I really enjoyed this video! As I was watching it I found some of his statements/comments so profound and enlightening that I restarted the video after getting pen and paper to take notes. I know! I should have done that from the start! "If you are not prepared to be wrong you'll never come up with anything original" wow It makes sense to me. "As we grow we are educating ourselves out of creativity" I'm not sure I agree with that statement entirely. I think our creativity as we get older gets redirected or evolves into a more specific/specialized form of creativity where a child may show more areas/fields of creativity because they are still in a discovery mode/stage.
When Ken started talking about Juliana Len and how in todays world she might have been put on medicine for ADHD it hit home because against my will my youngest daughter was put on that drug at the age of two and it made me wonder what creativity we(her parents may have stifled). I must say the medicine does help her focus in class but at what cost to unexplored creativity? Ken's statement "she had to move to think" makes me think that if I'm able to work through this and the other courses to complete my education as a teacher it will have to remember that statement when some of my kids are active at the very least see them with enlightened eyes. That's all I have to say.
Oh wow! I am shocked to hear that a doctor put a child so young on ADHD medication. When my seven year old was in kindergarten, we experienced ADHD issues. I had him evaluated, and he was diagnosed with ADHD. The doctor told me that five years old was the earliest age he would treat with medication. I struggled with the idea of medicating him. I didn’t want to medicate my five year old, but he stayed in trouble at school for talking and not sitting still. He stayed in trouble at home for being rambunctious. I was worried about how always being in trouble would affect him. He simply could not be quite or sit still for any length of time. From k-3 thru 1st grade he came home with a sad face four out of five days during the week. It was discouraging to both of us. Long story short, I decided against medication. We managed through, but first grade was a struggle. He is now in second grade, and he has only had two bad days out of 103 days of school. I’m one thankful mama! I believe his improvement is due to some maturing and learning to deal with his impulses, at least somewhat, and a patient teacher. I am hoping we continue on this course of improvement.
ReplyDeleteI can see how ADHD medicine could certainly take away from creativity. I too have to move to think, especially if I hit writer’s block. But I also worry that the negativity of staying in trouble would steal the confidence needed to explore creativity and present originality. It’s a slippery slope, and one that many parents struggle with.
Thanks for sharing.