Schools stifle creativity, experience-based learning and innovation

Surely, I can't be the only person that believes schools, whilst they provide you with a solid foundation of information, they do limit you when it comes to creativity and true learning through trial and error which therefore stifles innovation and has a knock on effect of damaging the economy.

When I taught the number one complaint from students about other teachers were how boring the lessons were. They were probably telling other teachers the same about my lessons. Kids will be kids. However, I used to think, 'well maybe the teachers should inject some excitement into these lessons then'. Later, I realised that was wrong, and it was simply the topics themselves that were dull, uninteresting and boring. Kids these days aren't stupid. They are gathering information, retaining what is valuable and disregarding what isn't all the time by cognitive filtering processes.

Furthermore, a lot of what is taught in school is based around the concept of 'building up solid problem solving or reasoning skills' but this is absolutely pointless if these are not taught in a way that is beneficial when it comes to solving problems faced in the real world. Schools teach to think in such a one dimensional way and often kids are rerouted back onto the curriculum path when they dare to venture from it. This is incredibly damaging and actually stops children from exploring creative paths they wish to go down themselves.

Schools are churning out a robotic-like labour workforce that has a certain skill set but we must challenge this in order to let individuality and true raw talent flourish which will not only lead to a less stressed and more happy workforce but a more efficient economy with new ideas pushed to the forefront. The education system needs a massive shaking up otherwise its going to lead to a further brain drain in the country when it comes to solving problems that arise in the real world.

Given all of this, its no wonder that so many companies are saying they cannot get school leaves or even graduates with the required skill set. We've become a country so reliant on knowledge and theoretical debate that we often forget that without implementing this and instilling a 'can-do' mindset within people at a young age, that nothing gets done. We need more people to dare to dream rather than just dream and we need young people to not see failure as bad but as a lesson itself and a lesson in which a lot can be learnt from.

Personally, whilst I think knowledge building and information gathering is key - you need the pieces of the puzzle to make the puzzle - we need to rebalance and allow those in school to take their own initiative and seize opportunity rather than be spoon fed information by governments with vested interests. Also, this spoon feeding of information through the National Curriculum is highly dangerous because so many take it as being right just because its in a textbook. Sadly, the current school system is based on the idea 'of giving people fish to feed them' rather than 'teaching people to fish so that they can feed themselves for life'. When you instil this mentality early on in life, it becomes a hard mindset to break out of, and sadly, because of this, so many dreams stay dreams because people haven't been allowed to travel down the path they wanted to do so earlier on in life.

Reply 1

tealites

Yeah,

Honestly, yes.

What people don't realize that today's school system was created around the industrial revolution, a much different time. There's so much emphasis put on standardized testing, there is no room for creativity.

I highly recommend you watch Sir Ken Robinson give a TED talk on exactly this on Youtube. His book 'The Element' is also a good extension of what he talks about in the video.

Reply 2

Tarte Tatin

My biggest criticism of schools is that children spend far too much time simply writing things. Obviously this is important to a certain extent, but people need more skills than the ability to write. As you've said, it's one-dimensional.

Reply 3

The Dictator

Government schools = government brainwashing.

Reply 4

scrawlx101

yep its true go look at tom robinson's talk on Ted Talks he says it best

Reply 5

troubadour.

I'm very much in agreement. It does seem to me that schools are constantly working under the pressure of looking good in league tables, having a high pass rate, having at least one student go to Oxbridge each year and so on because this determines whether they are able to attract more students and hence be allowed to run in this manner.

It says something about an education system when all it takes to get straight A*s at A-level is to work for hours and hours memorising previous mark schemes and this is apparently the yard stick with which we measure how educated somebody is (or at least universities do - and access to the most coveted courses and degrees is largely dependent on who wins in this flawed system).

I grant that a certain minimum intelligence is needed to get top grades but it is often those who simply have the best exam technique who get such grades. I think that's what my biggest beef with the current system is - the prioritising of exam technique over real understanding of the subject and curiosity.

Reply 6

llys

I am a huge advocate of practical learning (music, art, sports, programming, technology, strategy games), because I do think non-verbal learning develops skills that the current system completely neglects.

BUT I also have to admit that the current system is probably fine for general purposes and serves most children reasonably well.

1) I have never seen much evidence of intelligent creativity in children to be honest, so I'm not convinced there is huge potential being squandered. 2) Schools are there to teach existing knowledge at a very basic level; they are not there to "innovate" (whatever you mean by "innovate" in this context). 3) Employers always complain and always will (especially those employers who end up employing the bottom 20% of the cohort - that is kind of expected).

Reply 7

alicelilley

I agree. Education has just become who can revise for the longest rather than who has the most interesting and unique ideas. They'd rather you write something simple that gets marks in an essay rather than form exciting ideas and interpret it in a way that others haven't considered. I think it's a shame.

Reply 8

hotpud

I agree. But the current curriculum is based in part from the premise of businesses complaining that you employees lack basic skills like how to write a letter or do basic maths. And given that schools also now have responsibility for young peoples mental health and social and personal education ypu do wonder were the time is to come from to also teach them problem solving and creativity skills.