The most important aspect of creative thought discussed so far is the ability to tie new ideas directly to established knowledge and information. Not just one fact but a broad scope of ideas. If we are then talking about teaching creative thought there is no option other than implementing it in our traditional subject classes. Many classrooms already do this. However whether it’s in an honors class or gifted program many of these situations which ask for creative or critical thinking are not expanded to everyone. Yet it is all students who need to learn these skills. All students are owed to be taught an awareness of their world and to be taught a method for investigating it. This will come from teaching critical thinking to all, and by keeping what students are learning relatable to the world they live in. If students care about what they learn, like previously stated, they will engage deeper with it. 

            One thing teaching is not, is telling. This is why I feel that a proposed separate class dedicated to forming these skills in teens misses the mark. It sucks out any aspect that might draw a connection between knowledge and using it to think critically. We must allow students to discover. We must fuel their whims. We must encourage their curiosity. We must provide them with real issues and ask for solutions. The public math curriculum posted by Phillips Exeter Academy each year is a great representation of the tie between a subject like mathematics and problem solving. In a PEA math textbook students encounter a constant set of word problems. There are no separate explanations which tell students how to solve specific types of problems before they explore topics themselves. Instead the curriculum encourages students to solve problems and discover their own methodology through relatable word problems developed by former students. The class curriculum asks students to present their findings like one might present a proposal to a business or a solution in a meeting. It adds a layer to the subject, making students think critically about relatable situations, solve problems, and then asking them to present their solution. The PEA program is a great example of not just telling students but teaching by encouraging discovery and thought. If we want to teach the next generation to ask questions, to seek the issues around them, we must continue to fuel that spark of childhood curiosity that lies within and allow them to discover the world themselves. 

            Today a big question facing teachers is how to use technology in the classroom. Programs like Chat-GPT have scared many teachers away from technology in the classroom altogether. The issue is that in the real world technology is integral to daily life and work. Technology is a tool the world makes use of, why shouldn’t a classroom? And classrooms have made use of it. Many schools now use LMS(learning management system) programs to monitor assignments and grades, and ever evolving Promethean Boards to visualize topics for a class. Classes in computer science and design are on the rise in many areas. But the digital divide, as the divide between those who are able to use technology and those who aren’t is known, still exists. It exists on such a grand scale that it is one of the five main topics of the AP Computer Science Principles test. If we are going to be training the next generation, active work must be taken to also teach them how to use technology and erase the digital divide. 

            One of the most important first steps is to train teachers, with real classes, on the purpose and uses of computer programs and devices. Training in programs like Chat-GPT can reveal its use in providing sources and outlines in quick, real time. It also will make teachers aware that they ought to teach their students about the fact that AI programs often spit out false information, and that a fact check is crucial. If teachers had no training they would be lost to all of these important ideas that the teenagers who will grow to use these programs ought to be taught. Technology is also a platform. Social media and other group messaging sites allow people to make connections in the world. Yes they create many issues with teenagers, but students must be taught how to use their resources for good to know how not to use them. More than anything, if we are not educating the next generation on how to use websites, AI programs, and even social media, how can we expect them to make the most of the world they live in to solve issues? If we are not educating them we are attempting to place students in a world without technology and asking them to solve the same problems we faced then. That is as futile as it sounds. We must encourage creative thought to flourish. 

            We must actively work to realize the behavior change. Implementing new projects introducing critical thinking to all classrooms is a first step. We cannot allow students to be lost to problem solving in their classes. Reinforcing it with modern ideas and technology is the next step. Students must know how to access the world around them, to be able to interact with it. This whole time we must be also working to make classes more relatable. We cannot let the same lessons continue on just because they’re easy to teach. The first step to solving climate change, or rising sea levels is in the classroom. Education forms the basis for thought for the rest of a person’s life. We must propel the next generation, the one we have placed so much hope in, and do our role of educating them to the best of our ability. This means implementing creative thought in schools. Knowledge is step one. It’s the block of marble. Critical, creative thought is the chisel that sculpts the medium into a masterpiece.