Do Schools Kill Creativity?

As educators and parents we are all deeply concerned about the state of our educational systems. Huge funding cuts, elimination of the arts, increase in furlough days, ever burgeoning number of students per class and the list goes on.

Where do we start? How can we help our children? I want to share a terrific video by Sir Ken Robinson on YouTube that is both educational and humorous. He asks the question: Do Schools Kill Creativity?

I believe Robinson makes several strong points:

1. Creativity is needed to prepare our children for a future society that we don’t even know and can’t predict.

2. All students have talent. As educators it is our responsibility to help them discover it.

3. Creativity is as important in education as literacy.

4. You must be prepared to make mistakes or you will not be able to come up with anything original.

Arts education is the gateway for children to keep their creativity alive and well. Arts education provides children with the tools to prepare themselves to be successful in an unknown future.