Did you watch the TED talk I posted on Tuesday? The one from Sir Ken Robinson, about how schools kill creativity? If not, here’s the link.
I found it very enjoyable and insightful. I’m not an educator, and I don’t necessarily have strong feelings about standardized education. But I do know that it fails many people, and as Robinson says in the lecture, “Many highly talented, brilliant, creative people think they’re not. Because the thing they were good at in school wasn’t valued, or was actually stigmatized. And I think we can’t afford to go on that way.” Don’t we all know someone who struggled with traditional education?
And while you could come away from the lecture thinking that Robinson is advocating for the arts and artistic disciplines, I think that’s a bit short-sighted. Creativity isn’t limited to the “traditional” arts. I like Robinson’s description of creativity as “the process of having original ideas that have value”. There is room for creativity within the more “valued” academic disciplines of math and science.
What did you think of the TED Talk? What moments stood out for you?
Next up in our list of the 20 Most Watched TED Talks (So Far) is Jill Bolte Taylor’s Stroke of Insight. I’ve actually seen this one already, but it’s worth revisiting. Let’s all watch it this weekend, and talk about it next Tuesday.