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In the News
The Creative Challenge Index
Innovative Massachusetts
Are we adequately preparing our children for the future? We have moved into an economy driven by ideas and innovation. But, are we giving our students the opportunity to develop creativity-the ability to generate ideas and then to critically evaluate potential? More and more, schools are "teaching to the test" because the only public measure of school success is the MCAS. Consequently, Massachusetts schools have no incentive to adhere to the core curriculum frameworks which call for arts education. Many schools have sharply reduced arts education and even eliminated arts education along with other programs.
Creativity and innovation should be a Massachusetts priority-in our schools and in our businesses. The Creative Challenge Index seeks to enhance creativity in our schools by establishing incentive for schools to implement the core curriculum frameworks that support creative thinking. Schools should be rewarded for establishing and maintaining creative opportunities for students through arts education, debate clubs, science fairs, theatre performance, concerts, film making and independent research.
The Creative Challenge Index will provide incentive for teachers to use their creativity and to be recognized for their innovative talents. Teachers are creative and they dedicate themselves to teaching as a profession so that they can use their creative skills to educate children. Teaching requires flexibility and innovation-what works for one child may not work for another.
MCAS was established to measure school success. Through the Creative Challenge Index, in addition to MCAS, we can measure schools by how much opportunity they create for creative and critical thinking. Currently, we are using individual achievement (measured by the MCAS) to determine school-wide success. Through a creative opportunity index, we can measure the overall environment of a school. We cannot measure individual creativity, but we can establish guidelines to foster creativity and innovation.
The Creative Challenge Index will be created by a commission of legislators, business and community leaders working with the Department of Education, the Massachusetts Cultural Council and education leaders. Through the index, schools can be rewarded for creative opportunities.
According to a coalition of researchers*, 81 per cent of American corporate leaders say that "creativity is an essential skill for the 21st century work force." In addition to creativity, these business leaders look for skills like collaboration, problem solving, critical thinking and oral communication. The Creative Challenge Index will establish incentives for schools to foster these skills through arts education and other creative educational opportunities.
The people of Massachusetts support arts education and recognize the need for creative skills in the changing economy. In a 2004 UMass poll of voters, 95% of Massachusetts taxpayers agreed that arts education is as important as English and Math. 92% favored using state funds to support arts education.
Recently, MAASH received letters from over 500 people from all walks of life all across the Commonwealth urging the state to support arts education and creative school opportunities. We heard from doctors, lawyers, scientists, engineers, elected officials and even a police officer, all of whom testify to the powerful impact that arts education had on their careers and their lives. Here are some quotes from these letters:
"Coming from a technical job function, I wanted to share how creativity is defined in the work place. In fact, it is part of the essence of what we have our employee performance reviews based upon. The concept of "creativity" stems from being able to explore in an art medium at a younger age and continuing to foster those skills throughout a child's 12 years in school." - Nancy L. Barnes-Alcatel-Lucent Logistics Engineering Technical Manager
"I'm a computer scientist and work in R & D. So many of the real skills in the work force have to do with the ability to think creatively and constructively. These skills are analytical, but can not be quantified or divorced from art and recognized only in math and science. The ability to do that indispensable in the real world." - John Langton (Waltham)
"I never had any idea that the education in music you gave me since I was a child would be so valuable as an officer trainee. All the aspects of music performance have transferred as critical skills. It also gave me the confidence to succeed in this very different career. I firmly believe that everyone should have such an opportunity. Who would suspect that my choir director and music teach would affect my life so profoundly." - Boston police officer as quoted by Richard Bunbury (Roslindale)
"I am a business manager and bookkeeper. In college, I studied computer sciences and educational media. All of these activities are very cerebral, logical, and not particularly artistic tasks. But it was my experience of art classes in high school which introduced to creative skills which I still cherish and pursue today." - Susan Fisher (Cambridge)
"As a high school student I gained self-esteem and public speaking skills through my involvement in chorus and theater." - Dianne Pledgie, Attorney (Jamaica Plain)
"I am a physician in Massachusetts. But what I think makes me a good doctor is that I can relate to my patients and feel that I have established well-rounded interests. Arts education was a large contributor to making me who I am today." - Dr. David Chen (Jamaica Plain)
The Creative Challenge Index will help to make Massachusetts a leader in creativity and innovation-in our businesses, our research universities, and in our K-12 schools.
The Creative Challenge Index will have national significance and would further establish Massachusetts as a center for creativity and innovation.
The Massachusetts Advocates for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities (MAASH) works to educate the people of Massachusetts and their elected representatives about the educational, social and economic value of the arts, sciences and humanities. MAASH is supported by membership dues from cultural organizations, artists, local cultural councils, and cultural supporters all across the Commonwealth.
Dan Hunter
Executive Director
Related Links
*"Are They Really ready to Work" a study by the Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, Partnership for 21st Century Skills and the Society for Human Resource Management.
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