TED 2

“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” Sir Ken Robinson is absolutely correct when he stated that. How many countless times did Thomas Edison work on the electric light bulb to get it working correctly? Growing up, creative learning was just a little part of elementary and middle school. The arts and music were available but were not stressed on as much as the other core school subjects. The only time that I can recall that art and music were required for school was during elementary school and middle school for one year. In high school, the following were the high school graduating requirements.

-English (4 credits)
-Health (.5 credit)
-Mathematics (2 credits)
-Physical Education (1.5 credits)
-Science (2 credits)
-Social Studies (3 credits)
-Electives (8.5 credits)

As you can see, my high school did not require art and music classes. It was offered as an elective but they were not required. The creative learning and participation that came with these classes were lost during the teenage years. Only the core subjects were focused on. As a result, a lot of kids lost interest in the art and music subjects. Sir Ken did have a point that creativity is lost as you are growing up. Partly, it is because the creative subjects were lost as kids started to grow. Kids lose interest in high school because it was core subjects that will get you into college. It is the core subjects that will make you more successful in life. That is not always true though.

Monetary measurements are a part of success, but a larger part of success is your own happiness. For example, what if I was the richest man alive? I draw and play a guitar for recreation. What if I never learned how to draw or play a guitar? How do I keep myself happy? How do I express myself out on a sheet of paper? Playing instruments to satisfy the ears? Nothing is more rewarding than expressing you creatively.