I just watched an amazing video on TED.com that I had to share with you all. In this TED talk, Ken Robinson discusses how the current education system around the world seems to squelch creativity more than encourage it. Ken is both incredibly informative and incredibly funny, so you shouldn’t have any trouble watching the whole thing trough.
Ken Robinson – Schools Kill Creativity
I don’t know if there is really much more to say. Ken pretty much says it all here.
The video touches on many of the issues I raise in my articles. Most notably A Call for Education Reform and Creativity – Why to do What You Like. The issue of education is one that is very important to me, but I also feel it is one that is greatly overlooked.
In light of this, I thought I’d share a personal story. I have a great interest in the circus arts, in fact I have a whole other blog about it; however, I never realized this love I had for physical performance until a few years ago. This is because, when I was younger, my parents and teachers told to stop any time I tried to climb a tree or perform any other type of stunt because they thought I would hurt myself.
I was frustrated by this because I had always been a cautious kid, even when attempting these stunts. And yet, I was told that it was “bad” to act this way. Initially after I discovered the circus arts, I felt odd being encouraged by teachers to test my full potential, since I had always learned this was the wrong thing to do.
Last month I was on a ferry boat and we hit some rough waters. The boat bobbed aggressively from side to side, and though the captain reassured the passengers that everything would be fine, a lot of people became nervous. Despite this, there was a small boy (maybe 6 or 7 years old) who attempted to walk around on the rocking surface. He would take a few steps, then cling to a stable object, trying to find his balance. He started to make a game of it, smiling and laughing the whole time.
Eventually his mother rushed over and demanded he sit still in his seat. Naturally, his mother was trying to protect him from falling and hurting himself, but the boy had been doing just fine. He was learning to control his own body and discover himself while still having fun, yet he was discouraged from this behavior. And after being forced to sit unproductively in his seat, he whined to his mother about it the rest of the boat ride.
I think a lot of what Ken Robinson is trying to say in his talk is that kids need room to explore themselves and their abilities. They cannot be afraid to fail or they will never learn how to succeed. I hope that parents and educators begin to realize this fact in order to make school a place for kids to grow rather than a place for kids to conform.
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