This tweet from TEDTalks triggered some questions. It is referring to a quote from Sir Ken Robinson. Looking at conversations on Twitter around the tweet, it made me think more consciously about it. To do that, I looked for answers to these questions first. Based on that I have a different view on this matter.
- What must be considered as “critical” life skill?
- Are “creativity” and “creative thinking” the same?
For starters, life skills are those that are useful in life, particularly those that are needed to deal with issues and challenges faced in life.
Of those which skills can be considered to be critical? “Critical” means indispensable or vital. Something without which it will be nearly impossible to survive. Is creativity critical?
What is creativity?
Creativity is about unleashing the potential of the mind to conceive new ideas. Those concepts could manifest themselves in any number of ways, but most often, they become something we can see, hear, smell, touch, or taste. However, creative ideas can also be thought experiments within one person’s mind.
Firstly, is creativity a talent or is it a skill? There is no consensus on this issue. There are supporters for both these views and also those who explain that it sits somewhere in the middle of the continuum between these two positions.
I lean towards it being a talent. Something that one is born with and has a natural inclination. This is because it can be fostered but cannot be taught. Skills are particularly taught such that they can be systematically practiced to result into something concrete and measurable. Creativity cannot be taught, measured and assessed. Its application in form of problem solving and innovation can be. But they are not the same. Creativity is expression of ideas. Expression that is free from boundaries and conditions. It is giving life to imagination.
Creativity and Creative Thinking
Creativity is may be required for solving certain problems but not all. Creativity is certainly important for innovation. A systematic creative thinking process involves ideation, implementation, assessment, refinement for successful innovation. That is a systematic application of creativity, knowledge and skills. Creative thinking is a systematic application of creativity to solve problems and build solutions.
Given that creativity is a talent it cannot be taught within the educational system but it should be identified and fostered within that.
Fostering Creativity
The current educational system is all about succeeding on tests and scoring. So much that it trains the mind to constantly strive to score high and succeed. It moulds the minds of students to only worry about always being correct. It hampers the spirit of creativity wherein being right or wrong does not matter.
Creativity is open-ended. Its application can result into any outcome. For instance, art is creativity. One may or may not like a work of art. But it remains an expression of the artist.
Creativity must be given the right environment to flourish. Children are born creative. How can we keep that spirit alive? Children must be allowed to be themselves without being judged. Judging creativity may dampen the spirit in those who possess that talent. At the same time it can make many appear as failures given that they are not gifted to be as creative as others.
Is creativity as critical as literacy?
The core message of the tweet is that ‘Creativity” is as critical as “literacy”. First as explained above, it is not a skill. Secondly, it cannot be taught like literacy.
We all understand that literacy is a vital skill without which survival and progress can be quite challenging in this world. On the other hand, every individual is not required to be creative in order to face the challenges of life. It is not critical. As long as the society encourages creativity, there will be creative members, who will apply it to solve problems. The will be innovation. The whole society is able to reap the benefits from their work. Creativity combined with the right environment, knowledge and skills can uplift the society as a whole.
The real need is to foster the spirit of those who are creative. The race for scores and success is dampening that talent and often killing it too. Creativity is at the root of any creative thinking, problem solving and innovation process. Once it is allowed to take hold, it will grow and lead to fruitful outcomes for both the creative person and for the society as a whole.
For more information on whether creativity is a skill, you may want to also read this article: https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-01-21-is-creativity-a-skill