What is the difference between associative thinking and creative thinking? Associative Thinking and Memory.

What is the difference between associative thinking and creative thinking?

Well, children can think of many ways to use an object in kindergarten and yet lose this by the time they are in the third grade. By the third grade, children have been exposed to more information. They have more ideas, beliefs and opinions about things. Hence, there is a separation between what they have as a memory as experience and what was a more objective ability towards their environment. Their memory begins to dominate their influence of the environment. This  leads to placing ideas of their experience onto their environment. Not a bad thing, yet if the memory has value judgements, then their perspective becomes polarized, slowing down assessment of the practical. 

This means that one can have a pretty broad vocabulary, or a smaller vocabulary and still be caught in value judgements, causing resistance to being practical. Being practical is having critical and creative thinking skills. After all, that kindergartener is being practical when coming up with many ways to use a paper clip, for example. They assess what is more real to them, because their memory is not yet overriding that from which they build their memory, which is their experience. This is such an obvious thing, it is difficult to realize that it has been missed.

We all have friends that focus on a lack, on an idea about themselves. No matter how hard we try to tell them to walk the practical steps necessary, it appears impossible. Yet, this reveals how strong an idea about something can overtake what is an innate ability to assess the practical. 

This is why words are so important. It is important to make sure we have the same meaning to words. The value of a word is the measure of a word. It can have no imaginative values placed onto it. This leads to associative thinking that lacks objective reference. This leads to a lack of practical application. A balance between the two builds a more grounded presence. 

We use language to paint abstractions about reality. We do not allow our children access to higher education unless they show an ability to abstract information. Building an abstraction of reality and communicating it  means that as humans we need a clearly formed vocabulary. And, we need enough exposure to words to move information fast enough to realize patterns and to see practical consequential outflows.  We have to know our words so well, that we can not only retain our natural ability to objectively assess and also subjectively evaluate.  This is the means of critical and creative thinking.

In music education, one must practically apply and abstract. Yet, with information in many academics, we learn through theory, which is abstracting information only. In this scenario, how well we know the words determines our achievement, And, in this case, information can easily be manipulated because one abstracts within the information given, with no real application opportunity. 

When a person practices something, like in music, eventually that movement becomes easy, as the physical memorizes the moves and then does not have to think about them so much. This also  means that the information we are exposed to, becomes what we are. If a child is told they are stupid again and again, this becomes their information. This is then what they associate to because this is what informs them. 

Teaching through theoretical means, as abstracting information demands word recognition skills. A lack of this causes self judgements in many ways, which are emotional values that slow down learning and absorbing because it is a distraction that also warps reality.

It also is very slow, and removes self discovery.. Unless, someone really knows the words so well they do not have to think about them. Also, when this is done from a text book, bought with the intention of being used for a few years, the information is not up to date in our present time of rapid innovation and change. Hence the information is already going to move against the real world. Overall, this means the word recognition is paramount in child development. The more words we know, and can use, builds the ability to change, because it is exposure to concept, and the development of changing the abstraction within that is memory. Meeting new information is then not so difficult.

If a child gets behind in knowing a certain set of words for a particular subject, and makes some mistakes, and then defines themselves as that mistake, they cannot see through the veil of this self judgement and catch up in knowing the words, because that association as a memory as that past information is slowing them down. And, as we know, our schools move in measured ways, limited in time to correct understanding in every child.

What begins to happen is a focus on a lack. In time and space, the combination of that emotional polarity and the consequence of having to sort through that and take in information causes a slowing down. The polarity as the value judgement that was information informing the child separates them from being focused on the practical. This is a practice, which becomes a habit, as associating on memorized information only, and the value judgements in relation to this means comes to define the child. This is a loss of critical and creative thinking skill. This is that state the kindergartener had before moving into a memory that is cluttered with ideas and beliefs and opinions that stagnate a natural ability towards practical assessment.

This is how we lose what is an innate natural ability to learn.

Who has the time, in the present design of our schools to sort out that abstraction of reality as memory in  a child? Who has the time to make sure that our children really know their words? Who has the time to restore the natural ability in a child to assess objectively the world around us, and their experience about that world and all the influences surrounding us today? Since our vocabulary is the means of our expression about things, and can at the same time order our abstraction capacity so we can see clearly and retain our ability to assess the form of the world around us,  does it not make sense that knowing our words so well we do not have to think about them is of utmost importance? And is this not a simple solution? Would this not empower any parent and most important the child. Would this not allow that child to reach their full potential.

What if you has a tool to do just that? 

If you are interested in such a tool, I am here to share. It is time to end the suffering in our children and to give them the gift that keeps on giving! 

Thank you for taking the time to read m blog!