The Creative Young Minds, Book Review Example

Susan Wright’s Understanding Creativity in Early Childhood brings forth a very captivating proposition as to why instructors concerned with the educational welfare of our small kids need to focus more on drawing as an artistic action. This results from the following factors. First of all, drawing is an important stride towards literacy in these children. Second and equally important, the act of drawing helps the children to develop their negotiation skills, ingenuity and their capacity to wrestle with the two unique human elements i.e. reality and imagination. There are a number of studies that form the basis of this research. Recently, a number of multimodality studies have led to a number of controversies since there are no clear guidelines on what should underlie the terms “read”, “write” and “text” (Hull and Nelson, 2005). Therefore, it has become somewhat unclear when we wish to define the enlightenment practices for children.

In grasping the degree of this creativity, Wright draws examples from children’s plays, fantasies, imaginations and creativities as the basis of their attempt to make sense of the world around them. Moreover, she deliberately intends to make a point that drawing is not a less important practice that should be ignored in the schooling of young children. The author wishes to provide a theoretic background that will facilitate the reader’s appreciation of art, especially young kids. The author employs social constructivism which proclaims that cultural and historical backgrounds shape our insights with regard to what entails childhood. She makes reference to theorists such as Vygotsky, Bruner, Prout, and James thus enlisting her study in the socio-cultural viewpoint of cognitive development in children.

Wright’s book is prearranged in seven chapters. She systematically, develops her arguments on the essentiality of drawing in childhood. She is careful not leave any uncertainty in the reader’s mind. Every chapter has fairly a number of drawings by children who she uses in her analysis. She directs the readers into profound levels of interpretation. Crucial enough, Wright permits the imaginations and voices of the children express themselves throughout the book. Consequently, the text achieves a high degree of command especially after seeing how these young minds struggle with complex issues. For instance, it is remarkable how the children sketch images of good and evil or life and death. They portray progressive cognitive capacities. It is these same representation modalities that trigger the thoughts of the young kids.

All of the chapters begin with an exploration of the main points therefore equipping the reader with some basics prior the start of a chapter. Their conclusions also have an instantaneous reexamination of the highlights. Wright put forward some contemplative questions that help the reader in grounding the knowledge acquired as well as proposing some supplementary readings.  Throughout the book, there are seven distinct topics that are obviously in this art of drawing: (i) the consequences of teaching; (ii) creativity; (iii) intersexuality; (iv) intratextuality; (v) the children’ emergent voices; (vi) new worlds and antique forms; (vii) the relationship between personification and the children’s drawings. One other certain area of strength in this text is derived from the author’s gift of precisely drafting a multidimensional line of attack to the young individuals’ artistic works.

In chapter 1, she discusses how children find the composing act to be very appealing. This is due to the fact that it is not restricted by any rules or standard that dictates its functionality. The children are able to find freedom in what they do. They are able to express what they feel and what they think. She is able to show how the drawings mend the gap between the existential world and the inner imagination. Chapter 2 on the other hand focuses more on the interlocutor. The interlocutor individuals facilitate the determination of a child’s thoughts during the drawing exercise. They can be able to get a glimpse of the feelings and thoughts of children as they draw. Nonetheless, children’s’ thoughts and representations have a different flow (can sometimes wander) and thus the facilitators have to follow these flow. Chapter 3 talks about the intratextual drawing. A child is able to integrate imagination and meaning-making by use of symbols. The author calls this the inner associations with texts (e.g. whoosh to represent movement). Chapter 4 is about embodiment and drawing whereby Wright explains that children are able to incorporate their emotions, senses, imaginations and aesthetics into the art of drawing. They are able to think through what they do. Their physical and spatial awareness is associated with drawing. Wright argues that when children are given a chance to directly control the art materials, their thinking is greatly enhanced. Chapter 5 deals with intersexuality in this case where children experience visual stories. They are able to fuse their imagination (as a result of the intertextual features) and individual experiences. They are able to tap into their own problem-solving expedients. They can critic their own self and come up with a better process for showing their feelings and opinions. Chapter 6 deals with traditional form and new worlds. The author deliberates on how children are able to use traditional forms as the basis for their new visual stories. Cognitive and moral advancements are influenced by these drawings. The last chapter i.e. implications of teaching is a reflection on the inappropriate instructional practices that do not appreciate the usefulness of drawing during childhood. Wright indicates that in the contemporary dynamic world, creative children are needed. As a result, parents and other facilitators need to spend more time with their children in drawing to achieve this goal of imagination.

The author finishes with a call for the school process to do away with lack of appreciation for art, especially drawing. The book offers a great sense of inspiration to the readers that make them want to seek the support of others in pushing for the support of drawing in early childhood. Her views suggest a new curriculum to allow children to craft their own knowledge rather than forcing them to be submissive recipients. This is a great book that will be of much use to all the stakeholders i.e. teachers, parents, administrators and government because of the many insights it provides.

References

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological

Association (6th Ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Wright, S. (2010). Understanding Creativity in Early Childhood. London: SAGE publications.

Wright, S. (2010). Understanding Creativity in Early Childhood. SAGE publications, London: ISBN 9781847875266. 201 pp. Paperback, $48.