“Conformity and creativity run in separate directions.” This lovely sentiment from Martina Skender’s post How to Create Creativity simply states what I think we all feel in our gut. Her article offers tools and techniques for adults to harness their creativity and in her words, “Expand your mind and give it lots of input.”

She identifies 3 strategies often used by those in the “creative industry” to jump start their flow. I think these are also tools we, as parents and educators, can use with the children we know.

Most adults have been asked to Brainstorm in one context or another. I’m not suggesting you bust out a Sharpie and one of those giant post-it pads with your 3-year-old corporate retreat style, but I do think the idea is useful, especially when dealing with redirecting behavior. Skender defines the process:

"The Brainstorming process starts off with the problem clearly stated and recognized by all participants. One person out of the group is chosen to write down all the ideas that are suggested in order to make them simultaneously visible to all others."

Let me demonstrate: Little Billy wants Sally’s truck. He takes it and she hits him. They are both crying now. Using the brainstorm tactics, state the problem, “Billy you wanted Sally’s truck but she’s not done using it. Sally you hit Billy. Let’s think of some ideas to solve this problem together.” Voila! You are brainstorming with children. See, creativity is not just useful for solving the oil crisis. Teaching children creative thinking skills can help them navigate complicated social situations as well.

Next in Skender’s toolkit is, “Lateral Thinking:” adopted from Edward de Bono:

"Lateral Thinking is a creative technique that encourages reasoning that is not immediately obvious, and ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic. It is about finding a solution to problems through an indirect approach."

Another way to describe this concept is sideways or tangential thinking. This is how it seems a lot of kids think naturally. They are able to see things as connected in ways adults don’t. It reminds me of staring at the clouds and identifying the shapes as real objects: a bear, a motorcycle, an omelet. That sounds like a great way to practice this with kids, in fact.

I also love the Brian Eno affiliated Oblique Strategies. While not designed for children these are a fun way for grown-ups to revisit the lateral mode of thought. The deck of cards offers suggestions like:

• Steal a solution.
• Describe the landscape in which this belongs.
• What else is this like?
• List the qualities it has. List those you'd like.
• Instead of changing the thing, change the world around it.

Last in her list of tasty creative tidbits Skender suggests Problem Reversal offering Magritte’s classic “This is not a pipe” painting as a suggestion. She defines the concept as a method based on, “stating the problem in reverse. Change a positive statement into a negative one.”  Now that is 4-year-old territory for real. I mean if you want to make a 4-year-old crack up say something like, “What if giant mice ate giant cheese?” or “Dinosaurs were not mean they were more like kittens.” Problem reversal seems like it has many practical applications for kids and adults, but above all of them it’s good fun to think of things in reverse, explore the opposites, and turn them upside down or inside out.

It’s true that as children grow there are social norms they really do have to adopt (potty training comes to mind).  But the idea of “conformity” frightens me. Skender wraps up her piece by paraphrasing our pal Sir Ken Robinson, “by the time kids became adults, most have lost their capacity to be creative; they have become frightened to be wrong – they get educated out of creativity.”  Let’s stop that right now.  Go outside, stare at the clouds and get busy being creative. And while you’re at it, help the kids you know practice too.

This entry was posted on 02/05/10 and is filed under Heather Posner.
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