creativity

When did creativity die?
We're given instructions and guidelines for everything and expected to follow them to a T.
And you know what the silly thing is?
We do.
Or, at least we try to.
When I was a preschool teacher the children were instructed to draw a flower one day by my fellow teacher.
I was working with one of the children and while he was drawing the flower he kept asking how he was supposed to draw it.
I kept telling him to draw it however he wanted, but he didn't accept that.
He thought that he had to draw it exactly like Ms. K. had instructed him to.
Creativity gone.
And it continues through age.
A professor gives us an assignment with explicit instructions with the understanding that we will not stray from those instructions.
Why can't it be done how we best understand it?
Why do our presentations have to look cookie cutter with everyone else's?
And why do we freak out when they don't?
We are killing creativity.
Why do teachers give such specific assignments that produce the exact same results from completely different students?
Instead of the instruction: write a 3 page report on the characters and ideas in "such-and-such" book......
Why don't we write: Show me what you learned from the book.
This could produce reports, skits, art, songs, etc...that all have the same purpose but so much more impact.
Don't get me wrong.
Specificity is often a very good thing and is necessary for certain students.
But, given the right tools, I think that a little confusion leads to creativity.
So....go confuse someone.