Creativity is Important (reflection on Ted talks episode "does school kill creativity?)

Sir Ken Robinson (the speaker) emphasizes in his speech that creativity is just as important as literacy in education. Children are taught not to make mistakes in school, and the educational system sees making mistakes as the worst thing that can happen. And, according to Sir Robinson, being creative entails being willing to make mistakes.

The educational systems place math and science at the top, social science in the centre, and the arts at the bottom of the list of fields. He says that this is due to the fact that math and science were formerly considered important for employment during the industrial revolution. People want a decent job, so they go to school, get a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, and then a PhD.

However, because time passes so fast, it is not a guarantee for a job. He also discusses the three characteristics of intelligence, which are that it is diverse, dynamic, and distinct.

One of his examples is a little girl whose parents believes she is not normal, but discovered that she only needs to dance to think, and she enrolled in a dance school where she fit in perfectly, and her dancing ability brought her tremendous fame and money.

Creativity developed skills that are essential in today’s generation and in the work place. This is not limited only to dance skill, music skill, and arts skill and so on. But it develops individuals to think outside of the box, to be innovative and authentic. I agree with Sir Robinson that being creative is willing to be wrong, because being wrong or committing mistake means that you have the capability of thinking, you have the capability of analysing the situation.

When we enter school, our learning depends on the subject content that a teacher teaches us. Teachers and parents encourage us to do well in math and science since these two subjects are the most advantageous in the future and if you will good at these two subject people look at you as intelligent or smart.

Kids are naturally creative, but because school teaches us the knowledge system that cycle where creative skills were not highly emphasize. And then the intelligence of the students is the expected outcomes that the education system expected. Their knowledge or intelligence is not beyond the box, not beyond the school, and not beyond the content.

Another realization is that an individual has different learning style and strengths. Students are diverse, they have different learning approach. Teachers and parents plays an important role in determining their strengths. Just like the example of Sir Robinson that the students need to dance to think. And teachers and parents should be like the doctor, where they should observe properly their students or children, so that at the early age, the kids already determine their strength and their learning style and they can provide the perfect learning environment that students fit in.

Like students who need to draw to think so they will send to art school, students who need to sing to think so they send their to music school. It is because when the students’ interest or creativity will be blocked, then there’s a possibility throughout the school years the creativity of the student will be killed. I also want to talk about the parents’ big role in this situation. That parents’ observation towards their kids must contagious. Let me share my own experience, I love to draw and this is one of my hobby ever since.

When my father find out that I have interest in drawing when I was in my first year in college, he told me that I should not pursue it or not giving my interest on it and just to graduate education degree so that I can land a profession just like my sister. When I heard him say that, I become speechless because I never thought that he could say that since my parents never say things with my decisions and interest. It’s one of the reason why I take this degree program because I want to expand my knowledge in art.

My interest in drawing started when I was in primary school but when I enter secondary school which is the junior high I’m focused more on the academic aspect since I have this desire to be one of the top of the class, but even though I have good grades back then I never felt that I am smart enough, yes I excel in some subjects like English and TLE but it was not enough for me. When I was in senior high school, I stop aiming for high grades and bringing back my interest in drawing which doodling in my notebooks.

Every time there is a vacant time, I spent doodling at the back of my notebook, and every time that I feel that my mind isn’t working, I doodle and doodle. My mind operates properly when I spend time in doodle/drawing. And the irony is that I have good grades and being active in class. And now, during the start of the pandemic I spend my time exploring drawing again since I have a lot of time. When the school year started during pandemic, I spend time in drawing when I feel that I can’t think properly. What I‘m trying to say is that creativity and intelligence makes balance. Teachers teaching strategies must not focus only on the knowledge or intelligence, they can integrate creativity in school.

Does school kills creativity? Well, no. School doesn’t kill creativity, the education system must try to look what would creativity help developed skills or intelligence to students. We are in a 21st century and there is a big change when it comes to students learning style, teachers teaching strategy, and the education system. Adapting is the key, we should not limit the system in the past. Well as of now, creativity integration is already visible.