Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

Sir Ken Robinson talks about the structure of schools and how that structure destroys the creativity of children. He uses a very powerful statement ‘how is it possible to educate a whole generation if we are unaware of what the future will consist of’. The listener can’t help but ponder over the fact that we are educating pupils for the soul purpose of gaining future employment but as Sir Robinson states we are unaware of any future circumstances so in that case, our education curriculum isn’t as effective as we once thought.

He talks about schools becoming more inclusive and more aware of individual talents. All children are creative in different ways; some are musically talented whilst others are very gifted in mathematics. No child should be treated the same. They need the opportunity to develop and establish their own unique talents.

He also goes on to talk about ‘academic inflation’. This is referring to the devaluation of qualifications and how employers and universities are demanding the highest qualifications available. For example, students like me in Swansea Met Education Studies have experienced this type of academic inflation. Prior to our enrolment and attendance at Swansea Met the entry requirements to our continuing qualification (PGCE) where significantly lower than the requirements we are expected to possess. These entry requirements are expected to rise again in the near future.      

Sir Robinson’s points are very thought provoking and they are very relevant for education today. However his points can be quite contradictory as he believes that creativity should be considered as important as mathematics and linguistics and should play a much bigger part in the curriculum, but he doesn’t address those who don’t have the creative skill sets required for art, music or acting. Some children who are more comfortable doing maths or history shouldn’t be forced into creative subjects based on the judgements that other children do better in creative subjects.                                         

 

If Sir Robinson believes that children who have creative strengths should be given more opportunities to develop their strengths then so should children with academic strengths.