A while ago, I posted a short entry on creativity and children. The essence of this entry was that the politics of schooling with an emphasis on achievement and test scores is problematic. In fact, the current efforts in schools are actually acts of psychological violence against our children (and teachers, too!). Testing, accountability, standardized curriculum, oaths of allegiance to a corporate curriculum (yes, this is actually happening in a democracy!!!), scripted curriculums that teachers have to follow (why not hire a homeless person instead of a teacher?), classroom management as the way to “control” kids, and just so much more are all ways of killing the spirits and creativity of our children.
Sir Ken Robinson does a wonderful job of showing just how important creativity is for the education of our children. Watch his TED.com presentation – “How Schools Kill Creativity”: