Do schools kill creativity?

In this brisk TED lecture, education reformer Sir Ken Robinson makes a compelling and highly amusing case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity, rather than undermining it. With ample anecdotes and witty asides, Robinson points out the many ways our schools fail to recognize — much less cultivate — the talents of many brilliant people. “We are educating people out of their creativity,” Robinson says.

Robinson feels that Western education is geared at training workers for the defunct industrial revolution instead of training young people to think critically.

“I’m sure people listening to this have had these experiences, being pushed away from doing certain things like art or music, because there is a belief that these things aren’t very useful for getting a job.”