Creativity - Useful?

    (http://encefalus.com/cognitive/bolster-your-creativity/).

     In this modern age, kids are getting more work in school than ever before. “The amount of time spent on homework is up 51% since 1981(http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1376208,00.html).” But there is a price that comes with this, and it is that our students are losing more and more of their creativity. Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk both highlighted and addressed these two points. His talk revolved around how our modern education system is killing creativity in children.

     Ken Robinson starts by looking at the creativity in the TED conference as a whole. He says that the presentations have shown him the variety of creative talents invited to TED. Odds are that not all of the presentations have been made by people who have gotten high SAT scores, which shows that without doing well in school, one can still be creative. He then discusses the fact that education is a touchy subject. When it is brought up with other people, they “pin you to the wall.” He discusses that this is something that people are interested in. With our current system, children will be educated for a world that is different than they expect. Children in these times are unprepared for the future, which is why the education system needs to be changed drastically. Robinson states that modern education is squandering children’s talents. However, in this age, children have more capacity for creativity than they have ever had before. If these talents aren’t squandered and destroyed, children have a better chance of success and following their dreams. He states that creativity in education should be as important as literacy. He then goes on to tell a story to illustrate his point about a little girl in a drawing class. She told the teacher that she was drawing a picture of god, and even after the teacher told her that no one knew what god looked like, she intended to finish. This shows a creative child who is not afraid to be wrong for the sake of ideas. This is how the rest of our society should run as well, without fear of being wrong. Robinson goes on to discuss this idea that “mistakes are the worst thing you can make.” He comments on how this is reflected in education as well. He calls this method educating us out of creativity. He then tells a story about Shakespeare and how he was undoubtedly in someone’s English class. This shows that Shakespeare was probably frowned upon and discouraged at first, but despite a less-than-perfect track record in school, he came out on top. This fearlessness and determination is exactly what children today need to stay creative. He talks about what education is doing wrong next, by saying every education system has the same hierarchy of math, language, then humanities. At the bottom of this is the arts. There is also a hierarchy in the arts, with music programs receiving more funding than dance, for example. Education needs to teach dance like they do math. Looking at the results of our modern education system, one concludes that its purpose is to produce university professors. Robinson says, however that “we shouldn’t hold them up as the high-water mark of all human achievement.” He also states that they are “just another form of life.” This is definitely true in our society, but many people fail to see this. He calls university professors people who “live in their heads.” This is not what the public education system should be producing. He goes on to discuss any of the problems in methods of teaching our children. He says that children were steered away from things they liked throughout their academic careers. Education is based on the attributes of intelligence that can land someone a job. However, in the modern age, more people are getting involved in arts-related careers than ever before. It is possible now to become a musician or artist. We have poisoned our view of intelligence to only include academic ability, and nothing more. Robinson states that “we need to radically rethink our view of intelligence.” We must realize that intelligence is diverse, dynamic, and distinct. Robinson began to discuss how people discovered their talents, and more specifically, how Gillian Lynne became successful from her talent. Gillian was involved in Cats, and adored dance from an early age. At the time, her lack of wanting to sit still was seen as a learning disorder, similar to what ADHD would be today. She was meeting with an official from school, and when he left the room, she began to dance. This was recognized as her “learning disorder.” Gillian was then taken to a dance school, where she studied her passion in depth. From this, she climbed up the dance ladder until she was at the top, and is today a multi-millionaire, despite her troubles in school. This proves that people can be creative and successful. Robinson goes on to summarize his point in saying that we need to radically rethink the way we educate our children. He says that we should educate our children with creativity in mind, and help them make something of their future.

     Robinson uses humor throughout his talk to keep his audience engaged. His jokes related to married life and having kids are effective because they are some that every person in that room could probably relate to. His jokes were not used simply to keep the audience engaged, however. He also used them to make him seem more likable, which made people listen to him much more. Personally, I felt that his humor drew me into his words and what his message was more. This was the biggest speaking tactic I saw him use, and I think he used it quite well. However, he does eventually get down to business and illustrate a serious point, reinforced with humor. He seemed confident, smart, and funny, and I think that people in life are drawn to these three traits.

     This video illustrates a very important point that I take to heart and will definitely touch on when I do my own TED talk. Creativity in schools and in life is being destroyed. Creativity in the nontraditional sense is becoming more incorrect every day. This is a website that may inspire you to be creative: http://www.creativityforlife.com/. I believe that everyone should see Ken Robinson’s video who works in education or is involved in the education system. I feel that this would be extremely beneficial to the world. This message needs to be spread. Only through people like Sir Ken Robinson can we change education, as well as the world, to be more open to new ideas.