More nonsense about creativity (I kid - it's definitely not nonsense)

I think that as adults we have a duty to keep reminding our children not to fear being wrong. As Sir Ken Robinson said, children don't learn creativity, they are born with it. They will try anything because they don't fear being wrong, or making a mistake.

The problem is that the school system teaches them that being wrong or making a mistake is bad. If you learn that making a mistake isn't good, you eventually stop taking risks. You meander through life. The school system educates the creativity out of you, unless you attend a school that promotes creativity above all else.

Worse, if children fear being wrong, they will stop challenging established theories and principles. Has every scientific theory stood the test of time? Absolutely not. It's a wonder that scientists have the courage to challenge what they were taught.

We need to remind our kids that nobody is 'absolutely right', nothing is completely 'figured out'. Our message to them needs to be 'challenge everything'. Embrace failure. Take risks. Help evolve the ideas of others, especially if they don't match your own ideas. Create. Anything. Nothing is finished. And there is no such thing as good or bad art. Art simply is. Whether you connect with it or not is just subjective. It was important in the mind of its creator and that's all that matters.

Incidentally, all of these messages are relevant to adults as well. The problem is finding adults who can still believe it. And if you do find them, send them to improv class.

This was inspired by a classic TED Talk by Sir Ken Robinson.