How to Become a Creative Genius

When we measure the creativity of young children, virtually all of them will record as being ‘highly creative’. However, only a small percentage of adults register as being ‘highly creative’.

What happened?

Schools have crushed creativity. We were told to color within the lines. We were taught to follow instructions. The goal in

school is to get the “right” answer. Unfortunately, if you’re afraid to be wrong, you’ll never be creative or original.

The job of education is to produce employees who follow instructions. And to this endeavor, they are doing a

very good job. However, in terms of creativity, they are falling terribly short.

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How to Become a Creative Genius.

7 Reasons Why Your Child Should Practice Martial Arts

“The martial arts are ultimately self-knowledge. A punch or a kick is not to knock the hell out of the guy in front, but to knock the hell out of your ego, your fear, or your hang-ups.”       – Bruce Lee

Recently on a visit back home, I met my one of my close friends at his son’s martial arts studio so I could drop in and see what young Ethan was up to. Ethan was one step away from getting his white sash in Poekoelan, an Indonesian martial art. He beamed with pride as we watched him do various forms and drills. Shortly after I left town, Ethan earned his white sash, upon which he got to join the big kids in the adjacent room. There the big kids practice more advanced forms, techniques, and even some sparring. He was thrilled.

Ethan’s always been a good kid, but from what I observed the martial arts gave him quite a healthy dose of self esteem and self respect – two of the many benefits one gains with participation in them. Whether your kid is too bossy, too shy, or perhaps just a little hyper, the martial arts can help your child learn many important life lessons. (And, of course, those same lessons apply for all of us, not just kids.)

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7 Reasons Why Your Child Should Practice Martial Arts | Breaking Muscle.

Why Emotional Learning May Be As Important As The ABCs

Thomas O’Donnell’s kindergarten kids are all hopped up to read about Twiggle the anthropomorphic Turtle.

“Who can tell me why Twiggle here is sad,” O’Donnell asks his class at Matthew Henson Elementary School in Baltimore.

“Because he doesn’t have no friends,” a student pipes up.

And how do people look when they’re sad?

“They look down!” the whole class screams out.

Yeah, Twiggle is lonely. But, eventually, he befriends a hedgehog, a duck and a dog. And along the way, he learns how to play, help and share.

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Why Emotional Learning May Be As Important As The ABCs : NPR Ed : NPR.

5 Ways To Encourage Kids To Grow Up To Be Innovators

It’s not easy being a kid today. They face shifting curricula requirements, a strong focus on standardized test results, piles of homework, and a seemingly never-ending quest for achievement in everything from academics to sports. A recent documentary, Race to Nowhere delves into the rigors and risks of growing up in the 2010s.

Former elementary and high school teacher Tony Wagner says he is worried this concern with business and benchmarking is stripping children of their creative nature.

Wagner is an innovation education fellow at the Technology and Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard University, and founding executive director of Engaging Schools, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, nonprofit that helps schools inspire enthusiasm for learning in students. He says a narrow definition of what it means to be a successful student—including too much emphasis on teaching for standardized tests—is creating a situation where children will have difficulty being innovators later in life.

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5 Ways To Encourage Kids To Grow Up To Be Innovators | Fast Company | Business + Innovation.