This morning, when I was watching Ken Robinson’s “Do school kill creativity?” TED TALK he made a statement that piqued my curiosity. He said,

“Many creative, brilliant, talented people think they are not, because everything they were good at school wasn’t valued or was stigmatized”.

Okay. Imagine this: A classroom filled with students. The teacher after dishing out some mathematical theories and formulas went ahead and gave a test. Some students were talented when it comes to calculation, others were just okay, and some students totally sucked at mathematical calculations. The teacher rate every students work. Some got an A, others B, some D while the rest got a big fat F.

The students who got A’s are applauded for their wonderful performance; they now believe they are very much brilliant than others but those who got an F…Well, they start to feel like they are losers and aren’t good enough.

When I was in Grade 4, my teacher once told me, “You see these stories you keep writing? They won’t get you anywhere if you keep getting poor grades in school”.
You see, I was just seven years old then but that statement alone demoralized me so much that I stopped writing and focused on school work.


There is this quote that I love; I am not sure who actually said it. It says;

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid”.

You know why right? A fish CANNOT climb. It’s like asking a monkey that is very perfect in climbing trees to go swimming. The monkey will definitely get drowned.

That’s exactly how we humans are. We all have our niche; something we are so good at. But you see, our educational system places much emphasis on academic subjects that our natural gifts are brushed aside and dumped in a waste bin. We are told, “You can never make out a living doing them”, just like my Grade 4 teacher had told me.


In schools, we are being programmed like robots; listen to teachers/lecturers dish out lessons and theories; some even read directly from the textbooks like they are newscasters; they give us notes to copy and then at the end of the day we ought to memorize every damn information in our notes and textbooks, take a test and pour out all we had crammed.

One week later, ask us what we read, we can’t even remember and the cycle goes on and on.
If by chance, you aren’t successful in the test/exam, the school system deems you a failure. You hide your face in shame and conclude that you are a loser.
It’s so sad that in our battle and pursuit for good grades, degrees and certificates, we have lost the true meaning of creativity.

Tests and exams aren’t a yardstick for checking creativity. It goes beyond that. Creativity means thinking out of the box, breaking boundaries and seeing beyond the ordinary.


In schools, we are taught to be scared of making mistakes. There is only one answer and if you are wrong, it’s one of the worst things that can ever happen to you. You don’t even get a chance to question most things you are taught. You just accept them hook, link and sinker. But how can anyone ever come up with something original if the person isn’t prepared to make mistakes?

Don’t get me wrong. I am not trying to take a jab at teachers or school administrators. Truth is, they are doing their best to help us learn. The problem is just the way they go about it.

Perhaps if the same emphasis placed on academic subjects is placed on helping students develop their natural gifts, it will create more opportunities for divergent thinking.

And maybe, we won’t have a bunch of frustrated adults seated in their offices, tired of their jobs and wishing they were brave enough to go after their dreams. Don’t settle in a box.



http://annsbleedingpen.com/blog/2017/10/21/schools-stifle-creativity-dreams/

cc: lalasticlala, mynd44, Richiez, olawalebabs, Fynestboi

Well, our education system is be-devilled with lots of ills and maladies. A system that focuses not on who you are but on whom you are configured to become is bound to under-develop you.

This has even become so pronounced that it now has an infamous cliche “school has to pass through you as you pass through school” to subtly express the worrisome situation that school is meant to crush your natural latent abilities and bull out “a new You.”

The Nigerian Eduaction system, in particular, is like the proverbial rat-race. We just keep going forth and back with all Our “Nigerian factors” as garnishment.
Our case is even worse as our people literally abhor “thinking out of the box ” in challenging the status quo of our fundamental and foundational institutions.

We must therefore make conscious efforts to spread this message and positively impact the lives of our future generation.

SCHOOL- "a system designd to condition U against YOU"

nNEOo:
SCHOOL- "a system designd to condition U against YOU"

Aptly put...

scholarsarena:
This morning, when I was watching Ken Robinson’s “Do school kill creativity?” TED TALK he made a statement that piqued my curiosity. He said,

“Many creative, brilliant, talented people think they are not, because everything they were good at school wasn’t valued or was stigmatized”.

Okay. Imagine this: A classroom filled with students. The teacher after dishing out some mathematical theories and formulas went ahead and gave a test. Some students were talented when it comes to calculation, others were just okay, and some students totally sucked at mathematical calculations. The teacher rate every students work. Some got an A, others B, some D while the rest got a big fat F.

