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Schooling: a creativity killer?

'But something strikes you when you move to America and when you travel around the world: Every education system on earth has the same hierarchy of subjects. Every one. Doesn't matter where you go. You'd think it would be otherwise, but it isn't. At the top are mathematics and languages, then the humanities, and the bottom are the arts. Everywhere on Earth. And in pretty much every system too, there's a hierarchy within the arts. Art and music are normally given a higher status in schools than drama and dance. There isn't an education system on the planet that teaches dance everyday to children the way we teach them mathematics. Why? Why not? I think this is rather important. I think math is very important, but so is dance. Children dance all the time if they're allowed to, we all do. We all have bodies, don't we? Did I miss a meeting? Truthfully, what happens is, as children grow up, we start to educate them progressively from the waist up. And then we focus on their heads. And slightly to one side. 
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In the next 30 years, according to UNESCO, more people worldwide will be graduating through education than since the beginning of history. More people, and it's the combination of all the things we've talked about -- technology and its transformation effect on work, and demography and the huge explosion in population. Suddenly, degrees aren't worth anything. Isn't that true? When I was a student, if you had a degree, you had a job. If you didn't have a job it's because you didn't want one. And I didn't want one, frankly. But now kids with degrees are often heading home to carry on playing video games, because you need an MA where the previous job required a BA, and now you need a PhD for the other. It's a process of academic inflation. And it indicates the whole structure of education is shifting beneath our feet. We need to radically rethink our view of intelligence.
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And for the future, [education] won't serve us. We have to rethink the fundamental principles on which we're educating our children.
Taken from Sir Ken Robinson's talk on how schools kill creativity. Highlights the important distinction between education and schooling. 

What do you think? 

Does the international community focus more on schooling? Have we lost sight of education and the need for children to be creative throughout learning? Would be great to hear your thoughts - you can share them in the comments box below. 

2 comments:

  1. Dr Ahmedani on LinkedIn:
    Great discussion. Unfortunately the objectives for schooling and education are different and change with geography and economies. The most of modern world countries have correlated schooling with financial gains and are treating learners and employers as customers. So they are tailoring curriculum keeping in view the needs of their customers enterprises and businesses. On the other-hand oriental education system which basically used to base raising students to a useful member of the society through grooming values and inculcating educational excellence, is fading and is replaced by profit earning. This problem will remain untill peoples on the earth know about the purpose of their creation and start feeling brotherhood and escaping the selfishness.

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  2. Esther on AHG Network:

    Thanks, Sadia...why many parents are homeschooling their children and homeschooling co-ops are growing.

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