The Crisis of Creativity

One of my ways that I love to build my creativity is by getting lost. Here I explored a Cactus Museum in Arizona.

I recently sat down with the Unbothered Black Girl Collective to discuss Black Women and Creativity. You can check out the interview here.

I personally believe that Creativity is one of the most important skills that we can develop as human beings. It is one of the reasons why I was inspired to major in Secondary Education, and why I co-founded the nonprofit Art of Culture in 2011.

I come across people all the time who struggle with creativity. I’ve heard people say:

“I’m not a creative person at all.”

“I hate being creative.”

I’ve watched arts programming get relegated to the margins of children’s education, especially in low-income communities.

“Reading, Writing and Arithmetic” are considered the only essentials to a good education. Meanwhile Arts Classes & Experiences - band, visual art, and even unstructured play time are essential components of magnet and private schools (Don’t believe me? Peruse the Course Offerings & Curriculum of magnet, “selective enrollment” and private schools from elementary to High School).

Most recently, Linked In published a study on the most in-demand hard and soft skills and ranked “Creativity” as the most desired soft skill. Read more here.

I personally believe that collectively we have a Crisis of Creativity.

While STEM has taken priority in education, the “A” or the Art has been missing. STEM really should be considered “A.” There is much research that supports the reality that students who participate in the arts have better STEM outcomes.

I remember when I taught, whenever I would have creative assignments, many of my students would be paralyzed whenever I gave them open-ended choices on performance assessments (projects). I know that is because the focus on standardized testing and the highly structured lives that students experience leaves much to be desired when it comes to using the imagination. As an educator, I did not believe in the cookie cutter, one-size-fits all approach and I truly enjoyed injecting creativity whenever and wherever possible into the learning experience.

Imagination is the most important tool that we have to create a better future for ourselves and our communities. Imagination and Creativity allows us to solve problems. It allows us to be resourceful. It is ESSENTIAL to our ability to perform our jobs well and it is the nucleus of innovation.

If you are a parent or you have young people in your life, I encourage you to help them to develop their creativity.

If you are an entrepreneur or a boss, I encourage you to invite new and different approaches to your work environment.

If you consider yourself to be “creativity deficient” I encourage you to take risks and step outside of your comfort zone to flex your imagination muscle.

I’d like to thank the Unbothered Black Girl Collective for allowing me to think deeply about this topic and again I encourage you to check out the interview here which includes some tips and resources to help you be more creative!