go up to him, and say that it was a horrible show, but finish with something like, 'good job,' to symbolise your intent.

 

No, actually, this is good. We're diverging into separate spheres of conversation that, although not exactly on topic, are somehow related to the original one. This is what I intended. I wanted people to explore things like disorders, good and poor learning environments, etc, to further get my point across of how school is affecting one's creativity. Please, continue. :)

[naomis8329]

Maybe I should interject here a moment with some historical fact.

 

Years ago and I'm talking about centuries, being left handed was the sign of the evil, possession, the devil and these people were often put to death as witches or the like. As the years passed it became illegal to burn people at the stake out hand if you will so the church and educational establishments decided that left handed children had to be "re-educated" into using their right hands. Corporal punishment was implemented in the majority of institutions and any child using their left hand predominantly, would feel a ruler or cane across the offending appendage.

 

As science evolved and the brain was examined and eventually we began to understand how the right and left sides of the brain worked, it became illegal in the majority of "civilised" countries for children to be forced into changing hands. We became aware of the creativity and logical issues that arose with the brain and how the more creative (and I hate to say it, geniuses) people would write with their left hands rather than their right. It usually indicated that both sides of the brain were used simultaneously and a number of lefties could actually use both hands equally well.

 

On saying this not all lefties are geniuses but they do, oft times, have a higher creativity centre and are usually gifted in one or two areas that us righties find difficult to master eg maths, science, art etc etc etc.

 

Autistics for example are savants, they are geniuses locked within their own minds. The majority of severely autistic children/adults have an area in which they excel eg drawing, maths, computers. Mainly visual interests but they will fixate upon it and if they could communicate properly I would love to know what they though of "us" as a species.

 

I may be wrong but to me it shows that yes, over the years schools and other organisations did kill or try to eliminate creativity in some areas and in some children. I'm just glad that we have come a long way since then and that children are recognised as they're own true selves and encouraged rather than discouraged to grow.

 

Your thoughts please ...

[naomis8329]

Sorry double post Edited August 19, 2012 by naomis8329

[dazzerfong]

@ naomis8329:

 

Well, it's often important to remember that it's people that we deem 'different' that change the world the most, and often for the best. Newton was deemed a failure in the subject of Grammar. Einstein failed in Maths (this is still debatable).

 

@ Keanumoreira:

 

Unfortunately, I don't have much experience interacting with people with disorders (if you can really call it that). I do, however, know of an autistic person back in high school: in the beginning, he couldn't really talk with people, and whenever anyone did the thing I just mentioned with him, he would often respond in physical violence (of course, we stopped after we realized what was going on). In just 6 years, he could interact with anyone he wanted without them ever knowing he was an autistic (he managed to read a French newspaper without problems after learning French for just half a year). I do know that it's possible to recover, not always, but entirely possible.

[Iv000]

When you force a lefty to write with his right hand (Which many parents did back then) he can have problems with other functions later on in his life.

You are basically trying to change his primary brain hemisphere. That is biologically determined, if you try and change that it can have consequences.

 

Using both hands is ok. But never fully change it's primary hand.

 

Autistic people, the ones that are considered to have 'mental difficulties' or 'retarded', lack social and communication skills like most people with ADD, Aspergers and such, but to an extreme. I believe that they are truly geniuses, but their brains are so focused on their genius that they do not allow them social interaction. That's why they seem 'retarded'. So I agree with what naomis says, I'd love to know such people's thoughts.

 

Being right or left handed does not have to mean that you excel at particular things. I am right handed, which would mean that I use my left hemisphere more often.

 

http://www.myshrink.com/images/left-right-brain-280.jpg

 

But I show both traits from both of the hemispheres.

I think in 3D, I have a special connection to music, I have an extremely complicated and precise sense of intuition which can give me answers to things before I even experienced them. My imagination makes me drift away many times and I daydream.

But then, I am right handed. I am excellent at learning foreign languages with extreme ease just by observing. I have great logical reasoning, I developed my own understanding of the world without the influence of others.

 

But I'm sloppy at maths, I cannot remember dates, I absolutely fail at history, my handwriting is poor, I have problems with expressing myself and my emotions, either by text or by voice (Which is why I am bad at essays, even in my natural language) etc

 

This is a very complicated topic and my understanding of it is barely there. I am getting confused the more I think about it, so I'll stop here.

 

@dazzerfong

Something like obvious sarcasm? Where you say the opposite, but to make it more obvious you say the truth in the end? I'm still a bit confused.

 

(Also, I'm not sure if I'm the only one thinking like this. But I think that my posts sometime lack a point and/or an ending? Could someone give me feedback on that please? I feel like I ramble a lot and that I cannot write what I actually want to say.)

[naomis8329]

For a right-handed person I certainly have more right brain functions than left. I am pretty good with numbers, am logical, can be quite analytical when I put myself into that thought process, used to have amazing writing (won a number of awards for penmanship) arthritis has put paid to that. I can speak English very well, and have a smattering of French, Italian, Spanish and Japanese, not enough to hold an intellectual conversation but enough to get myself a coffee and something to eat and of course thank you, please, hello and goodbye :D

 

I adore writing stories and have a great imagination (would play RPGs otherwise), I love art and used to draw and paint, again arthritis has put paid to that.

 

I guess it depends upon how we are brought up also as I adore music and am eclectic in my tastes from classical and jazz to electronic gothic, pop and house to rock and garage. My kids keep me young I guess and Glee has a lot to answer for too :D :D Yes I'm truly that sad :) Appreciation for music was instilled in me by my father who used to take me to the proms as a kid. I also went to ballet and opera productions altho nothing too heavy operatic wise. I also went to the theatre two or three times a month to watch musical and the Royal Shakespeare company whenever they were in Liverpool or Manchester.

 

I love reading and films and usually read the book before seeing the film. I'm also a continuity freak and can pinpoint mistakes with uncanny accuracy and love watching others to see if they notice also. Freaky or just weird I don't know but my kids have certain traits of mine and they all adore music, books and films. We discuss things regularly and if I haven't got the answer then I'll find it. I encourage debate and sharing/swapping of ideas, thoughts and beliefs as I believe it encourages them to see things from all sides and not just have a fixed point of view. I've never treated them as babies for long and never talked down to them as to me its condescending. I may be wrong but it seems to have worked. We watch the news regularly, documentaries and factual programmes and its interesting to get their point of view too.

 

Kids are wonderful to watch and to see the world through their eyes never gets boring for me. I always see something new and that is usually down to my children, grand children and godchildren. They have such interesting view points it never ceases to make me laugh, smile or rethink something.

 

Like I've said before I try to learn something new daily and if I can pass on my wisdom to others then I'm all the richer for it.