Sir Ken
Robinson’s video titled Do Schools Kill
Creativity? calls attention to the downside of nearly all education
systems of our world and stresses the importance of nurturing creativity, which
relates to NETS 1. His speech very concisely points out that most schools
emphasize mathematics and literacy while leaving humanities and creativity in
the dust. As projected by Robinson, this failure to value creativity as an
equal to mathematics and literacy is truly dangerous to the well- being and
prosperity of people.
I too have
witnessed an absence of stress
on the arts in education as schools become more test and performance driven.
This is unfortunate because each child is different and will blossom when
tended to uniquely. Albert Einstein once said, “Everybody
is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will
live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” This captures the idea that
both children and adults have strengths and weaknesses and that the education
system should not view one particular subject, or possible strength, as any greater
or lesser than the others. Many children prosper in the non- traditional school
environment, and they find success in areas different from what the test-
driven curriculum allows for. With this in mind, it is extremely important for
educators to adjust their approach so that every student can be successful
instead of promoting a confining and rigid idea of what success in education
is.
Robinson’s
message about the need for creativity ties closely to NETS 1, which is to
“facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity.” By embodying this
standard, teachers can lead by example, insisting that creative thinking is key
and encouraging students to engage with one another about subject material in
fresh, unique, and meaningful ways.
