Welcome to Creativity Guide
Healing Through Creativity Article
. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for further reading, click here.
You may also listen to this article by using the following controls.
CAN CREATIVITY BE TAUGHT?
from:
A lot of people say that creativity is a trait only a selected few are born with, that it isn't something taught because, like physical beauty, it is a gift, a privilege, something that is influence and born by circumstance and other positive preceding factors, instead of something that is introduced only after a person is born. Thus, the conclusion of some that creativity is not something that can be taught.
However, there are different schools of thought to this matter, especially as the world advances and we begin to see people develop their creative faculties and excel only later in life, when they haven't shown any tinge of creativity at all in their earlier days.
Some proponents of the idea that creativity is something that can be taught and learned assert that a person's environment, orientation and background are the ones responsible for diminishing or enhancing one's creativity.
On the other hand, fans of the conservative idea that creativity is innate say that such factors like orientation and environment are merely tools to enhance creativity and that their presence would amount to nothing if there is no creativity to hone in the first place.
This issue has long been the topic of debate among many scientific and social experts all over the world. Some people say perhaps the differences lie in the fact that creativity is an all too general concept that encompasses a variety of ideas and occurences that people have varying definitions for it. What may be an indication of creativity for one may not be so for another.
For this article, however, for the sake of uniformity, we will be tackling creativity as a factor of imagination and innovation.
If creativity, then, is a component of innovation, then perhaps it is something that can be taught and learned in schools and at home. This is because it is seen as an ability to adapt to changes and adjust to them.
When we were born, while we had been equipped with rational faculties, none of these would have been of any use had we not been taught how to use them properly. Therefore, while we were born with certain traits that would make us creative, they would be for naught if no form of education or teaching were involved in the process.
Upon birth, we were unaware of what the future held for us. Because of this lack of knowledge about future occurences, all our parents and schools could do was to teach us to be resilient and how to think for ourselves, in order to have the ability to make unique decisions when the need arises. We were not taught early on how to spefically respond to changes. What we taught then was how to be creative and innovative amid behavioral and environment shifts. That being said, yes, creativity can be taught after all.
Today's trend of using standardized tests to determine a person's creativity is not only very innacurate, but actually very limiting and stifling. This is because nobody can really measure how creative a person can be, because this faculty only surfaces when particular situations come up. And because incidents do not happen to everyone, creativity is difficult to measure. So, given this, who is to say who is creative and who is not?
The argument on whether creativity can or cannot be taught is a bottomless pit. For some, education has worked. For others, education is seen as merely a tool.
However which way you choose to see it, you should appreciate that you were born human and given the ability to understand and engage in such debates. It can go on forever. It may not even eventually find a consensus. Ironically, that's where your creativity comes in – in your response to the issue and your decision on how to deal with it. Confusing, isn't it?
Healing Through Creativity Specific links
Healing Through Creativity News
Harbor Hill Home offers art as therapy for its patients
Using markers, colored pencils, paints, and yarn, the participants of Studio 35, a new expressive arts program at Harbor Hill House, are using creativity as a bridge to healing. Located at 480 Stanley St., Harbor Hill House is a site of Fellowship Health Resources Inc. It offers a residential and day program for people with mental health and substance abuse issues. Its clients suffer from ...
Read more...Museum of Cultural Arts Houston's 'Art Angels' uses creativity for a cure
On Wednesday, May 16, artist and co-founder, Rhonda Adams of the Museum of Cultural Arts Houston (MOCAH) will present “The Art of Music” benefiting the Leukemia Lymphoma Society (LLS) from 6 to 9 p.m.
Read more...Health Centers Use Laughter Therapy to Support Treatment - "The Gift of Laughter" App Delivers the Laughs Just as ...
While there is little in the world that is as serious as cancer, recent research shows that laughter has natural healing properties that could be valuable in providing comfort to those with chronic illnesses. With National Humor Month coming to a close, VisionsMedia's "Gift of Laughter" app offers a way to deliver laughter through immediate technology.Rochester, NY (PRWEB) May 01, 2012 A growing ...
Read more...Painter Pedro Rodriguez opens Pandora's box
Pedro Rodriguez sees it often in the art classes he teaches: A child sits down with a paintbrush and the images that flow onto the canvas act as a release of negative emotions and circumstances. With a master's degree in art therapy, it's no wonder Rodriguez sees art as a tool for processing unconscious feelings stored in the brain, or what he calls the monsters in the mind's Pandora's box.
Read more...Deepak Chopra and the Chopra Center to Launch Chicago Premiere of the “Seduction of Spirit” Meditation and Yoga ...
For those seeking greater happiness, health, and wellbeing, “Seduction of Spirit” is a rare opportunity to experience a week-long immersion in timeless tools and techniques to release accumulated stress and tap into the deepest human potential for creativity, healing, and transformation.Carlsbad, CA (PRWEB) May 16, 2012 This July 9-15, for the first time ever, the Chopra Center for Wellbeing is ...
Read more...