Creative Thinking and College Admissions
Ever since I was a child, I was always taught that the most successful people were lawyers, scientists, or even doctors like my father. However, I never had a strong urge to pursue any of those professions. Rather, my dream was to become a singer, I may have been dreaming too big, but I knew that what I wanted to pursue was not something my parents would be proud of. That is the reason that when I picked up Daniel Pink's book, A Whole New Mind, I instantly became intrigued. Pink argues that society is transitioning from the Information Age ino a new age: the Conceptual Age. During the Information Age, only left-brained qualities were valued.
Left-brain thinkers are commonly known as those who can think logically, sequentially, and have computer-like reasoning. On the contrary, right brain thinkers are creative, and have the ability to empathize with others and express human emotion. They are the designers, the artists, and the musicians of the world. As we move into the new century, right-brain thinking is going to be of utmost importance. The reason that right-brain thinking is so pertinent is due to globalization. The world is becoming more affluent and necessities are becoming more abundant. Technology is improving and outsourcing knowledge work, making left-brain traits less unique.
Therefore, to excel in this new age, we must learn to think with our right brain. This means implementing design and different aesthetics into our professions. Pink also offers six high-concept, high-touch senses that he believes are essential qualities of right-brain thinkers: design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning. So if right-brain thinking is so important, why is it that most children are taught that they should be accountants or engineers when they grow up? That made me wonder just how much society effects the educational system. If left-brain thinking was no longer defining us, then how schools need to start teaching their students how to succeed in this new age. This got me wondering how right-brain thinking might influence the education as a whole.
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I began my research by looking for articles that discussed the involvement of creativity in the educational regime. I found "Educational Model for Promoting Creativity and Innovation in Primary Schools" by Borut Likar, Franc Cankar, and Blaž Zupan. They argue that it is vital for primary schools to "encourage the development of empathy in young people in order to improve their social responsibility" (206). For example, Slovenia is behind most other regulated and competitive countries because they lack the innovative capabilities that other countries have. Therefore, they have recently directed their attention to the education system so that they can promote creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship among the younger generations. However, this article only talked about how important it is for primary schools to be taught to think aesthetically. This made me wonder how right-brain thinking could influence high school and college admissions.
As I was searching for a new article, I came across "Promoting Creativity and Innovation in Engineering Education" by David H. Cropley from the University of South Australia. I realized that it was better to focus on one particular major and creativity affects that specific field, so I proceeded to read the article. Cropley argues how creativity is essential to students pursuing a career in engineering. He believes that "educational programs focus excessively on narrow and deep technical specifications, with little or no room in the curriculum for developing the ability to think and act creatively" (161). If society is so dependent on the ability of STEM professionals to develop innovative and effective technological solutions, then it is shocking that there is not a stronger connection between creativity and all aspects of engineering. There should be more emphasis placed on design and creative thinking when students are pursuing a career in the STEM field. Although those fields are highly "left-brained," those who incorporate right- brain traits will see better results in the future.
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Creative Thinking and College Admissions. (2023, Feb 15). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/creative-thinking-and-college-admissions/
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