Creativity Ted Talks

Creativity TED Talks
The argument of if schools foster or kill creativity is one for the ages. View these TedTalks from
both sides of the spectrum and answer the questions below. Expand thoughtfully in all of your
answers!
Before Watching
1. How do you define creativity?
Creativity is the ability to create something original and new.
2. Do you consider yourself a creative person? What has your experience been in school
with creativity?
I don’t consider myself a very creative person. I do performing arts, so I get to interpret
and add my own flare to my dance and music, but I never fully create anything new. In
school, I have never really had the option to expand my creativity.
3. Do you think schools kill creativity or do they foster creativity? Explain.
I think that schools kill creativity because they focus on learning instead of creating.
Schools provide art classes, but in normal classes they don’t allow much creative
pursuit.
While Watching
Take lots of notes for each video and identify the claim, purpose, and evidence of each!
Do Schools Kill Creativity? Why Real Creativity is Based on Knowledge

Sir Ken Robinson Tim Leunig
Claim: Claim:
- Creativity is as important as literacy - The most creative ideas around the
and should be treated as such within world are based on knowledge.
schools. - Schools teach children knowledge to
- We are educating children out of their then think outside of the box and
creative capacities. apply it.
Purpose: Purpose:
- To promote education of creativity in - To prove Ken Robinson wrong that
schools schools kill creativity, and instead
show that worldchanging innovation
is based on knowledge.
Evidence: Evidence:
- Adults become scared of being wrong - The technological innovations of the
and so grow out of their creative industrial revolution were all based on
capacities. knowledge (like the steam engine)
- Many people that are incredibly - Pauline Williams was able to save the
talented and creative are told they’re lives of thousands of children a year
not because of the original industrial based on her innovation based on
academic hierarchy. This means that knowledge
the people with intelligent, academic - Literacy is the foundation of
skills are seen to succeed, while those knowledge and should be treated
with creative inclinations are told they with respect.
will not. - Knowledge is important to be a good
- Intelligence is diverse, dynamic, and citizen
distinct.
- Gillian Lynne was a dancer, and
though she didn’t do well in school,
she was able to succeed in the dance
field.
After Watching
1. Does how we define “creativity” matter? Do Robinson and Leunig have the same
definition? Explain.
How we define creativity does matter. Robinson and Leunig seem to have very different
conceptions of creativity, and so they almost seem to be making different arguments. Robinson
said that creativity was a form of intelligence that is diverse, dynamic, and distinct. Leunig said
that creativity is based on previous knowledge. While both agree that creativity is creating
something original, Robinson believed that it has more to do with the arts than the sciences,
while Leunig believes that it could be both.
2. Do schools kill or foster creativity? With which speaker do you agree/disagree? Explain.
I agree with Robinson that schools kill creativity and allow people to grow out of their
creativity. In my own personal experience, I have never been encouraged to be creative in
school, and so it is difficult to come up with original or new ideas. I don’t like being wrong, so
it’s hard for me to try new things. The arts in schools are also given very little precedence- they
are viewed as electives.
3. Can creativity be taught? If so, how? What responsibility do schools have in the
endeavor?
I think that creativity can be fostered, not necessarily taught. I think that schools should
allow space for that creativity to grow, but ‘teaching’ creativity undermines creating something
new. Instead, schools should allow time for children to expand their imaginations. Imaginative
children often have a vast array of creativity, so schools (especially at the elementary level)
should encourage make-believe, creative writing, storytelling, charades and other games that
encourage creativity.

Creativity Ted Talks

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Creativity Ted Talks

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Creativity Ted Talks

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Creativity TED Talks

1. How do you define creativity?

Creativity is the ability to create something original and new.

3. Do you think schools kill creativity or do they foster creativity? Explain.

Do Schools Kill Creativity? Why Real Creativity is Based on Knowledge

You might also like