I Think Therefore I Think I Am...

On the School anti creativity movement

This is a matter which affects me as a writer, Filmmaker, and aspiring 3D artist personally. Our schools do not do enough to encourage creativity in young minds like they should. Creativity is the most important thing you could possibly have, and if you can retain that throughout adulthood then I admire you. The problem lies partly in the amount of work you have to do. Once you realize not studying and hoping for the best won't work anymore, it is very possible to hit a creative low because between chemistry and math when do I have time to write, draw, film, or in any other way get my ideas down to paper or a digital memory drive? I sometimes get the feeling the school believes you do not have a social life outside of school and that your entire childhood should be devoted to your education. Strictly speaking there is nothing wrong with having a good education. As a matter of fact, I quite condone a good education, but as soon as school starts to take over your life and you do not have time for anything except worrying about grades something should change. Now I hear you saying: "What about art and music classes aren't they creative?" Well, yes and no. Sure art and music are two very creative things but the school system goes about teaching them in a way that transforms creativity into a chore. Take art class for example: You are told what project you have to do and what criteria it has to fill, if you want to advance creativity let me decide what I want to do myself. This is exactly the problem creative courses at normal schools (I say normal schools as this category excludes schools that teach creative courses i.e. Film school) face. They are too scripted. I recently read an article on gamespot talking about narratives in video games. It says this about telling stories:

"How do you tell a good story? If you're human, it comes naturally. The innate ability to recount our experiences and use imagination to experiment without taking risks is an evolutionary trait that humanity shares across all cultures as a way to educate, entertain, and preserve ourselves for future generations."

And it is with this that I make my point. Being able to tell stories and make art is important. We need revolutionary storytellers and artists in the likes of Steven Spielberg, J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, Ken Levine, and so many other creative minds of our generation because they and their works are what will be remembered as the art and the culture of the time and generation. If everyone that went to school now became a simple office drone due to lack of creativity, our story rich culture, especially today's story rich culture with thousands of options available for you to tell your story, would die. So instead of teaching us exclusively about the declination of verbs or Johann Sebastian Bach's life story, throw in some creative writing tips, give inspiration. Because being creative was, is and always will be what really sets us apart from any other creature on this humble planet we call earth.