Do schools kill creativity?
I have three answers. Yes, in the past schools have killed creativity. Currently,
a change is happening. In the future, schools will not kill creativity. These
are bold statements but let me back them up.
If you view Sir Ken Robinson’s video (2007): Do Schools Kill Creativity?, he starts
on 3 positive notes.
1) There
are exceptionally creative people. I will make the assumption that some of
them are educators.
2) The
future is undetermined. So we have the ability to improve schools.
3) Children
have a huge capacity for creativity. If we rise to the challenge, they will
meet us and carry us into the future.
However, he
goes on to say all children have creative talents and we squander them. In
his opinion, schools should treat creativity with same importance as literacy.
I would agree. Schools have followed a traditional model. Take language,
science, and math, the important subjects and you will go to a university and
have a good job. Now many people need a Masters to stand out from the pack and
still finding a job is tough. According to Howard Gardner (2008), preschool
children have a natural affinity for creativity. So why do we “squander” it?
The standards education employs have nothing to do with creativity and set the
bar low for those who have traditional talents. Furthermore, those who don’t
have an aptitude of standardized tests or have talents not recognized by
standardized tests are not going to be able to show their knowledge or
creativity. Do we really want everyone to be standard? The answer is no if we
are going to survive the future economy or state of the planet.
Here’s what going to happen and some of it
already is. Education will become individualized. Students will be learning
online and will be able to choose their instruction. In a county neighboring
mine, in an affluent area, kindergarteners are expected to be doing their homework
online every night. This is required. Public education will be learning from
home. This will be the school’s version homeschooling for those who can afford
it. Many school divisions give their students laptops however many parts of my
county do not have internet access. The public library is going to have to get
a lot more stations or the county is going to have to go wi-fi. Of course I am
only talking about technology as it is now. These children can’t supervise
themselves so maybe they will come to school and check into their own stations.
This is how it is and how I have heard it is going to be. It will not be
possible to live and be educated without technology.
Young people are resourceful and not afraid to ask
questions in social media or online websites. They are able to go to many
sources quickly to seek their answers but they are going to IM or text a friend
to see if they already know where to look. I was surprised many have online
mentors. How did they find these mentors and will school teachers be replaced
by these online mentors? Why do they need to ask a teacher when they can find their
own online expert? What does this expertise cost? Technology is the key to
their social and educational lives. I have synthesized this information form a
report called Project Tomorrow. Although the study was published in 2010, the
information is still relevant.
Gardner (2008) mentions Google’s practice of
letting employs work on a project of their choice one day a week. I think that
would be an excellent idea for schools. Classrooms teachers have common
planning on Fridays at our school so I propose that during that planning
students are allowed to pursue a project of their own interest while another
adult is supervising them in the classroom. Gardner (2008) recommends that
students learn the art of critique so they will know the difference between
constructive criticism and criticism they can ignore. When I looked up “critique
for a young artist” an entry from Esty (2012) caught my eye. Under that heading,
a 21 year old artist was asking for a critique of her online Esty shop. A savvy
12 year who had an impressive shop herself, responded to give her a sound and
encouraging critique. They are both impressive business women and their
creativity is taking them into the future.
Etsy.(2012) Art Critique:
Art Critque for young artist. Retrieved from http://www.etsy.com/teams/9314/art-critique/discuss/10371967/.
Gardner, Howard. (2008). Five minds for the Future. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business
School Press.
Project Tomorrow. (2010). Creating Our Future: Students Speak Up About Their Vision for 21st Century Learning. Retrieved from http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/pdfs/SU09NationalFindingsStudents&Parents.pdf
TedtalksDirector. (2007,
Jan.). Sir Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill
Creativity? [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY.
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