Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Schools Vs. Creativity

What are your thoughts regarding Sir Ken Robinson's video presentation regarding "schools killing creativity?" In your response, please reflect, think, ponder, question, or wonder.

12 comments:

Annelise S. said...
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Annelise S. said...

I totally think that school kills creativity. Schools at very closed minded and the teachers that they hire aren't very great. I hear more and more everyday on which teacher not to get. Also, when someone, like me, isn't very good at a subject its like they don't care. Sure they are there for you and say that you are improving but a D or an F really aren't improvments on test grades. I also just think that schools should be more open minded and with the whole ADHD thing, that a parents judgement to put them on the pills and a schools obligation on how to handle it.

tsaathoff said...

In some ways i do think school hurts creativity is becuase the teachers make you do what THEY want you to do. its very often that they say draw or write or talk about anything that you want to talk about. they give you restictions and if your a little different then most times they tend to treat you different in both good and bad. But then again it also helps you think about things you might not have ever thought about thinking about or giving it a try. It shows you to some new things in life. School is both good and hurtful to the young creative minds!

Nicole said...

School kills creativity.
I state that not as an argument but as a fact.
As great (in it's tiresome and long hours kind of way) it's important.
But, the thing that teachers tend to ignore is the differences in their students.
If someone gets an "F" or a "D" in one class, they are automatically dubbed as "stupid". Which is preposterous! Everyone it smart it's just that their expertise lays in another subject.
Plus, most of the subjects in school focuses on the left side (the more Logical side of the brain). Think about it. Math, Science, History... they are techinically more on the left brain.
Then there's english which is supposed to be a right brained subject (only one out of the four) and yet there are multiple times where that's not the case.
That's seems a little... ok, more like pretty odd.
Why is that the case?
Statistics prove that people now-a-days go for jobs that enable them to use their creativity.
So why aren't we putting a little more of our focus in that general area?
We focus so much on what we can't do, that we forget about the things we can.
And so, we are forced to sit in a box, with no means of breaking out of it with what we can do...

JJ said...

I would half to say that school kills the creativity in kids all over. The reason is because they focus on what the want to teach instead of what the students want to learn. Sure you half to teach the core classes like math and science but there are classes that students want to take that never get that chance because the school requires them to take that cretian class. Another point also is that when a student for example gets a D or an F they are put as someone that isn't capable. A big reason that i think that kids get D's or F's is that teachers don't spend enough time on teaching the material throughly enough for the student to understand it. i think that if a teacher would just go through the materal at a pace that every student can learn the material throughly then would could see an improvement with kids thta struggle with that subject. i also think that a lot of teachers rush through important material just so that they can teach all the material that they half to teach, this could be a reason that kids don't get enough understanding of the material that the teacher is trying to teach.

CraigR said...

I really liked this guy, he made a lot of sense and he was funny. His jokes weren't funny, but when British people laugh they sound funny; and he laughed at his own jokes a lot. I agree with what he said about the girl who went to the dance school. Instead of being forced to conform, she was allowed to excel in her own way. Schools force too much conformity. The goal is to get strait A's and make it out of high school and into college where you can finally start to do something that represents the rest of your life. Schools should be a place for people who want to learn, and go there for that reason. Most kids go to school and attend classes they have no interest in. If students could take classes that they feel would prepare them for their own future, they might be more interested in it.

KyleMayo1501 said...

I truely see this as an open ended question. I believe that school brings out our creativity and challenges us, yet it limits our true abilities.
Personally, without school I would probably be a very bland person, but Educational Policies have pushed me to think in many complicated ways- some I don't like others are rather enjoyable.
Yet, on the flip side School only tears us down when it comes to our creative copacity. Ive had many great ideas in writing in the past few years (creative writing) shot down by the teachers because they did not match the requirements for that certain topic.
I say if the School Systems are going to teach us- go ahead build us up... but dont tear us down cause we grow into something we like!

maggy woods said...

I do believe that school can sometimes kill creativity because there are so many rules for us to obey. In some ways this is good, but in others it is bad because we can't express different situations and feel like there is no way out. Without my friends I don't know how I would ever survive school!!!

ShaneK said...
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ShaneK said...

Sir Ken Robinson's video really reflected my position on this topic. Students don't really focus on learning the material, but work for a grade. If anything, schools teach responsibility, not the subjects it pertains to. His idea of a new system of teaching children would probably be a good focus in the up coming years, but integrating the new technique into a new generation's lives would be a challenge in itself.

CY said...

I agree with Tessa because we always have to follow specific rules and directions that limit our use of our imagination and creativity. But also, it helps spark a little bit of the brain, because if we were not in school doing all of these things we would probably not be stimulating our minds at all. There should be some more open ended questions that let the student think and use their own imagination to solve the problem or answer the question.

Seank said...

I think that schools do kill creativity. The first day of kindergarden you sat and instantly you are told what is ok and what is not in school. You are told that you can only talk if you raise your hand and other rules that will effect for the rest of you school career and the rest of your life. And during the specialy occasions where these rules do not apply to still follow them, Why? Because teachers have burned into your brain that this is not ok and are not confident doing these things.