Do we lose our imagination?

We have been trained to think so logically and with purpose that I think sometimes we are beating the creativity out of our kids. I come from a discipline of rigor and logic, and I know they are very important. Logic is the key to many opportunities, and yet, the truly successful know that logic and creativity go hand in hand. Take Pixar for example. A highly engineered technology drives a highly creative story. Or is it the other way around? I think the brilliant thing is is we are not sure which come first. As John Lasseter says about the process, "The art challenges the technology, and the technology inspires the art." How can I get my kids to see past the rigor and procedure of the math they are learning to something more creative? I fear that if I don't learn to do this, I will either completely turn them off of math, or teach them to see a world that is black and white.

Also, I am sad. I hope I can look back on this and laugh at the silliness of the reason soon.

The Archer

A long time ago an archer finally took the arrow out of the target that he had placed years before. The target was no longer suitable for him, and he painfully ripped the point out of the bulls-eye. This broke his heart, so he decided not to shoot any more arrows. Time passed, and his arrows rusted. This did not bother him. He was happy. He was content with himself because he discovered other parts of the forest that were beautiful. However, the man is an archer, and cannot go forever without finding a target and aiming for it. He decides to try again and, finding his skill and arrows rusty, he is discouraged. This is a new forest, and one he is not used to. He decides to purchase a full set of bows for his quiver. Hopefully one of them will hit its target. He doesn't know if it will work, but he hopes its target is one that will make the bowman complete. It fills the archer with hope, and makes him feel more vulnerable at the same time. Not used to sending his arrows out, he has grown complacent with keeping his arrows safe, watching his targets move past. The rejection of missing a target bothers him more than it should, but he knows the target was not meant for him. Now the time has come to send some more and see if they find the target he was meant for.