Students Revolt Creatively

Last week at Park Street Collegiate Institute in Orillia, a small group of teenagers refused to do their work after insisting that it did not challenge their creative minds.  The group complained about dry, boring work that left them tired and depressed and claimed that the school system repressed their artistic and creative lifestyles.  Instead of completing their work they clustered in their school library and began to write and draw to express their unlimited imaginative minds. 

The teachers were amazed at the sudden revolt but some admit that they saw it coming.  “It was only a matter of time,” claims English and Writers Craft teacher, Mr. Johnston. “You can only tell them ‘no’ so much before they stand up to you.  This generation amazes me, they have so much talent.  I’m secretly thrilled that they are expressing themselves and setting a creative example for other students everywhere.”

After a full week of refusing to do anything that dampened their artistic expressions, the students had all produced at least four pages of amazing, purely original works of art.  To show their work off to the world as one unit they chose to collaborate it all into a magazine which is currently in the hands of their encourager, Mr. Johnston.

The magazine, Our Creative Expressions, is a memorable read for all ages.  The most attached to it are other teenagers who feel empowered by the strong creative writing from people of their own age.

Ms. Kingston from the Center of Neurobiology In Young Teens tells us, “Teenagers need to express themselves, whether is challenging authority, dressing differently or painting a picture, they have to let their emotions out.”

 Ms. Kingston explained that adults who develop midlife crisis or depression later on in life are proven to not have expressed themselves as teenagers and are dealing with an explosion of emotion that they don’t know how to release. 

“It’s great these kids are doing this.  It really shows us, as adults, that we expect too much of our children sometimes and the most important thing is to let them be creative and to discover who they are through artistic outlets.”

The magazine is to be released to the public sometime in February.  It contains all of the work of the students involved, including writing, pictures and fun little games.

-Tori