Do Schools Kill Creativity?

Do schools kill creativity?

In short, my answer is no, schools do not kill creativity. Schools themselves are buildings, and can do little to affect how a student acts or thinks. The teachers inside the school are another story. Can a teacher crush the creative spirit inside a child? Most certainly. Regardless of the teacher in the classroom, creativity will never be killed. If students are not allowed to express their creativity in their assignments, then their creative mind will be utilized in daydreams or stories told to impress their friends.

Sir Ken Robinson defines creativity as the process of having original ideas that have value. (TEDtalksDirector, 2007) It is my feeling, that by this definition, all beings are creative because the value of an idea is subjective. Schools or teachers can't prevent students from having their own ideas, so the idea of creativity is safe from extinction.

Are students given creative outlets in the classroom? That depends on the teacher. In kindergarten, we are busy; we build, we play, we tell silly stories, we write, we draw, we are creative. Typically as students progress through grade levels, the opportunities for creative expression decline. This does not have to be the case as there are numerous tools that can be utilized for students to express creativity while also addressing and mastering content, such as; Glogster, Prezi, Blabberize, Voicethread, and Storybird.

Technology can be a great resource to help students express their own creativity because most students feel very comfortable when using it. Creative expression can come from a simple exercise requiring students to doodle in a program like Microsoft Paint. Upon completion of the sketch students are asked to journal about their neighbor's sketch. Creative stories can easily be written by kindergartners using these art prompts.

We don't have to use technology to foster creative thinking and expression, but we do need to provide ways for students to be creative in our classrooms, or we'll lose them to their daydreams.

TEDtalksDirector. (2007, January 6). Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity? Retrieved February 17, 2011, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY