Creativity

JC Penny Course Handout

May 08, 2008

Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

About this Talk

Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining (and profoundly moving) case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity, rather than undermining it. With ample anecdotes and witty asides, Robinson points out the many ways our schools fail to recognize -- much less cultivate -- the talents of many brilliant people. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says. The universality of his message is evidenced by its rampant popularity online.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66 (full transcript available online)

Opening Discussion Questions

1. Do you believe you are a creative person?
2. Do you think that today’s educational system nurtures or debilitates creativity?

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

1. My contention is, all kids have tremendous talents and we squander them, pretty ruthlessly

2. My contention is that creativity now is as important in education as literacy.

3. Kids will take a chance. If they don't know, they'll have a go.

4. And we run our companies like this, by the way, we stigmatize mistakes.

5. We are educating people out of their creative capacities.

6. Every education system on earth has the same hierarchy of subjects.

7. As children grow up, we start to educate them progressively from the waist up.

8. University professors shouldn’t be held up as the high-water mark of all human achievement.

9. If you want real evidence of out-of-body experiences…

10. Our education system is predicated on the idea of academic ability.

11. You were probably steered benignly away from things you liked at school…

12. Public education around the world is a protracted process of university entrance.

13. Our education system has mined our minds in the way that we strip-mine the earth.

14. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Post-Video Discussion:

1. What do you think of the points Ken Robinson is making about schools, companies, and creativity? Give specific examples from your experience.

2. What ways can you bring greater creativity into your life? Into your work?