Creativity is something that scientists, psychologists or anyone else can't seem to pin point. Finding a definitive sentence to describe creativity is very difficult (Boden, 1995). According to Boden,1995 the specific definition can be: "To bring into being or form out of nothing"(Boden, 1995). However this defining phrase in itself still doesn't seem to provide any form of explanation, but instead results in more curiosity and confusion culminating around the subject.
 |
Creativity is essentially
where ideas, aspirations, prospects and projects stem from (Oxford, 2016).
It is a part of someone’s mind or personality that sparks inventiveness,
suggestion and design.
Is creativity
important?
Creativity is important
because it separates people from each other. It exceeds the boundaries that
bind everyone together as one, as the same. Without creativity, there is
nothing original, nothing new, everybody is the same. And if not the same, if
not as equals, without creativity everybody is pressured to conform, to
compete, to conform to the structure of hierarchy. Everybody isn't meant to
have the same goals or the same dreams (Robinson, 2007). Individuality is important in order for people to be
themselves and fulfil their true potential. People do better at things they
love and enjoy doing (Koch, 2013). Therefore this
suggests that individually and creativity are fundamentally important when it
comes to happiness.
What makes creativity
thrive?
A test conducted by George
Land concludes that: everyone is born with creativity however people tend grow
out of it as they age (TEDx Talks, 2011).
Creativity can therefore be
learned and developed because everybody has the ability with the possibility of
unlocking it (Naiman,
2014). Creativity can therefore
thrive once one has overcome the notion that the concept does not exist or can be
attained by anyone.
Does Education Kill
creativity?
Ken Robson discusses whether
education kills creativity and explains that academic subjects are given a
higher standing and value than subjects of the arts(Robinson, 2007). This suggests that if education teaches that
academia is more important, then there is a possibility that it could mean,
education is pushing out creativity and so forth essentially, pushing out
individuality as well.
Assuming this is the case,
if education is teaching people to aspire to the same things, this could
suggest that education is therefore setting up some for failure, exposing
those who aren't meant to follow a certain path and possibility creating a
false sense of reality.
Robinson makes the
accusation that schools favour academic subjects over creative ones, this poses
the question that is this teaching students that those who succeed academically
are better people than those who chose creative paths? (Robinson, 2007) This could suggest the possibility that education may
be a representation of what society deems is right and what society is
expecting from students.
If this is the case,
the value of education itself could be seen to be merely a test of who is
better and who isn't.
The fact that creative
subjects aren't considered as seriously as academic ones are (Robinson, 2007), suggest the ideology that individuality in education
isn't taken as seriously either.
Happiness
Robinson poses the idea
that education subconsciously teaches that academia is more important than
creativity (Robinson,
2007). If this is the
case, then surely this could have the potential to diminish the happiness of
those who may feel inadequate within societies favoured and more valued
subjects.
For example, those who are
more connected and talented creatively may be considered a less valuable talent
to those who are academic.
The suggestion of this
could be that, if education is pushing people to aspire to goals they aren't
made for or don't truly believe in, those people may not be truly happy doing
what they are doing.
Happiness is going to be
diminished if individuals are made to feel what they are doing should not be
valued enough.
Conclusively, if education
pushes out creativity, freedom, individuality and expression run the risk of
being pushed out too. (Robinson, 2007).
Individuality
Is the ability for one to
exceed one's boundaries and fulfill one's potential going to be pushed out
also?
Freedom and happiness and
creativity cannot thrive within structure and boundaries. Why are boundaries
important?
For example the 150-word
count limit on this blog post could limit creativity.
How can an individual's
creativity reach one's individual potential if one is conformed to the same
confined space as everyone else? If everyone is encouraged to write the same
amount, in the same manner that is considered the "right" way to do
it, where is the creativity? What is creativity at all if there are rules and a
right or wrong?
If creativity and
individuality wasn't valued or allowed, we all may as well be clones of each
other.
Creativity is important
because it allows someone to be who he or she wants to be, to do what he or she
wants to do.
And if life's goal isn't to
be happy, then what is the point in anything at all?
References
Amabile, T.M. and Teresa M. Amabile... [et al.] (1996) Creativity in context: Update to the ‘social psychology of creativity’. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Boden, M.A. (1995) Dimensions of Creativity. illustrated, reprint ed. MIT Press.
Koch, R. (2013) Is individualism good or bad? Huffington Post, 7 October. Available from: <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-koch/is-individualism-good-or-_b_4056305.html> [Accessed 20 March 2016].
Naiman, L. (2014) What is creativity? Creativity at Work. Available from: <http://www.creativityatwork.com/2014/02/17/what-is-creativity/> [Accessed 20 March 2016].
Oxford (2016) Oxford Dictionary Oxford University Press. Available from: <http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/creativity> [Accessed 20 March 2016].
TED (2007) Do schools kill creativity? | sir Ken Robinson | TED talks , 6 January. Available from: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY> [Accessed 20 March 2016].
TEDx Talks (2011) TEDxTucson George Land the failure of success , 16 February. Available from: <https://youtu.be/ZfKMq-rYtnc> [Accessed 20 March 2016].
