Do Schools Kill Creativity?

We have so much to learn from children. We have such a need to protect their natural risk taking and creativity.

Sir Ken Robinson’s beautiful TED talk. If you haven’t seen it yet, you simply must. Creativity, education, the meaning of life… there’s something for everyone in this profound, short, very funny presentation.

Key points (of agreement)

- Creativity is as important as literacy (duh!…round of applause)

- We are educating children OUT of their creativity (so true). Clearly, we need to change this.

- Schools are still Victorian and basically work as very protracted preparation for university entrance.

- Professors, being the highest in the educational system, both lead and role model the system.

- They are heads on bodies, disconnected from the whole.

- We need to cultivate a fuller picture of what education is and can be.

- This must include the head and the heart and the body, even the spirit.

- The effective cultivation of creativity “adding value with original thinking” is essential to being human, at work, at play.

Three cheers for Ken. You are quite lovely and spot on with how you see things.