The title speaks for itself. Here is a link to a Ken Robinson speech on the topic I consider this the most important speech of the 21st century. thought I'd pass it along, and see what you guys have to say. also, if that speech was meaningful to you, check out this Paul Graham essay titled, Why Nerds are Unpopular
If schools killed creativity, there would be no TED: every participant went to school, most of them for a long time. Of course, the ideal school would foster each child's special talent and character. The really crappy schools in poor inner city neighbourhoods barely manage literacy and no longer even try for numeracy. The average school turns out a mediocre graduate who's heard of Shakespeare, Galileo and Hitler and can maybe calculate his change at the gas station.... What's the purpose of school? It's not to impart knowledge or allow the child to reach hir full potential. It's to 1. socialize the little beasts 2. ground them in the basic rules by which their nation/ community operates 3. prime them in the prevailing mass culture 4. prepare them for law-abiding citizenship 5. qualify them for a job. University does the same, only the job is a profession and the culture is a little more select. Creativity isn't learned. It's retained, or sequestered for future reanimation, in spite of the conforming, commodifying and consumerizing efforts of public education.
I would argue that they formed TED in spite of a sh**** education system. I can only speak from personal experience, but my most brilliant classmates/friends all loathed school. that in itself is a major problem.
I learned how to read in school. I learned math from my dad. After learning how to read, I always tried to get the books that the older students had, so I already knew most of what was taught in school. However, I benefited a lot more from socialization and exchange of ideas than I could have anywhere else. And I started my creative writing hobby in school, while waiting for others to finish the assigned work.
