Our self concept, recognition of our talents, appreciation for divergent thinking and pursuit of creativity can be guided and nurtured, or corroded and even corrupted, by our school experiences.

In his article Do schools kill creativity?, Sir Ken Robinson notes that “kids will take a chance. If they don’t know, they’ll have a go. They’re not frightened of being wrong.

“Now, I don’t mean to say that being wrong is the same thing as being creative. What we do know is, if you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.

“And by the time they get to be adults, most kids have lost that capacity. They have become frightened of being wrong… And the result is, we are educating people out of their creative capacities.

“Picasso once said that all children are born artists. The problem is to remain an artist as we grow up. I believe this passionately, that we don’t grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather we get educated out of it.”

Related post: Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

My related article Getting out of school alive.

~~

creative capacities, school experiences and creativity, ken robinson on schools, developing creativity,divergent thinking

04.05.08 |
  Get more information and resources in the Developing Talent Newsletter
    Personal Growth Products / Programs       Anxiety Relief Programs.

Related Articles

• Schooling can leave us with limitations on our creative potential
• Being a social animal and creative – developing creativity through supportive connections
• Alissa Quart on Hothouse Kids and the pressures to fulfill creative potential
• Perseverance and a rebellious spirit turn prodigies into gifted adults
• Living our music with The Michelangelo Method