Do schools kill creativity?
In this TED video, Sir Ken Robinson says something about how no one really has a clue what the future will bring (not even five years from now), yet we spend lots of time educating towards it. He said that creativity in education is as important as literacy and should be treated with the same status. That's really made me think upon what exactly I want my own daughter to get out of her schooling and what things are most important. If I was to list some of those things, I doubt many would deal with academic achievement.
One of the college classes that I'm taking, Learning Disabilities, has also made me think through a lot of things that happen in schools (particularly public schools, and especially the local school system). There have been numerous discussions about EOGs and EOCs and how passing a class doesn't necessarily mean you'll get credit for it. We're teaching our children just to be good testers.
I've also realized that if everything we learned was technical or academic (such as the trend of teaching to tests) and did not also develop our bodies or minds and not simply our memory for rote material, how could we move forward improving the world, solving crises, developing community??
What will happen beyond those five years into the future?
One of the college classes that I'm taking, Learning Disabilities, has also made me think through a lot of things that happen in schools (particularly public schools, and especially the local school system). There have been numerous discussions about EOGs and EOCs and how passing a class doesn't necessarily mean you'll get credit for it. We're teaching our children just to be good testers.
I've also realized that if everything we learned was technical or academic (such as the trend of teaching to tests) and did not also develop our bodies or minds and not simply our memory for rote material, how could we move forward improving the world, solving crises, developing community??
What will happen beyond those five years into the future?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Brenda Nixon on -
To encourage Creative Play try these Fun Family Activities ~ http://snipr.com/ga0wx
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Permalink Reply by Lisa Guernsey on
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I did a Q-and-A with Sir Ken Robinson last year for Parents' Choice, asking him specifically about creativity and children after seeing the TED video. He's a fascinating guy.
You can read the full interview here. http://www.parentschoice.org/article.cfm?art_id=358&the_page=co...
Here's an excerpt:
Q: You contend that creativity is as important as literacy and that educators "should treat it with the same status." To raise literate children, parents are urged to read to their kids every night. What should parents be doing with their children every night to raise creative children?
A: There are a lot of misconceptions about creativity. One is that it's about special people, that it's rare. Everybody has real creative capacities. They are born with them. They just have to develop them. If someone were to say to you, I'm just not literate. They are not saying, I'm not capable of it. What they are saying is, I haven't learned how to do it. Most people have to be taught to read and write. So that's the first thing: creativity is not just about special people. ....
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Permalink Reply by Rae Pica on -
Thanks for this, Lisa! I interviewed Sir Ken just last week for BAM Radio. Interview hasn't gone live yet, but it was indeed wonderful. I do admire those who've dedicated their lives to the topic of creativity.
It's so true that there are a lot of misconceptions about creativity, beginning with the idea that it's the domain of artists only. But every time we do something a little differently than we did it last time, every time we solve a problem or meet a challenge, we're using creativity.
Also, too often, creativity is confused with academic success. The truth is that a lot of children who do well academically are not among the most creative. And many of those who don't do well academically are highly creative. So we can't confuse creativity and what we traditionally consider "intelligence."
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Permalink Reply by Robert Sababady on -
A very inspiring talk by Sir Ken Robinson.
I have watched this speech several times and am inspired by the clarity and simplicity in which he presents his notion of creativity being as important as literacy. Very compelling.
Will it happen in the near future you ask? Depends on the politicians...... the ones that want our votes to get into power will have to put this in their plan!
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Permalink Reply by Rae Pica on
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Robert, I'm glad you brought up the politicians -- and the fact that they want our votes. The fact that they want -- and require -- our votes means that we have the power! We've simply got to start realizing it by voting only for those whose policies and philosophies support our children and their education -- one in which things like creativity are fostered!
Robert Sababady said:A very inspiring talk by Sir Ken Robinson.
I have watched this speech several times and am inspired by the clarity and simplicity in which he presents his notion of creativity being as important as literacy. Very compelling.
Will it happen in the near future you ask? Depends on the politicians...... the ones that want our votes to get into power will have to put this in their plan!
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Permalink Reply by Cherie Greene on -
On the other hand, innate creativity will seek an outlet wherever it can find one. My son has thousands of Legos, many of which started as the kits you describe. He makes the object in the picture one, to see how the pieces work together, then disassembles it and uses the pieces for his own designs.
The factory model of public education certainly tries to kill creativity, but it's an effort akin to bricks or stones trying to replace grass. Anyone with a paved walkway knows how effective this really is.
