After our practice deliberation in class about higher education, it got me thinking back to the TED talk we saw last semester. In this said TED talk, Ken Robinson points out that schools kill creativity. And after watching it, I remember thinking that he is totally right. Schools kill creativity – it’s sadly true and truly sad.
Why is it sad? Sure, it allows for more focus on major subject areas, but at the same time it limits how our minds work. Day in and day out, we are trained to think about what a textbook can teach. So then when it comes time to be creative, we find it hard to think out of the box. Other than limiting our ways of thinking, this stifling of creativity also limits our paths in life. I don’t know if this is true for everyone, but my parents always urged me to choose a career path that was lucrative. And in high school, teachers and guidance counselors would preach about working hard to get into a good college to get into a successful (good paying job). So then I chose engineering, but if I wasn’t so worried about having fortunate means later in life, I might have considered a different path. I did drama in high school and thought it was really fun. I enjoyed writing poetry and was quite good in art. But with a school system and society that doesn’t value the arts as much, life becomes hard for a starving artist. I know a couple other people who have similar sentiments. A friend of mine finds happiness in the idea of being a teacher, but is instead studying bioengineering. A contestant at the Mr. Engineering Pageant (yes it’s a thing, hosted by SWE, come see it next year!) said that his ideal job would be a sports journalist and yet he’s a chemical engineer. (I’m sorry all my examples are engineering related, I guess I have quite a few engineering friends). The point is that somewhere down the line, creativity gets tossed to the wayside – thus limiting our minds and maybe limiting our choices.
The first two options of our deliberation called for emphasis on math and science and the instilment of integrity and responsibility, but nowhere did the packet bring up anything about creativity or the arts. So maybe arts like drama, and music, and literature aren’t the best tools to further society. But these things can indirectly impact our minds and the way we think, which can then lead to producing more innovators, more risk-takers, and more creative thinkers. So maybe it would be better if we brought creativity back. Why should we let ‘em clip our wings – instead lets allow our creative minds to decorate the canvas of life.