Do Schools Kills Creativity? :

A Response to Ken Robinson's TED Talk

           When our math prof first showed us the video of Ken Robinson's TED Talk, I felt a sigh of relief. I thought "ok, this math prof isn't going to be a one size fits all type of prof. She isn't going to put that kind of pressure on us. She thinks differently". I mean, how many math profs do you think would show a video that actually questions the highly-valued hierarchy of our public education system, in which math has been sitting pretty for all these years. How many math profs would plant this seed of doubt in their students' minds? By the end of the class though, I began to think a little differently. Maybe she isn't asking us to question how important math actually is. Maybe, she is asking us to look at math in a new light- in a way that, dare I say it, actually links math to the arts.

         Robinson makes  a lot of brilliantly bold statements in this video that call for, what I believe to be, a much-needed second look at the skills and talents that we value in our education system, and those that we debunk as "silly hobbies that will never get you anywhere in life". It sounds harsh when you put it that way- but often, that is the sad reality. Robinson really hammers this idea home when he states that in most public schools, the amazingly talented and successful Gillian Lynne, would have been "put on medication and told to calm down." Maybe a little crude, but the truth often is. 

       As the mother of a five-year old, I like to think that I have been pretty 'up' on a lot of the literature out there, that "guides" parents in nurturing a child's mind. It has been my experience that much of this literature focuses on imagination, fostering creativity, ample opportunities for exploration and discovery, and, first and foremost, play. This is all fine and wonderful, and I would consider myself to be an advocate of all of the above. However, I can't help but wonder if all of this nurturing of the imagination might be in vein. Will she wind up being reprimanded and told that she is not "focused" or "compliant" enough if she puts to use this same imagination that I have spent so much time encouraging? Or, to paraphrase Robinson: will she be told that she is wrong if she "takes a stab at it", like the little boy in the Christmas play who gives it his best shot and, in a delightfully oblivious manner, says "frank sent this?" 

      Another of Robinson's superbly-articulated ideas comes from his statement that our society is still engulfed in an industrial-based revolution in which the most highly-valued subjects, are those that get you the highest-valued jobs. However, it does not take a genius to figure out that times have changed since the 19th century. So why then, as Robinson seems to be asking, has the hierarchy not changed? I am not in any way saying that mathematics and science should not be highly valued. But, they are most certainly not the only avenues to success. Why slander a child's hope of becoming successful, on the grounds that they aren't cut out to be engineers or doctors? Why not, instead, help them to flourish and thrive in an avenue to success that is plausible to them. Behind door number one, sits an adult who has not found personal success in his life, and on top of that, feels so discouraged by teachers who told him he couldn't, that he does not even recognize his own worth. Behind door number two, sits an adult who has gone on to lead a happy and successful life- just as successful as any scientist or engineer out there.

     To sum up my thoughts on this video, I will refer to another of Robinson's ideas: "creativity is as important in education as is literacy, and we should treat it with the same status". I could not agree more with this statement. What good are facts, formulas, dates, and definitions, if students do not have the creativity to actually put this knowledge to use, and to apply it in the real world? We might as well be giving them broken pencils with which to write.

Andrea