A study published in the Creativity Research Journal reveals teachers don't like the qualities most often associated with creativity--event hough they profess to enjoy working with creative children.
It makes sense, doesn't it--the creative person tends to be a daydreamer, a risk-taker, a questioner of how thing are done. If you have too many of those in a classroom (or a company), the teacher or manager has a harder time keeping order, sticking to the program, and delivering results that can be measured by the usual standards.
The creative kids either rein in their original thinking or they get branded as trouble-makers or suffering from ADHD (I'm not suggesting that all diagnoses of ADHD are false, of course, but when you look at the sheer numbers of kids being put on drugs, especially in the US, it's pretty suspicious).
Within most companies, the slogans on the wall tout a commitment to creativity and innovation, but the reality for the person who questions too much generally is different.
When will this change? Probably not until it HAS to change--until it's totally clear to everyone that the answer to our burgeoning problems is the kind of original thinking, quick response and flexibility that characterizes the most creative people. Even then, turning around the educational establishment so it rewards what it's now punishing will be a huge undertaking.
In the meantime, I guess it's up to parents to try to nurture what's being ignored or discouraged in school and help their kids be undercover creatives, and to figure out how to do the same if you're working in a company.
