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creativity
October 2009 
Quote Note 1
Posted on Apr 6th, 2009
by 
Daroy
Daroy
"The future must belong to those who create, not those who destroy." (Barack Obama, address to the Turkish parliament)
When i went on a forest trip with my class last Friday, we took part in a tree planting activity, creating new life in a spot where a severe storm had wrought havoc in 1990. While doing so, i witnessed several children screaming as soon as ants or bugs scurried in front of them and over their shoes, and encouraging each other to 'step on them, kill them, smash them!' They were the same children that i know spend most of their time playing violent video games and watching horror flicks - hardly tended to by their parents, rarely spoken or read to, never taken out to partake in scientific or artistic endeavours. Their own creativity being neglected, they seem to start hating Creation itself.
When i went on a forest trip with my class last Friday, we took part in a tree planting activity, creating new life in a spot where a severe storm had wrought havoc in 1990. While doing so, i witnessed several children screaming as soon as ants or bugs scurried in front of them and over their shoes, and encouraging each other to 'step on them, kill them, smash them!' They were the same children that i know spend most of their time playing violent video games and watching horror flicks - hardly tended to by their parents, rarely spoken or read to, never taken out to partake in scientific or artistic endeavours. Their own creativity being neglected, they seem to start hating Creation itself.
Access: Public
I tend to be squeamish around many creepy-crawly type critters, but I was determined that my daughter would not be preconditioned to that same thing because of me. I went out of my way to keep the heart rate down in front of her, picked up snakes and frogs and slugs to show her.
Now she's 12, and is completely comfortable catching garter snakes on her own, or making little ant lion homes in boxes of dirt. I knew I had won the small battle when she caught two beetles at the same time. With her hands cupped into a protective sphere, she squealed, “Momma! I can feel their feet and they're crawling all around!” She was excited, not scared.
Score 1 for Mom.
You're right, you did a great job there! I think it's crucial for adults to set the example in acknowledging the beauty and birthright of all creatures, even (or especially) if they are very different from us. And if you have to overcome your own innate doubts and fears to do so, it's all the more meritorious. If all children were raised in this way, the next generation would probably be much more aware of and responsible towards the natural world.