Creative activities in a classroom can often be mistaken for negligence of academic requirements. This is especially true for many African American students. Recognition of the mental processes used in the expression of creative behaviors should give teachers the opportunity to harness this creative energy to develop academic skills. This article draws upon a historical perspective of creativity and its relationship to this trait in African Americans. Although many of the behaviors listed are common in all ethnic groups those behaviors listed as uniquely evident among African American students are derived from assumptions made from experiences by various scholars, research documents and historical data. Strategies for addressing and enhancing these creative behaviors are included.

In this article the importance of history, culture, and family in nuturing creativity in Chicano populations is examined. While Some research that examines the role of Chicano or “Latino” culture on creative production has provided some suggestions for the relationship between constructs such as bilingualism and acculturation on creativity, there does not exist clear explanations of these relationships. Therefore, it may be useful to examine how history and culture have affected creative production and how that might inform us about the environments that may provide for enhanced creative performance amongChicano persons.

This essay examines modern linguistic meaning of creativity and its roots in ancient Cinese philosophy. In particular, two kinds of creativity that originated in ancient Cinese thought -- natural and individual creativity -- are introduced and discussed.