Are Schools Killing Creativity?

Every education system in America teaches the same main subjects; mathematics, sciences, and languages are given a higher priority than humanities courses, and humanities courses are given more attention than creative art courses. The education system focuses more on the child’s critical thinking ability rather than their creative skills. I’ve attended three different high schools in my high school career, two that were out of state. I’m content to say that my high schools offered various amounts of curriculum in the creative art division. I have spoken to students who have recently moved have come from schools that offer more academic courses rather than art courses. Being in the education system myself, I can see how some schools limit the creativity and innovation within students. I want to bring attention to the limitations to the schools that believe art courses aren’t important to our education. My contention is that creativity now is as important in education as literacy and problem solving, and it deserves to be treated with the same status.

           With a greater emphasis being placed on math and literacy skills and on standardized testing, fine arts have been some of the first programs to be cut from a school budget and curriculum, according to Keira Quintero who works within educational finance for schools. We should be focused on making these experiences more, not less accessible to the students. Standardized testing is, in a way, the grand example of an industrial method of an education. It’s not there to identify what individuals can do. It’s there to look at things to which they can conform. Creativity isn’t a test to take, a skill to learn, or a program to develop. Creativity is seeing things in new ways and breaking barriers. It’s about creating a change in education in which people can develop their own solutions with external support from their personal curriculum.

            Ultimately the result is that we are educating people out of their creative capacities. Picasso once said, “All children are born artists.” The problem is to remain an artist as we grow up. I believe this passionately that we don’t grow into creativity; we are taught to grow out of it because of the education system. We have to rethink the fundamental principles on which their educating students. Schools need to do is organize around helping students find the disciplines that most motivate them.