Youtube: Do schools kill creativity?

[Charmed Justice]

wolfy makes an excellent point IMO. What is it about the Japanese education system that produces so much diverse talent in the arts and sciences, when it's far and away more regimented than the US system?

is Japan known for being creative??? I thought lack of creativity/adaptableness was one of the biggest critiques against education in asian countries, and one of the biggest plusses of hiring, say, americans.

I was reading an article a few months ago about this. It appears as though the Japanese government thinks that Japan has a creativity problem, and they are trying to change that through the school system. There is also a real serious problem of depression in Japan, and a culture of suicide that is closely linked to the incredibly high external expectations and regimentation that exist there.

In order to boost national competitiveness, the
Japanese government has begun implementing
a variety of reforms designed to foster innovation.
From giving schoolchildren “room to
grow” to deregulating entrepreneurial activity,
the government and many in the private sector
hope to solve Japan’s so-called “creativity problem.”
Although the economy is improving, more
than a decade of economic doldrums has fueled
criticism of Japanese classroom and corporate
culture. Innovation is now recognized as the
single most important ingredient in any modern
economy—accounting for more than half
of economic growth in America and Britain.

http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/asiarpt121.pdf

 

[Venom]

I was reading an article a few months ago about this. It appears as though the Japanese government thinks that Japan has a creativity problem, and they are trying to change that through the school system. There is also a real serious problem of depression in Japan, and a culture of suicide that is closely linked to the incredibly high external expectations and regimentation that exist there.


http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/asiarpt121.pdf

the problem with the "innovation is the key" argument?

the ESTJ culture will retort: "You need to know what was done before in order to innovate! How can you do great things if you don't know the basics! Thus we need to get people through an even better regimented school, FASTER!!!" --> i think this is largely proven to be the belief of academia by the increasing degree collection (eg more double/triple majors, more graduate school etc)

 

[Little Linguist]

the problem with the "innovation is the key" argument?

the ESTJ culture will retort: "You need to know what was done before in order to innovate! How can you do great things if you don't know the basics! Thus we need to get people through an even better regimented school, FASTER!!!" --> i think this is largely proven to be the belief of academia by the increasing degree collection (eg more double/triple majors, more graduate school etc)

Lovely. More generalization.

You're all right, but you're missing the point. It ain't evo ESTJs that are your problem.

 

[file cabinet]

what i'm wondering is less about whether schools are killing creativity and more about whether they just aren't able to foster creativity in the first place. as evidence by the posts from theaferist, FDG and une_authre, it would almost seem like the creative process (or at least their perception of it) is based on being challenged. by not being challenged, a person isn't given the opportunity to think of something in a new way.
in ivy's post, both her and her sister were challenged -- her sister was in a strict environment that posed challenges, and ivy was in a more free reign environment which posed its own equal challenges.
so, schools that do not challenge their students kills a certain amount of creativity.

i think some people in this thread think of creativity in different ways too.. does creative mean being challenged and forced to think of something in a new way, or is it something more short term like handing in an assignment that has a 'creative' flare to it..

this website suggests there is 2 types of creativity:
Adaptive/resourceful and, innovation/original

the innovation/original type of creativity seems like more of a victim due to how schools function.

how to fix the problem? maybe, challenge students to force them to be adaptive/resourceful so they will have the brain abilities to be more innovative/original in the first place.

 

[Soar337]

Yes. Just look at the set, one line of thinking structure of things like maths and science. It cuts off creativity and makes students depressed. (Haha. Personal experience, maybe?)