Youtube: Do schools kill creativity?

[sofmarhof]

[YOUTUBE="iG9CE55wbtY"]Do schools kill creativity?[/YOUTUBE]

 

[AOA]

Do schools kill creativity? I don't think so - particularly when you consider the ambiguity for what it means to be creative. That would really be a matter of perspective as opposed to anything else.

... None the less, I would think schools generally support the personal growth in fulfilling one's creativity.

 

[TickTock]

Yes. I've seen that video about five times. It's right on the money. We need a new education system! This one is outdated.

 

[Valiant]

Alright, this thing is pretty much true at least for Sweden.
And I know that it is for much of the world.

I believe schools does kill creativity to a large extent.
They are designed to produce machines for work, more or less.
If you think about what kind of people that excels as pupils, and see it for what it is, you'd agree.

I spent twelve years in mandatory school and a couple of years of college without the teachers actually giving me anything. If I didn't know more than they did already about the subject - I tried to listen, i'm not a complete arrogant bastard - they simply made the subjects so boring that it was impossible to take in.
And what's with the homework? Isn't school five days a week from 08.00 to 16.00 enough?
I always found school to be much more tiring than work ever was. In fact, i'm less tired when having worked for ten hours straight without a break than I used to be around lunch time in school.

My time in school was the worst time of my life, and I feel like i'm recovering from it piece by piece still.
Here's a list of what school didn't teach me, despite all the hours spent there:

- Reading/writing
- English
- German
- Maths
- Grammar and punctuation
- Chemistry
- History
- Social studies
- Religion studies
- Creative writing
- Pedagogy
- Computers/tech
- Electronics
- Geography
- Economy
- Politics
- Public speaking
- Music
- Maths
- Physics
- Leadership
- Military education
- Graphic design
- Geology
- Theater
- Art


And several others.
I spent all my time in school feigning listening to boring shit, did a test, and forgot all about it.
It was those times when I got home and read my own books that I actually learned anything.
Besides that, school made me feel like shit. I hated the experience.

Now that i'm out of school, i'm trying to salvage the pieces of my creativity and imagination that are still left and piece them together once again.
One could say that i'm growing increasingly childish in some areas, and I love it.
I'm never going back to school again, be certain of it.
I love learning, but I hate any authority having a part of it.
Sure, authority is needed for people who don't want to learn...
But what is the point of teaching someone who doesn't want to be tutored?
Either, the child will break and become something lesser, or it will rebel in some way and not "progress".

 

[sofmarhof]

Ask any teacher and they will say, "Of course I love when my students are creative!" But there isn't much encouragement to actually be creative. Students are always told to be so, but though the teacher says, "Be creative," they don't act like they really want it. I blame the system, not the teachers. But for a student to be creative requires defiance, because the implicit message is to conform. A student who acts creative is not more creative than all the others, just less easily controlled.

 

[AOA]

PE - Physical Education.

... Can agree on that that was where I got disappointed during the school days. The sports department was poorly funded, inapt, and generally despicable for anyone wanting to reach talent. To tell but the least - there was no way to prove your talent with the sports because the damn Heads were a bunch of morons, too. I don't know; they selected ameteurs, ameteurs who could do nothing else but run around hyperactively, over the highly skilled for the sports positions. Pisses me off even til today that that could happen. That was also one of the few classes I really enjoyed, and wanted to make the most of!!!

I guess that's the only real disappointment I'd endured from the school days - in terms of recreational creativity. I remember the faces of those Heads, and it boils my blood even til today. How I'd get my own back from what I'd endured. Irony - LOOK AT ME TODAY!

 

[Nonsensical]

Schools eliminate creativity.
Creativity eliminates schools.

 

[Haphazard]

I'm so confused. Why is everyone assuming that schools kill creativity if it doesn't foster it? Do we have proof that children were more creative before schools happened? Sure, you can probably point to a few historical geniuses, but what are those compared to the reams and reams of nothing-special people?

Okay, so school teaches you to be a cog. But that doesn't mean that it necessarily kills creativity. It could just have no effect.

 

[jixmixfix]

school isn't about learning it's about initiation.

 

[Thalassa]

Uh, well there has to be a balance. There is definitely value in developing memorization, reading skills and comprehension, math skills, fact-based science learning, and exposing students to history, classical music, physical exercise, etc. All of this stuff is necessary - you can't just not teach students facts and memorization and rely completely on creativity to develop well-rounded, educated human beings.

Yes, public schools are limiting creativity more and more. I have had teachers complain to me - veteran teachers who have been teaching for 20 or 35 years - about how the system is closing in on them, and shutting out room for creativity in the classroom. No Child Left Behind in the U.S. is fucking crap.

