A Creative Problem
By: Adrienne Herr
Creativity is a uniquely human trait. It drives innovation and society forward. Yet it is not something that appears to be valued in academic settings, particularly with children in elementary and high school.
In his Ted Talk, Sir Ken Robinson even states “we don’t grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather we get educated out of it.” This is something a lot of children around the world can relate to.
The arts are seen as a mere filler. Often a single time during the week where children can escape the often boring lessons so they don’t fall asleep. And for many students, like myself, these were some of the most fun classes along with other movement-oriented classes like PE.
While the focus on the core subjects is not a horrible idea, the negligence of other creative classes, is. In this sense, children are often not able to truly demonstrate and utilize their creativity as it is not seen as a vital part of their education.
In many schools, the lack of exposure to even the concept of being creative means that, in Robinson’s words, “we squander their creativity.” The dismissal of creative fields dates back to the conception of public education, which was a result of industrialism. It revolved around the perceived options you had for a career path. The arts would not provide a reliable income and they would not contribute to the economy, therefore, they were not worth teaching. While this metric worked then, it is certainly outdated now.
I myself am a film major. I made decent grades throughout my mandatory education by studying for classes that I was not interested in. The only core class that I even partially enjoyed was English. I was fortunate to go to a primary school that, for the most part, encouraged creativity and provided us with opportunities to think rather than memorize.
Every year there was a new project that we had been anticipating since the year before. You would hear stories form older grades, talking about the project and how cool it was. While my education certainly wasn’t perfect, it did give me opportunities to explore my love of art and storytelling.
My sister however, went to a school that told her there was a certain way she had to color a picture. Coloring up and down, with no mark outside was the way they encouraged (or rather enforced) from a young age.
While our respective educations were the right fit for us, it became abundantly clear that hers prepared her more for academia. She was naturally just very intelligent when it came to the core curriculum and this was shown in her grades. She was good with memorization and getting the “correct” answer. I was horrible with memorization and did better with completely subjective material that required me to come up with my own answers.
Both are valid ways people think. However, it is clear that the current education system focuses on how people like my sister learn. This focus revolves around the concept of one right answer. Knowing the one answer determines their grades and potentially their future. This fear of making mistakes and being wrong is fostered in schools and as Robinson states “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original.”
Math is important. As is English. Yet neither of these foster the amount of creativity utilized in many fields. We have to stop mandating coloring in the lines and start encouraging creative exploration from a young age.
