Response to: Do schools kill creativity?

During our class on the 16th of January, we watched a very eye opening video of Sir Ken Robinson on TED TALKS in which he discussed the notion that schools kill creativity. This was a very interesting video and it really stuck with me as he kept the discussion light and humorous, all the while, sending forth a huge and important message. I personally find lessons leave a lasting impression when they are enjoyable, and humor is something that most everyone enjoys!

One particular part that really surprised me, was the story of the young girl (Jillian) who was a "constant interruption" in the class. This girl's teacher proceeded to write to her parents explaining that they thought she had a learning disorder (something along the lines of ADHD, though this disorder wasn't yet "invented" as Sir Ken Robinson jokes) Jillian's mother, along with Jillian, went to see a specialist and this specialist, after about 20 minutes of discussion, asked Jillian's mother to leave the room with him and turned on the radio as they left, leaving Jillian alone. As they observed Jillian, they noticed that as soon as she was left alone, she began to move to the music. The specialist then explained to her mother that Jillian does not have a learning disorder, she is a dancer. This story amazed me. Nowadays, ADHD is a commonly diagnosed disorder with which young children are being medicated for, but as this video states, is it ADHD? or is it something as simple as that these children are dancers, artists, musicians, etc, and are bored by the monotonous school setting?

I feel this video was beneficial to watch in a math class because math is one of those courses in which students are often sat in their desks, taking notes, and working on problems from a text book. It's really not much of a surprise that many children dislike mathematics.. where is the creativity in that? This video was an eye-opener. As future educators, we should strive to allow our students to explore their creativity in all subject areas, mathematics included.