So let me start off by sharing that I do not want this to be 'Candidate bashing' of the Obama vs. Romney
Presidential Election. But in class we are talking about linear thinking versus divergent thinking. This
idea struck me as something I think even the big politicians need to learn the differences and the benefits and the downsides to these two types of thought processes. First, I think it's important for middle schools to college to adulthood should learn these types. Why? Well because education has been flipped into a way that now, imagination and creativity seem to have been sucked right out of the curriculum. We have been 'trained' to no longer look beyond what we're told and taught and just accept things the way they are. But how the crap are we supposed to support a presidential candidate if they don't know how to think of all possible outcomes and solutions to one big, huge, problem in the country? There should be no second thought about if the candidate, when faced with a sudden obstacle, can decide the best choice out of a few and then proceed forward. Not only is it important for schools to stop teaching only convergent thinking, but even divergent thinking is important in adult lives as well. Maybe more so than in childhood?
I believe both Obama and Romney know linear thinking and divergent thinking. They are too great of men to not realize these ideas and are far too intelligent to not think that far ahead. You brought up good points. Neither president has mentioned changing the way schools are taught in America and I, along with you, agree that education needs to be less convergent. At this point in the election the candidates only care about who they can convince that they will make the schools better. I don't think either candidate has a very specific plan for changing how children are taught in America. It's not on the forefront of their minds, which is ok, because there are worse things to worry about in our economy.
ReplyDeleteI read Ashley A’s blog about linear versus divergent thinking and how it relates to politicians and the upcoming election. She talks about the benefits and downsides to both thought processes and how important it is to teach both in schools. Because only linear thinking is taught in schools, imagination and creativity are being sucked right out of the curriculum. I agree with her about this. I do think that at GBS we are lucky to have many ways to express our creativity in classes and outside activities. We have music, painting, writing, drawing and lots of other creative classes. But, with a curriculum that has too many AP classes and emphasizes getting into college, a lot of kids don’t have time to take these classes. That is too bad. I have taken photography, music and now I am taking drawing. But, even these classes have a little too much structure and not enough freedom. But, I think what we have is better than what other schools offer, so I think we are lucky enough
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