Extinction of creativity due to education?

Watching the TED talk by Ted Robinson really opened my eyes to how education has affected creativity. I believe that the education system in the United States has in fact played a large role in the creative process, although it hasn’t completely killed it.

            As it was mentioned during his talk, Ted Robinson argued that creativity is just as important as normal education and that children are slowly being educated out of creativity. I honestly couldn’t agree more. From preschool up until my senior year in high school, art classes have always been my favorite. Even now, in my freshman year of college, I’m still enrolled in art and creative classes. I think these types of classes are fundamental in the learning process and that they open up the mind to different ways of thinking. The hierarchy of learning across the globe always starts with math and sciences and ends with arts and music. I think that education, especially in the early years, should have an emphasis on the arts and music, and focus a little less on math and science. Brains are developing the most at younger ages, and creativity is the best way to open up and develop them. I’m not saying that math and science aren’t important, but I don’t think they should be as heavily implemented until about second grade on.

            Throughout my life, I’ve always taken art classes if possible. They are and always have been my outlet, my stress relievers. I’ve taken classes from photography and painting to sculpture and jewelry making. Art has always been a large part of my life and I know it will always be that way. It’s helped me grow as a person and open my mind to different ways of thinking. 

Revisions, revisions

Revision plays a large part in the writing process as well as the creative process. We can all be honest and flat out declare that our first drafts are (almost) never, ever, good enough pieces of work to turn in, without revisions, on the first try. Chances are, the lack of revisions in that paper will show in the final grade. The most important thing to remember is that a shitty first draft is okay as long as you go back and revise.

I know from experience that it’s impossible to write a paper that’s exceptionally organized and well thought out while having great sentence structure on the first try.  The phrase “One and Done” doesn’t apply to writing papers. One of the most important things I try and remind myself is that it’s perfectly okay to write a sub-par first draft that’s used strictly for getting all of my ideas out on the page. From there, I go back through and organize and re-collect my thoughts and try to make everything work and flow together.

This is where revision plays a role in the creative process. Revisions are used to make your paper even better than it was before. For that to happen though, some of the creative ideas used in your paper may have to be cut out or tweaked. That awesome analogy you used in your fourth paragraph? Unless it’s really adding some spice to the paper, take it out.

There is a way to be creative in writing without going over board. Revising is a good way to keep things clear and to the point but doesn’t necessarily have to make a piece of work bland. It’s a way of guiding the paper in the direction you want it to go and make it the best it can possibly be.