RS5: School Kills Creativity

School Kills Creativity

Sir Ken Robinson is a well-known leader in the development of education.  His belief is that education is interfering with creativity of young children.  He believes that from a young age, education teaches kids that they cannot go anywhere in life by doing something that they love to do.  For example, a child who likes music is told that they cannot become a musician.  Robinson talks about the hierarchy of education, explaining that the most useful subjects for jobs are on top where the least important are on the bottom.  The hierarchy places mathematics and English on top, followed by humanities, and then the arts.  The arts are then broken up into art and music, and dance and drama.  Robinson believes that dance is just as important as math because it allows for thinking in a different way.  Overall he believes that the idea and purpose of education needs to change and become more centered on the talents of the students rather than just excelling in certain subjects. 

After watching this video, I agree with Robinson in that education does interfere with the creative minds of children.  Ever since I was young I was taught that to have more money makes you better and smarter.  This meant that you had to do really well in school and get a high paying job in order to be considered successful.  I was never taught that being a low paying artist, or doing what you really love was successful.  I remember my second grade teacher went around the class one day asking each student what they wanted to be in the future.  When it was my turn to answer, I told her that I wanted to be a fashion designer in New York City.  Her immediate answer was that it was not a successful job because you need to know someone in the industry or be famous in order to succeed.  She told me I was better off being a doctor or a lawyer.  From that moment on I told myself that I was going to be a lawyer just so I could be “successful”.  Once I got to the age where I knew that I should do something I wanted to do, I changed my mind and said that I was going to go into fashion but the business end of it because it was a little more stable and gave me the ability to be in the industry I love.

The first thing that came to mind when I was listening to this video was Steve Jobs.  I know it is a little far fetched, but it made me think of the Apple mastermind.  Steve Jobs did not continue his education past his first six months of his first year at college.  However, he still managed to become the genius behind an extremely successful and popular computer company.  This made me think that maybe if he furthered his education whether he would have been able to create Apple, or would have been turned away from the idea.  It is situations like these that prove education does not necessarily make you successful but rather your intuition and creation that can take you wherever you want to go.

Sir Ken Robinson is a firm believer in the idea that education is tarnishing the creative minds of our youth.  He believes that it is imperative that we change education to focus more on the arts, so the purpose of education is centered on educating the whole person, not just a part of it.  Robinson tells the story of his young son who starred in a Nativity Scene play at the age of four.  One of the Sheppard’s messes up saying, “Frank sent this”, rather than, “I bring frankincense”.  Robinson says that it is amazing how as a child we are not afraid to make errors, but as adults we become more afraid.  Robinson says, “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.”  Maybe if I take the risk of going into the fashion industry I will be unsuccessful, but I won’t know until I try.  Or if Steve Jobs did not drop out of college, maybe we would not be using the Apple products we all know and love today.  It is taking chances and being creative that makes living life worthwhile.