Creative In Schools

In the TED talk video "Do Schools Kill Creativity?" by Ken Robinson, his main argument is the lack of focus of art in the education system in favor for activities that rely mainly upon the use of the brain. The stigma against pursuing careers in the arts according to Robinson causes a child to lose their creativity, he states that because of the stigma the child will never discover talents that they may have. The main point in his argument is his criticism of the education system that his striped people out of creativity in focus on an ideal commodity. Robinson states that “So you were probably steered benignly away from things at school when you were a kid, things you liked, claiming you would never get a job doing that. Is that right? Don't do music, you're not going to be a musician; don't do art, you won't be an artist.” Throughout, his speech Robinson uses a variety of ethos, pathos, and logos to get his main point across, that the education system is killing creativity. A big portion of Robinson’s speech relies heavily on humor to help deliver his message that the school system disregards creativity.

Famous Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso, once said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Schools all around the United States are closing their arts programs including music, art, and theatre, because of budget cuts. More than 25% of public high schools have closed done away with their arts programs. Blogger Katrina Soliman stated in her blog about the lack of creative opportunities in school, “Children have a knack for originality” and “Schools advise students to be creative but do not give time to do so.” The arts, however, are very important to children while they learn to grow and there have been hundreds of studies showing why they’re important. They improve test scores, give students creative ideas after high school and there are also other nonacademic uses.

In Elementary School it was a half hour that you would spend learning a new song or painting with water colors. But what if they took Art classes out

If you search almost anywhere on the internet about creativity and public schools you will run into a video by a man named Sir Ken Robinson. He emphasizes that schools kill creativity in every way. On the other hand, President Barack Obama disagrees whole heartedly. Both of these men agree that creativity is important to children and schools but they disagree on whether or not creativity is being implemented in schools. Robinson stated in his lectured at TED 2006, “I believe this passionately, that we don’t grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out of it” (Ken Robinson. TED2006). He goes to say that

At a local level and as an educator and parent, I see no indication that schooling is preparing students for innovation and creativity. Even when influenced by constructivist or universal design ideas, school tasks - starting in elementary school, up until CEGEP- are generally highly structured, predictable and offered in cookie cutter format. There is little room for creativity and few subjects are regularly offered, such as music or visual arts, that support creativity and out of the box thinking to allow for a more well-rounded approach to education as suggested in the discussion forum (Hector,

Since the beginning children have always had the desire to be creative and were interested in art. They are creative with their imagination, coming up with stories and adventures in their heads. They are interested in art wanting to color, maybe outside the lines as they look at the walls in their house and say, “Oh that is a great canvas for my masterpiece. Mom will love this when she comes home!” Yet as children grow up, their interest in art and creativity goes away because with each new grade they go into creativity lessens putting the focus on grades. With each new grade, the basic classes which are required like english, math, and science, students now lean towards the mistakes they are making and trying to get good grades or go down the road of considering school is not for them and drop out. What schools do not realize is, as they cut the art programs, they are taking away what the students are interested in.

When a test determines if you pass a grade or have to take the a course over, teachers tend to teach students only what they need to know to pass. Teachers have to “teach to the test” which means that they have no room in their lesson plans for activities such as art and music which encourage and cultivate creativity. The instructors must teach the “right” answer and in doing so punish children for the seemingly incorrect one, the one that is not so much wrong as creative (Shellenbarger 2011). When creativity in students is not fostered, it dies, decreasing individualism. With standardized tests come standardized learning, and with standardized learning comes standardized children who are no longer free to live through childhoods that are uniquely theirs. Yes, there is the possibility that a child could strike out on their own and create an inimitable life, but without the opportunity to nurse their creative tendencies due to an overabundance of structured class time spent “teaching to the test”, the chances are extremely low

