Dreaming Big

I'm currently reading the powerful e-book Stop Stealing Dreams by Seth Godin. In this powerful work, the author talks about some important things that are missing from American education. One of these things is imagination -- the power to dream big.

We give our kids tasks to perform, information to memorize, tests to take, and then wonder why they aren't creative problem-solvers.

Picture this. A class of 5th-graders have been learning about Vikings (history, misconceptions, etc). I pass them a couple of coloring pages and a box of 24 crayons -- to create while I read (from a fiction book). The first question they ask? "Does it matter what color I use?"

Really?? Of course it doesn't matter! Use whatever color you like! Be creative! If the boat is red and pink, and the water is orange, that's great!

When have we so indoctrinated our kids that their first response is to question how creative they are allowed to be? Kids need to be empowered to make creative decisions -- to dream big!

I'm inspired by "Stop Stealing Dreams". I'd love to have a discussion with others who have read/are reading this work.

http://www.squidoo.com/stop-stealing-dreams