Towson University - Tower Echoes Yearbook (Towson, MD)

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6 THE TOWER LIGHT timber, or ideasjf' Thorndike lists the creative activity under the heading of .The Instinct of Mnltiform Mental Activity. The ex- pression of ideas and emotions is a natural or inborn tendency of every one -this statement is found in the Phychology for Teachers fBenson, Lough, Skinner, Westj. However our psychologists may define and classify these characteristics of creativeness, they do agree as to their universal existence as potent forces. Universality of Language The self may use various media for expression: Music, dance, architecture, sculpture, painting. Only relatively few find these means natural ones for expression. The universal mode of expres- sion is through language. Language as a tool is within the reach of all. There is no known tribe or people so low in the scale of life that it does not possess some form of language. fjuddj Because of the universality of the use of language, it becomes a perfect me- dium for expression. Experiments A What use, then, can teachers make of the creative impulse? It might seem from the foregoing statements of the psychologists that the teacher's responsibility would be merely to let the children alone and they would create, the children's instincts and emotions serving as complete and adequate driving forces. Education has only re- cently learned to use the natural creative impulses 5 it is at present experimenting, and the results are good. The experimenters have found the let-alone attitude on the part of the teacher to be of value, to have a place in the scheme of things, and must be skilfully han- dled, however, it is by no means the all inclusive technic for devel- oping the creative. The experimenters say: School life should be free from arro- gant authorities, teachers should be guides rather than instructors, and these should be learning about children rather than certain about children, and that the school environment should be rich in suggest- ing material for the creative impulses. CMearnsj The idea must be the child's, that is certain, but will he unaided be stimulated to express himself? Mangravite says of the teacher, He must gain the child's confidence and establish within the child the desire to create, or he will not do anything. It would seem then that the teacher must be a kind of clairvoyant who can penetrate the mind and soul of the child and comprehend what he wants to do, he must by subtle means stimulate the desire to express that thing, and estab- lish a favorable school environment. The creative impulse is like a delicate fiower which, that it may grow and unfold in all its beauty needs the sunshine, rain, and air.

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THE TOWER LIGHT 5 and beparasoled ladies dismounted with the aid of igallants, holding a parrot cage in one hand while steadying ladder or lady with the other. Time and space fail to give medium for describing each engine in detail. For such particulars, one may consult the catalog of the Centenary Exhibit. Let it suffice to say that one of the greatest trib- utes paid by the spectators to the romance of travel and' to the courage of our forebears, was the silence and the hint of tears, as the Cones- toga wagons passed by, with youth and maiden, gay and dauntless, facing ever towards the West. M. L. O. 'Q--15 Qf The Creative in Composition By EUNICE K. CRABTREE OMPOSITION is self expression through language fwritten or spokenj. This definition suggests the unity of the two fac- tors which must always be considered in the study of com- position. These are: self-expression and language. Self-expression implies the thoughts and ideas of an individual which seek expres- sion, and the realization of which is the ultimate aim of composition, lauguage implies the technique which makes the expression of the self possible, and it is the means to the end. The word through in the definition indicates the interrelation of these factors. Previously, the teaching of composition in the schools has for the most part neglected the former and placed the stress almo-st entirely upon the latter-technique. Recently, with the growth of the creative move- ment in education, the teaching of composition is being changed and a truer realization of self-expression through language is being ef- fected. Psychological Basis In discussing the creative, one naturally turns to the authori- ties-the psychologists, for information. Dewey says: The ex- pressive impulse of the children, the art instinct, grows out of the communicating and constructive instincts. Make construction ade- quate, make it full, free and flexible, give it a social motive, some- thing to tellg and you have a work of art. Robinson places it as a universal habit system. He says that it is characteristic of the vast majority of normal people to desire to build Qwhether out of stone,

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THE TOWER LIGHT 7 Too many of us have only dried withered stalks. Why? Perhaps it is because we have had a stereotyped instruction, restrictive and oppressive school life, and an unfavorable environment. However, in the child there is a joyous freeness, an abundance of ideas and a desire to express these. In analyzing the problem thus far these two questions arise: What are the factors which make for the development of the cre- ative? How can a teacher economically secure these factors in the classroom? In answering the first question I find four factorsg these are: 1. stimulation of desire for expression 2. enrichment of ideas 3. skill in use of tools 4. realization of favorable environment. . In answering the second question I wish to point out ways and means of securing these four factors in the classroom. To stimulate a desire for expression the teacher must know: what the child wants to do, what his idea is. How the teacher may discover the idea without modifying it or substituting any other idea seems to suggest the realm of the supernatural. The most practical and scientific reply would be: To know the child's interest for his grade and according to his age, supplemented by the teacher's knowl- edge of his particular group of children and of their particular en- vironment. When the teacher knows the child's interests, he may select materials which appeal to those interests. fFor instance, the universal interests of third grade children are: imaginative peoples' lands etc., humor, and nature-animals, etc. In the selecting of ma- terials, the teacher has these interests in mind.j ,With a knowledge of children's interests as a guide the children may be stimulated by: a. personal story told by child or teacher b. discussion of some thing or idea initiated by the child or teacher c. reading or telling of stories, poems on same topic d. music-records, etc., having same theme e. pictures-masterpieces or excellent child contributions having similar theme f. teacher participation-reading to class his own story or poem on this theme. With a knowledge of children's interests as a guide the children's ideas may be enriched by clarifying past experiences, intensifying