There has to be a balance. There has to be a way to educate students without completely over-structuring their time and totally stifling their creativity. If I had a child right now, I don't know that I would send him or her to a public school - I would probably try my best to send him or her to a private school, or do homeschooling myself. I used to want to be a public school teacher,actually. In my first few semesters of college I was an Education major.

 

[Thalassa]

I'm so confused. Why is everyone assuming that schools kill creativity if it doesn't foster it? Do we have proof that children were more creative before schools happened? Sure, you can probably point to a few historical geniuses, but what are those compared to the reams and reams of nothing-special people?

Okay, so school teaches you to be a cog. But that doesn't mean that it necessarily kills creativity. It could just have no effect.

You make a very good point. I mean, before mandantory schooling lots of little girls weren't educated at all aside from cooking, cleaning, and childcare - and children of poorer families worked on farms and in factories. That wasn't fostering creativity. I think public schools have a definite advantage over the way things were run in the past, with the exception of the way the wealthiest and most priveleged children were educated at home.

 

[Prototype]

I recently asked my daughter how much art her, and her classmates had done since September, out of general curiosity ... She showed me 2 small art assignments, and sadly, she seemed to not really care about how little art they had worked on in the last 3 months.... You can blame it all on those thinkers from the generation X era..Lol

 

[Thalassa]

Well maybe since schools aren't fostering creativity then parents should.

I learned a great deal as a child at home, combined with school learning.

Everyone keeps telling parents to get involved. Teachers can't do everything.

 

[Prototype]

Well maybe since schools aren't fostering creativity then parents should.

I learned a great deal as a child at home, combined with school learning.

Everyone keeps telling parents to get involved. Teachers can't do everything.

I sometimes wonder if I have more craft/art supplies at home on my shelves then my kids grade school supply closet...

 

[wolfy]

I used to agree with Ken Robinson. But I have to agree with what Bill Gates said if standardized education kills creativity how come Japan produces so much creative work. Japan has one of the most standardized eduction systems in the world.

I think it is people that kill creativity. The individual themselves and the people around them.

As far as examples like 'Ms Smith told Johnny off for colouring outside the lines and now Johnny is not creative' well... that is a load of crapolla. Johnny is not going to be much of an artist if he doesn't have the skills to colour inside the lines.

Creativity's foundation is skills and knowledge.

 

[Thalassa]

I think television kills creativity, too. Kids just need to play and imagine and BE.

 

[Scott N Denver]

I used to agree with Ken Robinson. But I have to agree with what Bill Gates said if standardized eduction kills creativity how come Japan produces so much creative work. Japan has one of the most standardized eduction systems in the world.

I think it is people that kill creativity. The individual themselves and the people around them.

As far as examples like 'Ms Smith told Johnny off for colouring outside the lines and now Johnny is not creative' well... that is a load of crapolla. Johnny is not going to be much of an artist if he doesn't have the skills to colour inside the lines.

Creativity's foundation is skills and knowledge.

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.

 

[wolfy]

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.

Of course not all Japanese are creative. But Japan does produce a lot of creative work. So, how can that be if schooling crushes creativity? That is my question, not that Japan is better than the US etc.

You have to understand the difference between originality and creativeness. To be creative means to create something that is novel and unique and that is also useful and seen to be creative to others. It is not enough to just be original.

You don't think Japan produces a lot of creative work?

 

[FDG]

I believe school doesn't outright encourage creativity, but it doesn't kill it either. Whenever I tried to be creative, teachers always gave me good - but not best - grades for my work, telling me: "This is excellent, you should keep on approaching assignment this way; however, I can't give you the highest mark since it does not fully respect what the curriculum sets for highest mark. Don't take it personally". It's perfectly understandable: school is man-made, thus it needs to be adapted to certain arbitrary standards. However, it seems that whenever you write papers and/or work creativity is definitely appreciated, as long as:
- The conclusions you derive from creative premises match up with the data
- Your creativity is enjoyed by your customers (if you're self-employed), or gives your boss more opportunities to make $$$

There's also practical reasons behind the general dubious attitude of humanity towards creativity. It's a really high-risk activity. If you engage in creative work and the result is less-than-satisfying, then you've wasted time that could have been dedicated to survival. Obviously, since nowadays a large part of humanity has means far above its basic needs, this attitude isn't productive; yet, since down to 200 years ago most of humanity still needed to practice subsistence agriculture to survive, it's understandable that we haven't fully adapted yet.

 

[Queen Kat]

Mine does. Every time I had a year when I had to work hard for school, my creativity dropped. So it sure does. Even art classes here kill creativity!