The University’s television commercial “Endless Pursuit” hails Grounds as a place of “perpetual ingenuity” where students can “solve, create, challenge, shatter.” While this may be true in small corners of the University, the vast majority of the work students do is neither ingenious nor challenging. In most courses students are told the exact opposite message of the commercial: listen, learn, understand, repeat back. Students at the University are unintentionally discouraged from being creative and voicing alternative opinions in classes, to their detriment.
Academic creativity is stifled in many University classes. As midterms continue, students are stressing about papers and projects. Adding to this stress is an emphasis on conformity rather than creativity. Research has shown creative learning is being stifled by an over-reliance on testing. This leads students to try to write not to align with their own opinions but to align with the sensibilities of the professor. Having students conform to a way of thought for an assignment without having to confront their own beliefs on the subject accomplishes nothing. Professors can and should have expectations for assignments, but when they fail to encourage originality it starts to become a problem.
Part of this problem stems from students’ obsessions with grades. Very few people are going to put their personal opinions above their grades. It is also much harder for students to write their own opinions if those opinions diverge from the majority. However, actually putting in the effort to make a well-reasoned argument for an opinion can help a person learn so much more than typical analysis. Additionally, students will have a more personal stake in their assignments, making them more impactful. Having a divergent belief might be hard but it can also be rewarding in the right context.
This does not mean professors do not play the more significant role in promoting creativity. The way a professor handles himself in class can go a long way toward encouraging creativity in students. Professors should try to get students not just to explain readings or concepts but to give their opinions on them. This forces students to engage with the material instead of regurgitating readings. Professors should also give their own opinion on an argument and then encourage other students to disagree. Professors need to show students, not just tell them, that they appreciate and can accept creativity in the classroom.
I understand professors need a certain amount of uniformity in assignments. Each discipline has a preferred writing style, citation style and basic focus — and I’m not arguing against professors applying these restrictions. However, there is no reason students shouldn’t feel comfortable to disagree with a reading or push back on a professor’s point. The majority of professors will welcome a divergent opinion but very few students likely feel comfortable contradicting a professor. Simply changing the tone of the class or including a note in the rubric that encourages creative responses can go a long way to change this.
The University is following a larger national trend of increased importance on being smart rather than creative. There might be increased funding for the arts or a creative initiative that a student launches, but the vast majority of the student body is not being encouraged to be creative. It’s just easier to test knowledge than creativity, and employers generally care more about hiring someone who is knowledgeable. But what we really need is more creative people graduating from the University. Anyone who can get into this school has shown he can learn; the next step should be for students to create. The world is changing at a breakneck speed and we are preparing to solve problems that don’t even exist yet. We don’t need more people who can rattle off information or analyze a text along accepted lines. What the world is going to need is people who will provide creative and novel solutions, people who aren’t afraid to be divergent. If the University really wants to prepare people for the real world, then there needs to be a large shift toward encouraging creativity on Grounds.
Bobby Doyle is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at b.doyle@cavalierdaily.com.
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