This is far from the truth. First of all, they improve the overall performance of students “including in the core academic subjects that are often emphasized by standardized testing requirements” (school). Second, they increase graduation rates. Art education programs “classes motivate students to stay in school”. They especially motivate low-achieving students “by fostering closer ties with peers and creating community-oriented environments” (school). Additionally it boosts mental development in elementary school children. Elementary school happens in the years of life that have the most mental and physical development. Visual arts help to develop motor skills in young children. Every time a child "holds a paintbrush or cuts with safety scissors, his[/her] motor and dexterity skills improve"(school) greatly. Similarly, a child who is exposed to music education at a younger age can benefit from enhanced connection between the two hemispheres of the brain and "long-lasting improvements in communication and listening"(school). It has also been proven that an environment with more enrichment and variety will lead to more neural pathways constructed in the brain. This was proved by research psychologists Mark Rosenzweig and David Krech who conducted an experiment on rats. They "reared some young rats in solitary confinement and others in a communal

Do you think you should be able to express your creativity in school? If you say yes. What about Arts Education classes, but what if I were to say that they were trying to take away those classes. How are you going to express your creativity? School Corporations are trying to take Arts Education away from the schools electives. These are classes for people wanting to be musicians, singers, inventors, and artists. The reasons why Arts Educations should stay in school is because of needing to fit in school, to get to be a professional, and it helps critical thinking and analysis skills.

A smart man said “Creativity is as important as literacy and we should treat it with the same standing.” (Ken Robinson-“Do schools kill creativity?”). There are multiple studies on how creativity helps improve a student’s mind. Project based learning is a huge creative booster for students. A math teacher from California uses projects to do math instead of using the text book. From doing this, she’s had more students pass her class then from when she was teaching straight from the text books. Instead of having standardized tests, using more creative techniques for students to enjoy the learning they’ve done and for them to show the higher officials what the students are learning. Creativity is the process of turning real world problems into an understanding by extending the minds cognitive processes. In Alabama, kindergartners are studying different ways to be creative.

My first reason is that every one I mean everyone is different and they all have different artistic abilities. Not everyone wants to get out on a stage and sing or play an instrument in front of a couple hundred people. They could have the fear of going to stage and forgetting a word or forgetting a note and then every one laugh at them. They you have people who really plain and simple can't draw or paint worth a lick and the same people could have tried playing a instrument or tried singing but that wasn't for them either. So why make someone do something that they don't want to do in the first place.

Creativity is equally as important as literacy, and we need to start treating it that way in schools around the world. According to Ken Robinson’s claim in his, “How Schools Kill Creativity” speech, he believes this to be exceptionally true. All children are creative and talented, however, we have grown up in a world where we believe that it’s wrong to exemplify our creativity. Robinson uses both, pathos, and ethos to help make his claim. He arises emotion in you; he causes you to really think, to trust him, and to question ultimately, how things are being done in the educational system. We as a world have become so consumed with the idea of putting each child into a category of what they’re going to be successful in, regardless of their creativity or passions. You’re either good at math, science, or English; everything is based on your academic ability. What happens then to the people who aren’t academically smart, but are more creative? They are then made to feel that what they have to offer the world simply isn’t good enough, but the truth is, it is good enough. Over time however, we are taught out of our creativity. Schools around the world kill creativity by instilling a sense of fear in the child that what they are doing, and how they feel is wrong, this ultimately discourages them, and they fall victim to the industrialized educational system that we have present day. Robinson believes now more than

When schools trim their budgets should the arts lose their place? Art education can benefit students in different ways such as improving student performance across the whole curriculum. So, why are art programs in schools often first to be dropped due to budget cuts? Art is often viewed as unimportant. People don’t think it is necessary to include art in the public school system. Chicago Public Schools dealt a blow to art education when it laid off over 1,000 teachers and closed over 50 schools. Nearly 10 percent of teachers were let go, taught either art or music. Among the most affected area was art education. Chicago isn’t alone. Schools across the country have faced budget shortfalls. A common cost-cutting

All the sources I chose and am using all are reliable sources from educational and informal journals or books. All my sources support my hypothesis of how cutting the art portion of our education affects our children and their future! In a previous class here at Bradman I learned that Kindergarten is now offered online! How stupid! Children must attend kindergarten in order to learn and develop their brains in preparation for the future. A huge part of Kindergarten is art. Children in elementary school including kindergarten

This was mentioned by Ken Robinson in two of his Ted Talks. He spoke of how schools are killing creativity and