(2006) My experience of the impact education had on creativity. “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they Just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. ” Is a quote that Steve Jobs had which got me to think about how I really do feel about creativity in relation to education?
I wish I could say that education helped to stimulate my creativity but It has not infused it I feel in anyway. (Bookmarks Media Network 2001 ). When I first approached this question In class I felt there were two arguments to this statement I felt you could agree nor disagree until I thought about it further in my own time. I watched the video “Ken Robinson says school kills creativity in class that day. It sparked thoughts In me that yes my secondary school years did have an impact on killing my creativity and I feel there is far too much structure involved in those few years.
Yes structure is good to have to give stability in your life, but I feel there was no class I could be creative In and put my own stamp on my work you were told what to do and when to do it. Rarely is a student in secondary school given the opportunity in curricular subjects able to put their own spice on their piece. I feel the education layout Is very wrong In Ireland as It doesn’t let people express themselves in their work but to reiterate back all the essays and formulas they have learnt off for pacific subjects in one final exam. TEDtalksDirector2007). The reason I felt you could agree that it helps towards your creativity is that in primary school you did a lot of group activities as teachers tried to incorporate creative exercises Into school work Like brainstorming where you as a group had to hunk of things together stimulating your thoughts and ideas. Also had activities like art class every week. But then I thought about my own experience more in primary school to feel Is that true?
Did it help stimulate my creativity? And the answer I feel for my own personal experience is no it didn’t because in all these events in school I was always told what to do and what task was in hand limiting me as a student to express how I feel about many issues. As a class you were rarely ever Just handed a blank page and told to draw what you felt like drawing, it always had a theme on and that you have to stay in the range of that topic.
This is why I feel education has ruined creativity as the times you got to let yourself go and be creative there was always a barrier on what you could do, not letting yourself reach your own potential and Investigate what you like and dislike to do. I always remember one teacher that was excellent at letting near students let themselves go as every week we a something creative. The class was always able to choose or make and draw whatever they wanted and then when they were done we presented to the class what we had one and give a reason why we wanted to do that task for the day.
She never criticizes somebody work as it was their own interpretation on what they had done. I will always remember those Friday mornings being my favorite class when it was art time and I got to make whatever I wanted to make and I will always remember the bag I designed for the clothes shop I always dreamed of owning when I was little with the logo and design I wanted on my own original shop bag. I still own this paper bag that I designed and Ms.
McCarthy is still my favorite teacher to this day. This is the only reason I feel there was hope for education automating your creativity as I feel it was down to the person teaching you and whether they felt it was important if they could fit it in to their schedule. (Carports 2009) Then my thoughts started to spark and yes they are going backwards in years but playschool and primary school is why I felt there was 2 arguments to the statement.
Playschool is about stimulating a child and has its advantages and disadvantages but its main aim is to encourage learning through ones play at ones own pace. I feel this is the time in education when a child can be creative as they learn through being dimidiated by things like making shapes with building blocks letting them be creative with what design to make.
Like primary school a child is guided but I do feel they have more freedom and time to be motivated by items around them such as the educational toys. (Enriching Flynn 2010) In conclusion, my own experience and expectations of the impact of education on my creative talents in the light of my reading and research is not a pleasant one as I agree with many people that education today does not help towards your creativity and my experiences back up this theory.
