I grew up on creative activities. Acting out impromptu plays and creating weird works of art were parts of my everyday life. In school, we were encouraged to write creative stories. I even competed annually with my friends in Odyssey of the Mind, a competition between schools which awards points solely based on the students' creativity. All of my fondest memories of middle school fall around these activities which allowed us to learn while being silly. After observing the students of Kadod High School for just a short time, I knew there was none of this teaching philosophy in the Gujarati school system. Luckily, we are able to encourage thinking creatively in our Spoken English classes before and after school, but my brilliant 8th standard students are simply encouraged to regurgitate everything they hear from the teacher.
Just last week, I was excited to find an activity in their textbook that asked the students to complete a story for themselves. While they all had guidebooks that gave them one answer, I asked them to brainstorm some other outcomes as a class. There was a long silence in the classroom, and then:
(murmurs and quotes from the textbook)
Me: "Okay, who can tell me what 'creative' means?"
Chorus of 8th standard kids: "To produce!"
(Co-teacher nods proudly)
Me: "..."
Finally, after coming up with some ridiculous conclusions of my own, the students got the idea and began giving slight alterations of my stories. After this interaction, I was determined to have a class in which we were all silly and creative.
The next week, I came to class equipped with a Gujarati word for 'creative', several household items, and the determination to get these kids thinking outside-the-box. We were going to think of all the different uses for umbrellas, hairbrushes, rackets, and dupattas, among other things. By the end of the class, the students were doing pretty well for themselves, telling me that a dupatta could be used for a jump-rope, a hairbrush handle could roll chapatis, and even that an umbrella could be used as a boat. Excited by this development, I pushed the students further. I explained to them that for homework, they would write a television advertisement for any object in their house. The most creative and silly ad would win a small prize. As we left class for lunch, the students were all excited for the project and murmuring about what they would choose to write about.
The next day I was excited to collect the ads and read what the students had written. Unfortunately, my excitement was cut short as I noticed that the first 10 papers I had collected were all exactly the same. As I continued around the class, I became more and more dejected as I saw the students copying a story directly from their textbook entitled "The Invention of the Umbrella." In the end, 5 students wrote really great ads, and 50 students rewrote "The Invention of the Umbrella."
I am determined to continue on my quest to get these students thinking creatively, but it seems that it will be a long road ahead. In the meantime, every little independent thought counts for so much.
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