The students who got A’s are applauded for their wonderful performance; they now believe they are very much brilliant than others but those who got an F…Well, they start to feel like they are losers and aren’t good enough.

When I was in Grade 4, my teacher once told me, “You see these stories you keep writing? They won’t get you anywhere if you keep getting poor grades in school”.
You see, I was just seven years old then but that statement alone demoralized me so much that I stopped writing and focused on school work.


There is this quote that I love; I am not sure who actually said it. It says;

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid”.

You know why right? A fish CANNOT climb. It’s like asking a monkey that is very perfect in climbing trees to go swimming. The monkey will definitely get drowned.

That’s exactly how we humans are. We all have our niche; something we are so good at. But you see, our educational system places much emphasis on academic subjects that our natural gifts are brushed aside and dumped in a waste bin. We are told, “You can never make out a living doing them”, just like my Grade 4 teacher had told me.


In schools, we are being programmed like robots; listen to teachers/lecturers dish out lessons and theories; some even read directly from the textbooks like they are newscasters; they give us notes to copy and then at the end of the day we ought to memorize every damn information in our notes and textbooks, take a test and pour out all we had crammed.

One week later, ask us what we read, we can’t even remember and the cycle goes on and on.
If by chance, you aren’t successful in the test/exam, the school system deems you a failure. You hide your face in shame and conclude that you are a loser.
It’s so sad that in our battle and pursuit for good grades, degrees and certificates, we have lost the true meaning of creativity.

Tests and exams aren’t a yardstick for checking creativity. It goes beyond that. Creativity means thinking out of the box, breaking boundaries and seeing beyond the ordinary.


In schools, we are taught to be scared of making mistakes. There is only one answer and if you are wrong, it’s one of the worst things that can ever happen to you. You don’t even get a chance to question most things you are taught. You just accept them hook, link and sinker. But how can anyone ever come up with something original if the person isn’t prepared to make mistakes?

Don’t get me wrong. I am not trying to take a jab at teachers or school administrators. Truth is, they are doing their best to help us learn. The problem is just the way they go about it.

Perhaps if the same emphasis placed on academic subjects is placed on helping students develop their natural gifts, it will create more opportunities for divergent thinking.

And maybe, we won’t have a bunch of frustrated adults seated in their offices, tired of their jobs and wishing they were brave enough to go after their dreams. Don’t settle in a box.



http://annsbleedingpen.com/blog/2017/10/21/schools-stifle-creativity-dreams/

cc: lalasticlala, mynd44, Richiez, olawalebabs, Fynestboi

. y u too de copy n paste

Inspiring write-up.If only all will read before commenting.



Our educational system makes me wonder if education as a whole is overrated. Being academically brilliant doesn't guarantee that you will be more succesful than a dullard. (our president is a dullard,ffk just an ex minister)

swiz123:
Inspiring write-up.If only all will read before commenting.



Our educational system makes me wonder if education as a whole is overrated. Being academically brilliant doesn't guarantee that you will be more succesful than a dullard. (our president is a dullard,ffk just an ex minister)

this issue is happening all around the world, stop being ignorant by blaming the president

Buhari sef

Quace:
. y u too de copy n paste

It's called 'sharing valuable news' and there is no law in nigeria against sharing information as long as the source is referenced.

Obviously, you don't know these because you are just an empty head with big mouth

swiz123:
Inspiring write-up.If only all will read before commenting.



Our educational system makes me wonder if education as a whole is overrated. Being academically brilliant doesn't guarantee that you will be more succesful than a dullard. (our president is a dullard,ffk just an ex minister)

My brother, if wishes for nigeria were horses, our country would have been better.

scholarsarena:

It's called 'sharing valuable news' and there is no law in nigeria against sharing information as long as the source is referenced.

Obviously, you don't know these because you are just an empty head with big mouth

even the reference u gave is not the original source , this was taken out of a video on YouTube by prince ea "I just sued the sch system"

Quace:
even the reference u gave is not the original source , this was taken out of a video on YouTube by prince ea "I just sued the sch system"

You obviously didn't read the post.
If you did, you would have noticed how the write-up was inspired and moreso, the fact that the source of inspiration was duly acknowledged.

Always read before making shameless accusations

scholarsarena:


You obviously didn't read the post.
If you did, you would have noticed how the write-up was inspired and moreso, the fact that the source of inspiration was duly acknowledged.

Always read before making shameless accusations

I give up on u

You are far away from home, go back kid.

Quace:
I give up on u

yes na. most definitely