Why do schools now want all children to lose their creative expressions?

its also a fact that left handed people are smarter!!! and most of our U.S.PRESIDENTS where left handed. as well as most of the billionaires in the world!!! that is a fact that you can research also!!! hang in there i have a daughter also, and she is very expressive and VERY CREATIVE!!!

My daughters are creative in different ways. My older daughter can draw like her dad..pretty much anything she tries, but when she tries to sing, she can't carry much of a tune. My younger daughter works very hard to draw even a fraction of how her sister draws, but she's lucky to get much more than stick figures. She can sing most anything though.

I've always encouraged them to express themselves in any healthy way possible. The fact that my older daughter almost makes me cringe when she tries to hit a high note (not done on the outside of course..lol), doesn't stop her and I wouldn't want it too. They both love to do what they do and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I wouldn't worry about this evaluation. Just continue to encourage your daughter to express herself. Remember, back in our parents day, they thought left handed people were retarded (a fact I found out from my grandmother). Both of my parents were left handed, as are my husband and I. Everyone is different, and it should be celebrated, not condemned.

I am a college art instructor and artist and I must respond to your comment about Picasso. He was a trained artist who at 16 could paint an academic portrait as realistic as any you've seen. Few people outside of art realize this because they don't bother to dig deeper, just reiterate the same old stereotype. Picasso was a genius who was very much a part of the artistic upheavals of the late 19th century. Yes, the Impressionists broke with tradition, buy they were also from that tradition....Degas was a remarkable draftsman, Van Gogh copied Millet....there's an old saying in art that you learn the rules so you can break them. As someone who taught children art for many years, many children will regard art as more than play time, or "fun" if they are shown that there is more to it than just "expressing one's self. I once taught perspective and spatial drawing to a group of 9 to 12 year olds and they loved it! It opened up there eyes about how to create a sense of space and distance. All of the Disney classics were created by animators who were VERY skilled artists and draftsmen. It is far past the time for us to start treating visual art as more than just the fun class in elementary school and imparting a healthy respect and admiration for what artists do. As the great Graphic Artist Milton Glaser (creator of I heart NY), once said....."art is work". And yes, it's fun too.....sometimes.

I don't think this developmental evaluation had anything to do with suppressing your child's expression. I don't think you should ignore this evaluation either. Rather, as a caring/concerned parent reasses this area of your child's development. I agree with you that there is nothing wrong with drawing stick figures. They are cute, simple, and they get to the point, but I think that when you repeatedly see this same pattern of drawing from a developing child, you have to wonder if perhaps they don't notice the details (a developmental delay). As her mom have you noticed your child ever draw figures that are more detailed than stick figures? Take what you know about your child's abillity to identify detailed human body parts (e.g. nails, eyebrows, nostrils, etc.) and ask your child's teacher if all of the human depictions in her work are always "stick figures'? Should it be a developmental delay, don't lose sleep over it, just be aware and whenever possible discuss details in her human drawings. Make a game of it, this might help bring about awareness and thus develope this area. Most importantly, keep in mind that not all kids develope in all areas at the same rate. I'm sure she'll do fine...I know because my child got a similar evaluation about eight years ago and today he's doing fine notices all of the details and then some... : )