The video discusses how modern educational systems may stifle children's innate creative genius, referencing a NASA study which showed that while 98% of children aged 3 to 5 were deemed creative geniuses, this number decreases drastically as they grow older. The primary reason attributed to this is the rigid educational structure that emphasizes conformity over creativity, fear of mistakes, and a hierarchy that prioritizes academic disciplines over creative subjects. The lack of emphasis on creative subjects in schools sends the message that imagination and self-expression are less important, which ultimately leads to a decline in creativity.

Furthermore, the video highlights the importance of recognizing creativity as equally valuable as literacy, referencing education expert Sir Ken Robinson's advocacy for integrating creativity in learning. The speaker argues for a reevaluation of educational principles, emphasizing the necessity of embracing diverse talents and innovative thinking to prepare students for an unpredictable future. Inspiration is drawn from Scandinavian countries, which rank high in educational systems by using a student-centered approach that fosters collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity over rote memorization.

Main takeaways from the video:

Please remember to turn on the CC button to view the subtitles.

Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. strangled [ˈstræŋɡəld] - (verb) - To prevent something from developing or growing by restricting it. - Synonyms: (suffocated, inhibited, suppressed)

It is nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of winkery Albert Einstein.

2. diminish [dɪˈmɪnɪʃ] - (verb) - To make or become less; decrease in size, extent, or range. - Synonyms: (reduce, decrease, lessen)

So why does education diminish creativity?

3. hierarchy [ˈhaɪərˌɑːrki] - (noun) - A system or organization in which people or groups are ranked one above the other according to status or authority. - Synonyms: (ranking, order, structure)

Well, when you look at the hierarchy of school subjects, any mathematical or scientific subjects are always placed at the very top.

4. renowned [rɪˈnaʊnd] - (adjective) - Known or talked about by many people; famous. - Synonyms: (famous, celebrated, esteemed)

Later, he went on to become one of the most renowned physicists and mathematicians of all time.

5. rigid [ˈrɪdʒɪd] - (adjective) - Unable to bend or be forced out of shape; not flexible. - Synonyms: (inflexible, strict, firm)

Einstein's frustration with rigid school curriculums led him to drop out of school at 15 years old.

6. transactional [trænˈzækʃənəl] - (adjective) - Relating to the conducting of business, especially buying or selling. - Synonyms: (commercial, trading, business)

and it doesn't just make that relationship feel like a transactional one.

7. autonomy [ɔːˈtɒnəmi] - (noun) - The right or condition of self-government, especially in a particular sphere. - Synonyms: (independence, self-government, sovereignty)

As when students aren't being micromanaged, this encourages their independent thinking and autonomy.

8. promote [prəˈmoʊt] - (verb) - To support or actively encourage (a cause, venture, etc.); further the progress of. - Synonyms: (encourage, support, advance)

So shouldn't we instead promote the creative minds of the young...

9. profound [prəˈfaʊnd] - (adjective) - Very great or intense; having or showing great knowledge or insight. - Synonyms: (deep, intense, insightful)

Education is much more profound than that.

10. micromanaged [ˈmaɪkrəʊˌmænɪdʒd] - (verb) - To control every part, however small, of an activity or organization. - Synonyms: (controlled minutely, scrutinized, overseen)

As when students aren't being micromanaged, this encourages their independent thinking.

Killing Creativity - Sidonie Saunier - TEDxYouth@LIStGermain

It is nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet. Have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of winkery Albert Einstein. Now, a couple of months ago, I was reading a story about a NASA study conducted in the 1970s related to the creative genius. A group of 1600 children enrolled into the program and were subject to a test that NASA had put together. The Results showed that 98% of children aged from three to five years old were labeled as geniuses.

However, over the next couple of years, you see this trend start to significantly drop. By the time these children are 10, only 12%, only 30% of them are labeled as geniuses. By the time they're teenagers, 12% of them are considered to be geniuses. And by the time they're adults, this rate drops to a mere 2%. So how do we get from 98% to 2% in 15 years? Well, the conclusion they came to was our education systems.

So why does education diminish creativity? Well, education starts in the very early stages of our development. As children. We're always taught to color inside the lines, and if it was done otherwise, it was considered to be messy. And slowly we absorbed the notions of right and wrong answers. Often as a child, I was afraid to participate in my classes because I was scared of getting the wrong answer. And I'm sure this was the case for many others as well. And I'm not saying that being creative is the same as being wrong, but what I am saying is that in order to come up with original ideas, you have to be prepared to be wrong.

And now we have created national education systems where mistakes are the worst things that you can possibly do. This fear of getting wrong answers doesn't drive us to think new ideas or try new things. It drives us away from that. And so with the structure of our education systems, we don't grow more creative time. Instead, as you saw on that graph, our creative minds just disappear.

