Do Schools Kill Creativity?

A few weeks ago we watched this TED Talks video by Sir Ken Robinson. I went back to check it out again because I found it to be quite interesting. Robinson speaks of how all children are naturally talented at something whether it's art, music, academics, sports, etc. The thing that gets in the way of most people realizing their passion is school. Currently, the school system awards students for being able to regurgitate information accurately; at the same time, school punish students for trying something different and being wrong.

I had a teacher last semester who understood the state of the American School System and he did everything he could keep from adding to the stereotypes. On the first day of school he said, "There is a distinct difference between education and schooling." He went on to explain that when you break down the actual meaning of the words education and schooling, they have opposite meanings. Education is supposed to teach you to conquer and Schooling teaches you to be conquered. What this teacher and Mr. Robinson are saying is that we have been receiving schooling NOT education.

We all have the capacity to create and learn and use our instincts to guide us, but school (disguised as education) kills that part of us at a very, very young age. Teachers in elementary school have forgotten what it means to teach and they seem only to see the bottom line, the SAT score. One day, schools will realize the error of their ways and we will see a huge change in thinking among, not just students in America, but all over the world.