Educating people out of their creativity.

I absolutely loved Sir Ken Robinson’s talk on creativity. I have watched the clip numerous times since we initially watched it in class – I have also made my boyfriend and friends watch it as well. I thought what he had to say we so insightful and effectively stated. I think his ideals and perceptions of the education system are extremely valuable to educators and future educators like myself. I agree with Sir Ken Robinson – we are indeed educating people out of their creativity.

Robinson talked about preparing students for the future – a future we cannot grasp. The children entering school now will be retiring in the year 2065, in a world in which we know nothing about – but a world we are suppose to be preparing children to enter. I have not given this aspect of education much thought – but it seems unlikely that educators today can possibility prepare students for their future. We are preparing them for the life as it stood in the past – and this is not effective education. We are educating students to meet the needs of industrialization – and we are forcing children away from things they are interested. Robison says this is the case because they will not find jobs in the areas they are interested in. I think most students in class can relate to this, I am sure we have heard “Now, where is music going to get you?” or, “Where is art going to get you?”. My high school art teacher begged me to apply to art school. She even set up a meeting with my parents to talk to them about allowing me to go to art school – as she thought I had the potential to make something of myself. But, here I am at MUN, after many arguments that sounded much like “Now Maggie, what kind of job will you get with an Art degree? Art is something you can do as a hobby – it isn’t a career Maggie. You can’t paint to pay rent. You need to go to university and get yourself a career. Get your head out of the clouds”. So here I am, at university – wondering everyday what could have been. Don’t get me wrong, I want more than anything to be a teacher – I cannot wait. But, I hope everyday that I will be awarded the opportunity to teach an art class and offer students the opportunity to be who they are and embrace the potential they have within them. My art teacher allowed me that opportunity and I would love to pass that forward.

Sir Ken Robinson says that all kids have tremendous talent to be creative, and this is as important as traditional literacy and should be treated with the same status. I thought the story of the little girl drawing god was invaluable and one that I will continue to carry with me. As Robinson contends, kids are not frightened to chance and they are prepared to be wrong. We, as adults should take a cue from this – we need to be prepared to be wrong, otherwise what is the point of trying? If we do only what we know is right, how are expected to learn anything?

Children are most definitely educated out of creativity – as proposed by Robinson. I had the opportunity to observe a kindergarten class on Friday and this notion came to mind. The children were offered the opportunity to paint, to sculpt, build, sing, and dance – to be creative without limits. Compare this to a grade 12 classroom where drawing is labelled “doodling” and is considered punishable and singing is a distraction. Robinson says we educate students from the waist up and then gradually from the neck up. The body serves only as a means of transportation for the head. I think this is a brilliant insight – mainly, because it is true. We devalue all other forms of intelligence that aren’t associated with traditional literature – so what happens to the children who are so incredible talent in other areas? We force the talent out of them – and it gets repressed and it eventually gets so diminished that it ceases to excess. The example of the choreographer who was labelled with a learning disability until someone offered her an opportunity to show her strengths. I loved Robinson’s stance that this woman would have been diagnosed with ADHA, except the disorder had not yet been invented. She was not sick – she was a dancer. She had to move to think. These are beautiful words – truthful words. Today, as Robinson says, such a child would be put on medication and told to calm down. How can we possible risk taking such gifts away from the world – as the works of Cats or Phantom of the Opera? Can a child simply be a child – not a disorder? Child need to be offered every available opportunity to express who they are and the talents they possess. Educators have no right to limit the potential of a child. We need to embrace every child as an individual and allow for their strengths to grow – regardless whether this strength is math or drama.