So why do schools drive out creativity? Well, when you look at the hierarchy of school subjects, any mathematical or scientific subjects are always placed as at the very top. Second come humanities, so philosophy, literature, social sciences. And lastly come the artistic and creative subjects. And these artistic subjects are actually divided into two subcategories. The finer or higher arts are deemed to be music, painting and drawing. And lastly come the performing arts, so, so drama, theater and dance.

And most of these artistic subjects aren't even mandatory. And when we did used to have them, it was usually when we were younger, in elementary school. And when we had these subjects, they were often treated as breaks or lesser activities rather than integral parts of our education. And so when creative subjects are framed as mere breaks, it sends a message that creativity, imaginative thinking and self expression aren't as important as traditional academic discipline. And therefore students whose strength lies in these disciplines tend to steer away from anything like them.

Now, to go back to that quote I mentioned about Einstein at the beginning. Einstein actually didn't fare too well in school himself. He was known to be quite a daydreamer. He was forgetful, and he didn't really socialize well with any of his other classmates. Einstein's frustration with rigid school curriculums led him to drop out of school at 15 years old. Later, he went on to become one of the most renowned physicists and mathematicians of all time.

This goes to show how a rigid school structure, rigid school curriculum can limit the potential of students. By downplaying creative subjects, schools can miss out on fostering so many diverse talents, including the kind of imaginative thinking that lead to groundbreaking ideas. Sir Ken Robinson, who was an education expert and who strongly believed in the necessity of creativity in education, stated that creativity now is as important as literacy and we should treat it with the same status. And many would find the statement probably quite exaggerated. But that couldn't be further from the truth. Because without the creative nature of the human mind, we would have never been able to find any solution to any problem that we have ever had.

So how do we keep this 90% genius rate? How do we move forward? Well, quite frankly, we need to rethink the entire structure and principles of our education systems. Because today we are teaching and educating our children uniformly, all in the same way, when each and every one of them is so different and every one of them capable of delivering great new ideas. If we educate all these kids the same way, how do we get new perspectives? How do we get innovative solutions? How do we get fresh approaches?

We don't. And we won't. We are educating our children uniformly for a future which we don't even know what will look like in the next two, three, 20 years from now? And today our world is evolving so rapidly and facing unprecedented change, and we're faced with constant challenges that require various solutions. So shouldn't we instead promote the creative minds of the young as to have many diverse viewpoints and approaches to challenges, as to face an uncertain future with innovation, adaptability, and ready to tackle the future that we yet can't foresee?

So when I was looking into solutions to this problem, I looked into schools and countries that are actively doing this Today. And when you look at schools that consistently rank, countries that consistently rank at the top in top world rankings in terms of education, those are Scandinavian countries. These countries contribute a disproportionate amount to the creative fields of music, game design and technological innovation. Countries such as Ikea and Soundcloud, which are Swedish, Lego, which is Danish.

And the main reason for this is because of the way they educate their children. These countries used student centered learning, which is an approach that encourages collaboration, critical thinking and creativity, rather than just remote memorization. And so I believe that we can inspire ourselves from these countries educational structure and take example from them in classrooms. This means we should privilege autonomy and trust. As when students aren't being micromanaged, this encourages their independent thinking. If they're in a freer environment, you will find that your students will be more prone to develop new ideas.

This also means we need to create an equal and supportive environment between students and teachers. For example, in Scandinavian countries, most students actually call their teachers by their first names. I know this probably seems quite unusual, especially here, but this really allows for a safe environment for students. But not only it allows for a genuine connection between students and teachers, and it doesn't just make that relationship feel like a transactional one. If students are in a safer environment, they will be more likely to develop and share new ideas because they feel freer to do so.

So how would this translate to into concrete examples? Well, this means we should encourage collaboration between students, get them working together, get them engaged, and care about what they actually are studying and learning. Because education is so much more than just grades and exams. Education is much more profound than that. I believe that students should also be required to take any form of artistic or creative subject, whether that be pottery, drama or dance, painting. And they should take these from the earliest stages of their schooling in elementary school until their final year of high school. And students should have these subjects for as many hours during the week as any other traditional academic discipline such as mathematics or literature, because both are of the same importance.

So I ask you today not to conform to the outdated notion that creativity is just a secondary skill and thumb your nose at it, but rather embrace the unique abilities of every student. But not only to embrace creativity in all its forms and encourage it. Let's encourage our students to think differently, explore new ideas, approach challenges from various angles. Because creativity is not optional, it's a necessity. And our world needs it. Because the future belongs to those who think differently, not uniformly.

Thank you.

EDUCATION, CREATIVITY, INSPIRATION, INNOVATION, PHILOSOPHY, SCANDINAVIA, TEDX TALKS