Creative students often display characteristics that teachers simply do not like. When I asked teachers to rank students’ creative acts, many had trouble. Some called the students contrary, lazy or deceitful, and failed to see the creativity involved.
I’ve found the same conclusions reached by other researchers. J. Khatena teamed with E.P. Torrance, who developed many of the tests for creativity used by educators, to design an assessment called ‘What Kind of Person Are You?’ According to this assessment, Inquisitiveness, a creative characteristic, can be exhibited by talking a lot or demanding responses, especially by younger students. (How else can they inquire about things?)[1]
In addition, acceptance of authority – being obedient, respectful and polite, following rules, and accepting others in power – is indicative of a non-creative person. Creative students make judgments and evaluate situations for themselves, which means that they often do not do what they are told. Their actions are based on their own internal beliefs and desires. On one hand educators praise intrinsic motivation, while dreading some students that are actually intrinsically motivated.
According the second part of the Khatena-Torrance Creative Perception Inventory, creative adolescents and adults are both open to new ideas and critical of other’s ideas. [2] This does not cause an inherent conflict for creative students as it does for others. However, the creative person tends to have fewer friends because many view criticism as a sign of rejection when it does not have to be. As creative students become older, they will not remain the same. They often increasingly prefer to work alone. This is not always because they desire solitude, but because they are aware that others suspiciously consider them to be different. Their remoteness, a form of self-protection, is often viewed as snobbishness.
Of course, I realize all these characteristics can cause problems in class. What can one do? When my students butt heads with another teacher, I ask them to talk with the teacher outside of class. That is also the best way to deal with creative students if their actions are disruptive. Ask for a reason for the behavior. Then, politely explain why the behavior causes a problem and ask them what they think can be done about it. If they cannot come up with a workable solution, use your own. Also, I like to keep a collection of quiet, relevant and challenging independent activities creative students can do by themselves to avert disruptive behavior. Still, none of these techniques work all of the time.
The love-hate relationship with creativity and the creative person is not limited to education. In most aspects of life people desire the product of creativity, while avoiding the producer. This is complicated by the fact that creative people can become enemies of their creative cohorts in the competition to achieve. Perhaps the best thing a teacher could do is show a little empathy.
Write about what? 