To foster individual development, educators must seek the gifts in every child, in those not demonstrating academic abilities as well as in the most brilliant. Instead of stifling thinking, creativity, and interest development, educators must encourage these behaviors. Currently, a big discrepancy exists between the child's potential and what schools actually value or stimulate. This bulletin first examines some barriers to developing children's creativity, thinking, and interests, such as low self-concept, lack of training opportunities, testing for facts instead of relationships, fragmented curricula, short-term views on course content, and negative attitudes toward creativity. Chapter 2 discusses the meaning of creativity and explores whether it should be nurtured in all children or only in the gifted and talented through a continuum of creative behaviors. Chapter 3 looks at ways to support cognitive development and the relationship between thinking and creativity. Chapter 4 treats the importance of interests in the child's learning and development and discusses types of interests, how they are structured, and the relation of interests to creativity. The final two chapters discuss practical strategies for supporting creativity, thinking, and interests at the district, school, and classroom levels. To produce Renaissance or visionary men and women will require a reexamination of play, interest development, self-regulation, and autonomy in early creative development. Included are 7 figures and 146 references. (MLH)