To Kill Creativity

To continue with the topic of last week’s post…

I have established the fact that I had been somewhat unconsciously and culturally steered onto my career path. But why wasn’t I able to come up with a profession that is unique? Something that would encompass my love for dancing hula with a more practical side to it would have been ideal.

Where has my creativity gone??

With this thought in mind, I decided to search YouTube for thoughts about creativity in today’s youth. Many people in America strive for “American” traits, which include independence and uniqueness. For one to be able to emulate these traits, I believe creativity is also necessary. So it makes sense that we must instill creativity in America’s youth.

Sir Ken Robinson has a different opinion on the matter.

At the TED Conference a few years ago, Robinson told audiences that creativity is as important as literacy. An illiterate America would never be considered one of the most powerful countries in the world. An America that lacks creative individuals would result in the same. Robinson believes that our American school systems are “educating people out of their creative capacities,” owing this to students’ fears of being punished for being wrong. He says, “if [students] are not prepared to be wrong, [they] will never come up with anything original,” and that by the time these students grow into adulthood, this fear of being wrong will translate into a complete loss of creative capacity.

The school systems tend to stigmatize mistakes. Sure, there is no such thing as a “stupid question,” but the other students will inevitably giggle and smirk at the kid who asks the “stupid question.” No one wants to be that kid.

By the way Sir Ken Robinson lays out his argument, it looks like creativity doesn’t stand a chance.

Granted, there are many creative people coming out of the American school system. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Lady Gaga are all visionaries in my mind. But perhaps Robinson is correct. If the American school system is stifling creativity, there should many more creative geniuses walking our streets.

What implications does this lack of creativity have on our economy and our image as a nation? By lacking creativity are we slowing shifting toward conformity? This is just something to think about…