Guide To Silliness ᯓ★

There is an issue plaguing humanity today: adults are tired.In 2022, 53% of Americans reported feelings of stress and just a few years prior, stress levels in the UK reached 74% (Wirth, Miller, 2024). Overworked and underpaid, the monotony of everyday life gets harder and harder as life goes on. We the Sillies yearn for whimsy–nay–we demand it. Where do we turn when our careers fall short? Where do we find heart when the hearts of those close to us are drowning in the same debt? There is an answer. We have found whimsy in the arts and humanities.

BG Link

Art is Everywhere (˶- -˶) .ᐟ.ᐟ

How do we define creativity?

As children, we study language, we read, we write, we color, we sing. The truth is: These are fundamental aspects of childhood. So why, as adults, do we discourage this behavior? No longer are the arts “required.” In fact, they are pushed aside; a hobby to be pursued solely when other, more important subjects need to be studied (Lilliedahl, 2021). Alternatively, the arts need to make you money lest one becomes the “starving artist.”

We, the Sillies, disagree with both of these shameful interpretations of the arts. The arts and humanities are everywhere–it is everything. Art is present on the bed sheets you wake up in, to the films you watch at night. Art is the font on the forms you sign at work, to the mug your boss refills with coffee. Humanities is knowing great great grandmas’ recipes by heart. It's goal-setting and whether or not you sleep till 11pm."You use a glass mirror to see your face. You use works of art to see your soul." – George Bernard Shaw

How We Work

Do you hear that?

Let's backtrack a bit. Let's go back to grade school. The dismissal of the arts and humanities starts young. It's school districts prioritizing “core subjects.” It's underfunding the arts despite its importance. In fact, studies show elementary and middle school students with increased art education have improved writing skills, higher empathy, and higher educational aspirations (Bowen, Kisida, 2022). Kids are passionate about the arts.

Middle school performance.

Even so, how many people do you know from band class that no longer play their instrument as adults. How many people do you know who've stopped drawing, stopped reading as much as they used to, stopped engaging in sports, etc.?

“The arts are one of the fundamental ways that we try to make sense of the world” - Brian Kisida

As adults, we have the opportunity to improve our relationship to the arts. We no longer have a few elective courses, instead we have a plethora of options to choose from. Maybe learning an instrument isn't your thing. Maybe you want to knit or read books on national parks. No matter what it might be, everyone should have a hobby within the arts in humanities.

Bowen, D.H. and Kisida, B. (2023), Investigating the Causal Effects of Arts Education. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 42: 624-647. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22449This is a study on the effects of art opportunities on students in Texas. Daniel Bowen and Brian Kisida found focus on the arts in schools have declined due to the increase in standardized testing and other factors. Bowen and Kisida explore different policies regarding art.From their work, art classes were found to have several positive effects on students. In the end, the authors encourage fellow researchers to continue research on students and the arts.Lilliedahl, J. (2021). Why the arts are not considered core knowledge in secondary education: a Bernsteinian analysis. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 54(2), 165–178. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2021.1925971An analysis conducted by Jonathan Lilliedahl found the arts to be undervalued in educational systems marked by underfunding, cuts in curriculum, and lower student enrollment. He points to different acts that may contribute to this issue including the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act and 2009 Race to the Top.He concludes the perceived value of the arts comes from visibility of results. This means the arts not “directly” teaching students English or Math skills as well as not improving standardized test scores.Longman, M. (2024, January 19). This Might Just Be the Most Fun, Least Boring Way To Add Years to Your Life. Well+Good. https://www.wellandgood.com/creativity-and-longevity/Sawyer, R. Keith, and Danah Henriksen, Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation, 3rd edn (New York, 2023; online edn, Oxford Academic, 14 Dec. 2023), https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197747537.001.0001, accessed 13 Nov. 2024.
Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human InnovationThis book by Keith Sawyer and Danah Henrisken dives into the concept of creativity. The creative process, types of creativity, and creativity in different subjects such as writing and science are explained throughout the text. It talks about culture, the issues in our society surrounding creativity and much more.Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation is the true Guide to Silliness. Each concept carefully constructed on our website is expanded ten fold in Sawyer and Henriksen's writing. Our section “Everywhere” is expanded upon in the introduction of the text. “Work” is expanded upon in the “Culture and Creativity” section, and so forth.Essentially, if there were required reading for Guide to Silliness members, this would be it.Tan, C. Y., Chuah, C. Q., Lee, S. T., & Tan, C. S. (2021). Being Creative Makes You Happier: The Positive Effect of Creativity on Subjective Well-Being. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(14), 7244. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147244Researchers from the Department of Psychology and Counseling at UTAR have found several positive effects of creativity on undergraduate students and working adults. Interestly, not only does creativity affect well being, but well being was found to affect creativity.In the end, they find that societal changes such as promoting creativity, may improve the well being of people.Wirth , J. (2024, November 4). Stress statistics and facts in 2024. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/stress-statistics/

Silly Awards-!

Honorary Silly Award: An adult human (optional) who shows exceptional progress in personal goals through skills involving the arts and humanities.