Do Schools Kill Creativity?

Sir Ken Robinson is exceptional. I could listen to him all day. In his speech when he talked about Jillian being taken to the doctors before ADD/ADHD was "invented" created a deep thinking in my idea of what ADD/ADHD is and how it is treated. Robinson said the some people need to "move to think". The one thing that came to mind is that while I am at work (I am a supervisor in a school kitchen) I am constantly on the move. The more I move the more things I write on my list of things to accomplish for that day. I don't have ADD/ADHD, however it makes sense. Sometimes when I am at my computer trying to do my homework for this class and others my brain seems to "clog up" and I get frustrated by the idea of not being able to complete the lesson. However if I get up and do something, like a load of laundry or the dishes, I can remember what I wanted to write down. Perhaps it is just because I don't like housework, I don't know but it sometimes works.
"Creativity is as important as literacy and should be treated as such!" This is a great statement. I do believe that childrens creativity should be expressed and not confined. I have seen in my own children that they have been prepared to be wrong. My children are so afraid of failing tests that they have convinced themselves that they will not learn even if they do study. But, I have seen preschoolers who will try anything and not care if they can do it or not. These kids are not afraid to take chances because their minds are an empty slate. They have not experienced the fear of being wrong and told they are wrong.
In my opinion he is right about the unpredictability of teaching our children today. The way we live is changing. Just like it was perfect to teach our children to meet the needs of industry in the 19th century. Times have changed, education needs to as well. Students need to be more creative and like doing what they do. Technology is exploding as the new career of the future. The students who are creative enough to create video games, computer programs and all that technological savvy stuff are the ones who find the careers. Education has changed in that it is starting to accept the exceptional child in the inclusive classroom. Perhaps it is now time to accept that there are many ways to learn and many things to learn; and we should not squash these ideas.