Is Creativity too Difficult to Measure?

     This question is too difficult to answer!!!  One side of me says that it is completely easy and obvious to measure how creative a person is, just by looking at a person’s personality, interests, hobbies, and endeavors.  In terms of the students for whom I substitute teach, the more creative person is easy to identify just by observation.  They usually are enthusiastic about school, make analogies quite easily, and put great effort into making their work exceptional. However, some students don’t exhibit creative behaviors in obvious manners, and this is where measuring creativity by observing school performance becomes complicated.  I have noticed many students in classrooms who don’t enjoy writing or drawing, and who show little interest in the activities taking place in school, not showing much creativity.  However, you might see some of these same students on the playground excelling at the sports they are playing, showing great imagination in their play, or getting along well with others, all due to some creative problem solving.  Their creativity is less academic and more social and physical. Those remaining are the students who exhibit no creativity inside or outside of the classroom, who can’t find anything to play on the playground, and who can’t seem to get along with peers. Yet, when you look at this small group of “completely non-creative children”, it is often the same kids who either have difficult home lives, or who have physical/learning issues, or both.  I don’t think it is fair to measure this select group as low in creativity, because it is impossible to know what their potential really is.

     I wonder about creativity tests, which seem to be a contradiction in terms.  It is probably the same students who excel in almost everything who will score high on these tests.  The students who are creative outside of the classroom most likely will not do well on these forms of measurement, due to their general lack of interest in  academics. Yet, these are the students who might amazingly come up with intriguing things at recess to play, like “camping”  and creating an awesome “campfire” and “tent” with rocks, sticks, and leaves, yet who won’t be invited to attend gifted and talented classes.  The last group of kids mentioned will doubtfully exhibit creativity on a sit-down test, as their minds (and sometimes their stomachs) are elsewhere.

     I believe that creativity shows up in many different ways and almost everyone shows it individually, some more obvious than others.  As teachers, we need to be aware of the signs of creativity, and find it in everyone. Those who don’t show any creativity are usually “un-creative” because of circumstances beyond their control. It is this group that I hope to find ways of reaching and nurturing the creativity that is hidden inside.