Morning Bell "Do Schools Kill Creativity"?

Sam's Blog- http://teachthenextgen.blogspot.com/

Michael's Blog- http://mfolsom2.blogspot.com/

Jenn's Blog- http://wordsontheinside.blogspot.com/

Ken's Speech- http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

The first response that I looked at after watching this intriguing video was that of Sam. She starts out very dramatically saying that she was shocked by the truth of Ken's assertion that schools are killing creativity. She goes on to talk about how when she worked at a tutor center she witnessed some of the things that Ken was talking about, like not teaching to a diverse or multiple intelligence. She saw how some kids were now afaid to make mistakes in summer school because the parents and teachers dissaproved of it so much. She also talked about how in school it was always her opinion that making a mistake was not a bad thing at all, quite the reverse, she thought it was a good thing because you can learn more about yourself through the mistake than getting it right the first time. I liked some of the ideas at the end of her blog about "Creative Options" on assignments and acting out plays, they are all solid ideas that can get kids involved and creating all kinds of cool stuff.

I looked at Michaels blog next and he was also impressed by the way that Ken came out of the gate firing. I agree that throwing impressive and shocking facts out in front of your speech is a good way to get the audience's attention. And the truth behind his statement makes it all the more riveting. Michael mentioned the fact that kids aren't afraid to make a mistake, about the fact that creative impulses are not stifled in children. He also talked about his school and how he was always pushed toward the standard curriculum by the school. Finally he talks about a few ideas on multipile intelligences; first how some people can even use their athletic ability as their ticket to millions, and how creativity is minimized in schools. He stressed that he will follow the same type of creativity sensitive learning is what he would like to reproduce in future classrooms.

Finally I looked at Jenn's blog. I really liked how she started it because it is the same way I feel. She beleives that an English classroom can not exist without creativity. It's like how can someone read about Huck Finn, or Holden Caulfield, write their own story, or understand any type of emotional literature without the sense of creativiy in them. It would be impossible to teach and learn literature without creativity coming into play. She also agrees with Ken that schools are killing the creativity in kids, that musical, artistic and other non core classes are just not as important as math and science. She talks about how difficult it is to major in art or music in college because kids are so often pushed to business, medicine, law, or some other money making field. She says that in her ideal classroom environment a teacher would never stifle a child's creativity and send them back to the pack once again. She just stresses the view for a classroom that Ken lays down, where ideas are not shot down but are rather nurtured.

I would have to say I am following the pack now but I really did like this video and the ideas that he brought up in it. I remember in EPSY last year we had to come up with educational philosophies and we had to choose a few topics to reasearch as well. I chose to look up critical thinking, and I feel that this is strongly connected to creativity. They both require interaction between different modes of thinking, and that is really what this is all about. Different ways of thinking, or learning, need to be addressed in the classroom. Teaching to only one type of student, and stifling others in the process is just as bad as what we talked about last week, not teaching kids about technology. Creativity is just as essential as technological expertise to me because without either, a child is going to be lost. Some things that I would like to do in the future is something like Sam's idea where kids can create their own writing prompts or project ideas. Also I would like to incorporate music into my class in some way, whether it be studying different mediums of literary expression, or simply studying lyrics just like poetry. I just don't want to end up being the teacher who kills the creativity in the learning process.