I should probably add that I am not claiming that school does kill creativity. I have too many good friends with very creative children who go to public school. I thought the video was interesting and it does help you think of some things to safeguard against regardless of your educational choices :-)
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Do Schools Kill Creativity?
I don't have time to write a blog post today, so I thought I would post a video that I watched a while back and thought it was thought provoking. Watch it and tell me what you think! Ken Robinson has recently published a book called The Element that I would like to get around to reading someday. I like his logical way of putting things. I watched another one of his talks recently on ted.com and it was also very good. Here's the creativity video:
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I just came back to comment on your other post and I saw this one - can't wait to watch it. It sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteI love Ken Robinson's work and watched this talk a lot.
ReplyDeleteBeing Mr. Cynical, I personally do think that public school, while it may not overtly kill creativity, certainly stifles it. When you're teaching to a test that's geared toward a low common denominator you're not teaching how to think. And knowing how to think is a prerequisite to creativity.
I attended a lecture by a prominent public school critic named John Taylor Gatto who has a mantra that goes: "public school teaches you how to memorize the dots, not how to connect the dots." That mantra pretty much sums up my opinion as well.
My kids attend public school, but I wish I had the ability to home school them like you do. Being a one-man-band just doesn't allow for that path, which means I read your blog with a great deal of admiring envy.
My kids are incredibly creative, but its not because of public school. They're creative because I take what time I have with them and put them through the mental paces to get them to think creatively about what they're being taught in school, where mostly what they learn there are facts and formulas divorced from a context that applies to them.
When my kids have been involved in things through their schools that actually did foster critical thought and creativity as a primary goal they were activities that - surprise! - took place OUTSIDE of regular school hours.
I would wager that that your friends with the creative kids who go to public school are creative because of their family culture and "extracurriculars", and NOT because of the schools.
That's my .02 cents adjusted for inflation.
You gotta' love Ken Robinson! He is seriously AWESOME! I will just say that the story about the teacher who asks the child to draw a flower, comes to mind! I am sure you know that one! How grateful I am to be home schooling and fostering creative thought and a desire to know HOW to think, in my children! :D)
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