Here is the link to Do schools kill creativity? By Sir Ken Robinson:
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity
The Video Do Schools Kill
Creativity? is one of my favorite educational videos that I have watched in
all of my courses. Sir Ken Robinson has
a way of speaking that is engaging and creative (gasp!). He says that creativity in school is as important as
literacy. As the talk goes on he talks about how schools undervalue the arts in
favor of math and literacy. This is a disservice to the students. Sir Robinson
describes intelligence as diverse, dynamic, and distinct. Additionally, he describes
creativity as “The process of having original ideas that have value.”
One of the stories he tells is about a woman named Gillian
Lynne. She is a choreographer who worked on Cats
and Phantom of the Opera. When
Mrs. Lynne was eight years old her school sent a letter home to her parents
telling them that they thought she had a learning disability. Her parents took
her to a specialist who showed her mother that the reason she couldn’t sit
still was because she was a dancer. It was then that her mother signed her up
for dance lessons and she flourished. She found people like her who couldn’t
think unless they were moving. In another scenario her teachers, parent, and
even doctors might have forced her to sit still and pay attention, stifling her
natural talent.
As teachers we are responsible for
the development and encouragement of the students placed in our care. So much
of the time we are so concerned with teaching our students what we have decided
that they should know, making them mediocre, and we miss out on the higher achievements
they could be capable of. If we would put more emphasis on the encouragement of
students’ natural talents than there is no limit to what they can achieve.
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