Parents should embrace CBC as it brings hope of nurturing child's creativity at home and in school

During our childhood, our perspectives were derived and formulated from popular views of society that did not provide room for creativity.

Society expects us to follow such expectations with little room for questioning or making any mistakes. We have spoon-fed a singular definition of success. We were made to believe a good education is all we needed to be successful.

We disregarded creativity.

In school, you will hear teachers repeat the notion that we went to school to read and attain good grades and nothing else. Creative activities in school were considered a waste of time and could easily land a student in trouble.

A parent is the child’s first teacher and should be the first person to nurture their creativity. Unfortunately, most parents are caught up in a hectic whirlwind of activities that start on Monday morning and end on Sunday evening. There is little time left to spend with the children.

In school, children who give unusual responses are majorly ignored.

They will be the lot that displays a keen sense of humour, or is non-conforming and unpredictable. They are creative thinkers. 

In many cases, a creative thought may often be seen to go against the rules in a strict setting like a classroom. Uptight teachers and parents may view this as indiscipline, which may sometimes attract punishment.

It is saddening to see how teachers are biased against creative students, fearing that it would disrupt the classroom. They show little appreciation for different talents, which if nurtured may make the children more knowledgeable.

Creative children are inquisitive and curious, some teachers may take it as an attack on their mastery of content.

The same goes for some parents who get embarrassed while trying to answer some of these questions, especially in front of people or if the queries make them a bit uncomfortable.

Our education system was designed to train us to be good workers and follow instructions. But with the new Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC), students have an opportunity to cultivate creativity.

But there is still a gap we need to address, which is the reward system for creative students. Children need to be raised in an environment where they can make mistakes and learn from them. Their own creativity can be the gateway through which they become better students. Teachers and parents can help children learn to think and solve problems in creative ways.

Kimani John, Maasai Mara University

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