Unrewarded Creativity?

I'm sure all of you have been in positions where you've given a creative solution to a problem you were faced with (be it a question on an exam or a real life situation).  That's not uncommon, right?  There's a degree of pleasure that can be derived from thinking outside the box and then receiving praise as a result of your efforts.  Now, have you ever been in a position where your clever, alternative solution was discounted because it wasn't the expected answer?  Yea, me too.

Way back in middle school, I remember taking a social studies exam where we were given the following picture:

The short answer question that accompanied the map asked that we give it an appropriate title.  I knew that the expected answer was "Manifest Destiny," but since I was feeling rather cunning that day, the title I decided to go with was "From Sea To Shining Sea."

Clever, right?  My teacher didn't seem to think so.  I didn't receive any credit for my answer, even though it was pretty clear that I knew what the map was referring to.  I lost points simply because I decided not to go with the expected answer.  C'mon Teach, what gives?

Sure, I understand that there's proven ways to solve certain problems, but how do we know that the answers we already have are the best ones?  Creativity should always be rewarded as there is never no reason to spark an imagination.  You never know when someone will come up with a brilliant idea that could revolutionize the world, so why go around shunting that mode of thought?

No wonder I never applied myself in primary schools