Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

I love TED Talks! This talk by Sir Ken Robinson was extremely insightful, as well as hilarious.

I do remember becoming aware of the education system in year 12. One of my teachers told the class about how we start primary school with big imaginations, and slowly, as we progress to graduation, that creativity and imagination is forced to the side as we learn about essay structure and maths. As Robinson explains, education kills creativity.

As he talked about the way we are conditioned to be afraid to take chances for fear of being wrong, I found myself completely agreeing with him.

This is a totally embarrassing story from grade 5, but I remember the class writing out some kind of test, and one of the questions was ‘why do lions hunt in packs?’ I had no idea what to answer, so did my best to make up a story about how they can distract the prey and work together for ultimate hunting power. Whatever my story lacked in facts, it made up for in creativity. However the next day my teacher, without revealing my name, told the class how someone had written a totally wrong answer about lions, and joined the class in laughing at my expense. I sunk in my chair and secretly vowed never to attempt to answer a question I didn’t know. And certainly never make it creative!

I find it kind of insulting then, for schools to bury our creativity for years, then when VCE comes around, expect us to come up with original creative writing ideas.

The arts are at the bottom of the curriculum. What makes mathematics more important than dance or arts to do with the body? The education system hierarchy is based on the ultimate goal of gaining a job, rather than what a person enjoys.

This TED Talk was effective because it is straightforward and practical. It really makes you question our own education.

It also validates some of the main points we’re being taught about learning methods in Networked Media.