Posted by Disability Pride Alberta: Why do schools need to keep classes that foster creativity and problem-solving?
Temple: I’m very concerned that we’ve got kids growing up today totally removed from the world of the practical. You’ve got a lot of kids that think differently, maybe they’re labelled autistic to ADHD, dyslexic or whatever. Some of these kids would individually be really good at a skilled trade, but how are you going to know you might like a skill trade like building things if you never get exposed to tools.
We also need to keep classes like art and music and theater and cooking and sewing because they also expose individuals to possible careers. The other thing kids have got to learn how to do, and this needs to start around 11 or 12 is something I am going to call a “paper route substitute”. There’s no more paper routes, but they’ve got to learn how to work. Like maybe walking dogs for the neighbors, doing a volunteer job outside the home. As soon as they’re legal, getting real jobs and learning to keep those jobs
Now when I was working on all of my livestock facilities, in fact the two large plants here in Alberta have equipment I designed, and I worked with a lot of brilliant welders and skilled trades people. They were the special-ed department, they build the stuff and what’s happening is that they’re not getting replaced. We are losing vital skills and we’re paying for it now. Vital skills in manufacturing, in things like electric power and many other things.
Disability Pride Alberta: So, you heard it here people, we need to keep classes that foster creativity and problem-solving.
Temple: Well, I loved art when I was in third grade and if I hadn’t had art class I would have hated school. In 5th grade I was the first girl to take woodworking and I just love those classes. I loved making things.
Thanks for the chat, Temple. We’re all grateful for the work you do to show the world that we need all kinds of minds!
Dr. Grandin has written a ton of great books including her newest book that includes 25 projects for kids:
Calling All Minds: How To Think and Create Like an Inventor
“Have you ever wondered what makes a kite fly or a boat float? Have you ever thought about why snowflakes are symmetrical, or why golf balls have dimples? Have you ever tried to make a kaleidoscope or build a pair of stilts?
In Calling All Minds, Temple Grandin explores the ideas behind all of those questions and more. She delves into the science behind inventions, the steps various people took to create and improve upon ideas as they evolved, and the ways in which young inventors can continue to think about and understand what it means to tinker, to fiddle, and to innovate. And laced throughout it all, Temple gives us glimpses into her own childhood tinkering, building, and inventing.
More than a blueprint for how to build things, in Calling All Minds Temple Grandin creates a blueprint for different ways to look at the world. And more than a call to action, she gives a call to imagination, and shows readers that there is truly no single way to approach any given problem–but that an open and inquisitive mind is always key.”