Simon Wiltshire said:Yes schools do kill creativity, but not necessarily the fault of the schools themselves, but with our 19th century way of assessing what and how children learned. In much the same way that we haven't moved into this century in looking at the school year (when was the last time your kids went out in June to plant the seed, or stay out until Labor Day to harvest?), so we have focused on learning facts. Well facts change or become obsolete. The method of assessing data and drawing conclusions, including thinking out of the box, is what counts. The US did not become what it is because we were all taught to think the same way. It is what it is because of our historical ability to create new business, new ideas, new services. History also tells us that many of those concepts and ideas were developed by the 20% of our kids that our schools downright fail because they "learn differently". Have you looked at Lego lately? What used to be a case of taking a few different pieces and using your imagination to create something unique, has now become a 50 page instruction manual dedicated to replicating the latest vehicle from Star Wars or Indiana Jones. Hopefully this will at least make us useful as an outsourced labor pool for the Japanese, Korean and Indian entrepreneurs of the future that are being taught and encouraged to develop new creative ideas in their schools today.
Sorry to ramble on, but I just coincidentally saw a talk by Dr Arthur Harkins of the University Of Minnesota on this exact topic. Check out his site at http://www.leapfroginstitutes.org/
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Permalink Reply by Penny Arcos on -
I feel the same way about legos. It feels like preparation for an assembly plant. It is also very degrading. My son got a lego set for his birthday. He didn't even get the privilege of playing with it because my husband and my husband's friend took two hours to assemble it. Then, because it only works one way, my son doesn't even get to play with it. It is put on display. So, I keep a bucket of legos on the bottom shelf of a bookcase filled with manipulative toys and board games. My son spends hours creating spaceships, planes and trucks.
http://hubpages.com/hub/Help-ADHD-children-get-UNPLUGGED-from-TV-vi...
Simon Wiltshire said:Yes schools do kill creativity, but not necessarily the fault of the schools themselves, but with our 19th century way of assessing what and how children learned. In much the same way that we haven't moved into this century in looking at the school year (when was the last time your kids went out in June to plant the seed, or stay out until Labor Day to harvest?), so we have focused on learning facts. Well facts change or become obsolete. The method of assessing data and drawing conclusions, including thinking out of the box, is what counts. The US did not become what it is because we were all taught to think the same way. It is what it is because of our historical ability to create new business, new ideas, new services. History also tells us that many of those concepts and ideas were developed by the 20% of our kids that our schools downright fail because they "learn differently". Have you looked at Lego lately? What used to be a case of taking a few different pieces and using your imagination to create something unique, has now become a 50 page instruction manual dedicated to replicating the latest vehicle from Star Wars or Indiana Jones. Hopefully this will at least make us useful as an outsourced labor pool for the Japanese, Korean and Indian entrepreneurs of the future that are being taught and encouraged to develop new creative ideas in their schools today.
Sorry to ramble on, but I just coincidentally saw a talk by Dr Arthur Harkins of the University Of Minnesota on this exact topic. Check out his site at http://www.leapfroginstitutes.org/
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Permalink Reply by WendyZ on -
There is value in LEGOs when you look beyond the commercialized sets you buy at that certain big box store Americans still flock to in droves. There are LEGO education products for science like renewable energy, simple machines, and robotics. The company has a robotics/construction division called Mindstorms that a lot of middle schools and high schools use.
I am by no means a fan of promoting products to children, especially when they just relate to TV and movies that are not appropriate in the slightest. I am, however, okay with using directions with LEGO sets when it comes to certain skills like spacial relations and following visual directions (My 5 year old can put together the ages 16+ sets.), but of course there are always more developmentally appropriate ways to do things for certain children.
As a free building material I am definitely a fan of LEGOs. My husband grew up loving them and has recently started collecting them by the pound via Craigslist.com. We've been to a couple of "shows" where children and adults alike build their own creations and show them off. It's amazing what people can create! There are tons and tons of photos online of unique gizmos and creations made out of LEGOs (My favorites are Rube Goldberg machines.), and tons of groups dedicated to free expression with them. There are even LEGO Certified Professionals such as Sean Kinney that show children (and adults) that there is no limit to your imagination. For some children, I think it is a great transition from toys with bells & whistles to truly discovering how to be creative.
Penny Arcos said:I feel the same way about legos. It feels like preparation for an assembly plant. It is also very degrading. My son got a lego set for his birthday. He didn't even get the privilege of playing with it because my husband and my husband's friend took two hours to assemble it. Then, because it only works one way, my son doesn't even get to play with it. It is put on display. So, I keep a bucket of legos on the bottom shelf of a bookcase filled with manipulative toys and board games. My son spends hours creating spaceships, planes and trucks.
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