Does school kill creativity?

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html



Why don't we get the best out of people? Sir Ken Robinson argues that it's because we've been educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. Students with restless minds and bodies -- far from being cultivated for their energy and curiosity -- are ignored or even stigmatized, with terrible consequences. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says. It's a message with deep resonance. Robinson's TEDTalk has been distributed widely around the Web since its release in June 2006. The most popular words framing blog posts on his talk? "Everyone should watch this."

A visionary cultural leader, Sir Ken led the British government's 1998 advisory committee on creative and cultural education, a massive inquiry into the significance of creativity in the educational system and the economy, and was knighted in 2003 for his achievements. His latest book, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, a deep look at human creativity and education, was published in January 2009.


Selected quotes:

''creativity is as important as literacy''

''If your not prepared to be wrong you will never come up with anything original''

''All children are born artists, the problem is to remain an artist as we grow up''

''We dont grow into creativity we grow out of it, or rather we are educated out of it''

''They (professors) look upon there bodies as a form of transport for there heads''

''Creativity: the process of having original ideas that have value''

''If all the insects were to disappear in 60 years there would be no life on earth.
If humans were to disappear in 60 years all life on earth would be flourishing''