Ken-Robinson--How-schools-kill-creativity

0:11!Goodmorning.Howareyou?It'sbeengreat,hasn'tit?I'vebeenblownawaybythewholething.Infact,I'mleaving.(Laughter)Therehavebeenthreethemes,haven'tthere,runningthroughtheconference,whicharerelevanttowhatIwanttotalkabout.Oneistheextraordinaryevidenceofhumancreativityinallofthepresentationsthatwe'vehadandinallofthepeoplehere.Justthevarietyofitandtherangeofit.Thesecondisthatit'sputusinaplacewherewehavenoideawhat'sgoingtohappen,intermsofthefuture.Noideahowthismayplayout.!0:56!Ihaveaninterestineducation--actually,whatIfindiseverybodyhasaninterestineducation.Don'tyou?Ifindthisveryinteresting.Ifyou'reatadinnerparty,andyousayyouworkineducation--actually,you'renotoftenatdinnerparties,frankly,ifyouworkineducation.(Laughter)You'renotasked.Andyou'reneveraskedback,curiously.That'sstrangetome.Butifyouare,andyousaytosomebody,youknow,theysay,Whatdoyoudo?andyousayyouworkineducation,youcanseethebloodrunfromtheirface.They'relike,OhmyGod,youknow,Whyme?Myonenightoutallweek.(Laughter)Butifyouaskabouttheireducation,theypinyoutothewall.Becauseit'soneofthosethingsthatgoesdeepwithpeople,amIright?Likereligion,andmoneyandotherthings.Ihaveabiginterestineducation,andIthinkwealldo.Wehaveahugevestedinterestinit,partlybecauseit'seducationthat'smeanttotakeusintothisfuturethatwecan'tgrasp.Ifyouthinkofit,childrenstartingschoolthisyearwillberetiringin2065.Nobodyhasaclue--despitealltheexpertisethat'sbeenonparadeforthepastfourdays--whattheworldwilllooklikeinfiveyears'time.Andyetwe'remeanttobeeducatingthemforit.Sotheunpredictability,Ithink,isextraordinary.!2:24!Andthethirdpartofthisisthatwe'veallagreed,nonetheless,onthereallyextraordinarycapacitiesthatchildrenhave--theircapacitiesforinnovation.Imean,Sirenalastnightwasamarvel,wasn'tshe?Justseeingwhatshecoulddo.Andshe'sexceptional,butIthinkshe'snot,sotospeak,exceptionalinthewholeofchildhood.Whatyouhavethereisapersonofextraordinarydedicationwhofoundatalent.Andmycontentionis,allkidshavetremendoustalents.Andwesquanderthem,prettyruthlessly.SoIwanttotalkabouteducationandIwanttotalkaboutcreativity.Mycontentionisthatcreativitynowisasimportantineducationasliteracy,andweshouldtreatitwiththesamestatus.(Applause)Thankyou.Thatwasit,bytheway.Thankyouverymuch.(Laughter)So,15minutesleft.Well,Iwasborn...no.(Laughter)!3:28!Iheardagreatstoryrecently--Ilovetellingit--ofalittlegirlwhowasinadrawinglesson.Shewassixandshewasattheback,drawing,andtheteachersaidthislittlegirlhardlyeverpaidattention,andinthisdrawinglessonshedid.Theteacherwasfascinatedandshewentovertoherandshesaid,Whatareyoudrawing?Andthegirlsaid,I'mdrawingapictureofGod.Andtheteachersaid,ButnobodyknowswhatGodlookslike.Andthegirlsaid,Theywillinaminute.(Laughter)!4:03!WhenmysonwasfourinEngland--actuallyhewasfoureverywhere,tobehonest.(Laughter)Ifwe'rebeingstrictaboutit,whereverhewent,hewasfourthatyear.HewasintheNativityplay.Doyourememberthestory?No,itwasbig.Itwasabigstory.MelGibsondidthesequel.Youmayhaveseenit:NativityII.ButJamesgotthepartofJoseph,whichwewerethrilledabout.Weconsideredthistobeoneoftheleadparts.WehadtheplacecrammedfullofagentsinT-shirts:JamesRobinsonISJoseph!(Laughter)Hedidn'thavetospeak,butyouknowthebitwherethethreekingscomein.Theycomeinbearinggifts,andtheybringgold,frankincenseandmyrrh.Thisreallyhappened.WeweresittingthereandIthinktheyjustwentoutofsequence,becausewetalkedtothelittleboyafterwardandwesaid,YouOKwiththat?Andhesaid,Yeah,why?Wasthatwrong?Theyjustswitched,thatwasit.Anyway,thethreeboyscamein--four-year-oldswithteatowelsontheirheads--andtheyputtheseboxesdown,andthefirstboysaid,Ibringyougold.Andthesecondboysaid,Ibringyoumyrrh.Andthethirdboysaid,Franksentthis.(Laughter)!5:22!Whatthesethingshaveincommonisthatkidswilltakeachance.Iftheydon'tknow,they'llhaveago.AmIright?They'renotfrightenedofbeingwrong.Now,Idon'tmeantosaythatbeingwrongisthesamethingasbeingcreative.Whatwedoknowis,ifyou'renotpreparedtobewrong,you'llnevercomeupwithanythingoriginal--ifyou'renotpreparedtobewrong.Andbythetimetheygettobeadults,mostkidshavelostthatcapacity.Theyhavebecomefrightenedofbeingwrong.Andwerunourcompanieslikethis,bytheway.Westigmatizemistakes.Andwe'renowrunningnationaleducationsystemswheremistakesaretheworstthingyoucanmake.Andtheresultisthatweareeducatingpeopleoutoftheircreativecapacities.Picassooncesaidthis--hesaidthatallchildrenarebornartists.Theproblemistoremainanartistaswegrowup.Ibelievethispassionately,thatwedon'tgrowintocreativity,wegrowoutofit.Orrather,wegeteducatedoutifit.Sowhyisthis?!6:21!IlivedinStratford-on-Avonuntilaboutfiveyearsago.Infact,wemovedfromStratfordtoLosAngeles.Soyoucanimaginewhataseamlesstransitionthatwas.(Laughter)Actually,welivedinaplacecalledSnitterfield,justoutsideStratford,whichiswhereShakespeare'sfatherwasborn.Areyoustruckbyanewthought?Iwas.Youdon'tthinkofShakespearehavingafather,doyou?Doyou?Becauseyoudon'tthinkofShakespearebeingachild,doyou?Shakespearebeingseven?Ineverthoughtofit.Imean,hewassevenatsomepoint.Hewasinsomebody'sEnglishclass,wasn'the?Howannoyingwouldthatbe?(Laughter)Musttryharder.Beingsenttobedbyhisdad,youknow,toShakespeare,Got