The importance of creativity in Education
I am concerned by changes in education in the UK today, especially the developments in State provision which have reduced the significance of Art in the curriculum.
Those who make claims such as "All
Schools should be Art Schools" excite me. I am motivated by the
observation that many of our best students are attracted to the Arts
and that the country is missing a trick if it fails to make them more
economically productive.
The economy needs more creative people and yet increasingly school curricula emphasise analytic skills rather than teaching students to make things. I understand that the economy needs workers who can carry out defined tasks with efficiency and economy. But a growing economy needs people that can create new things and make them. That's where new businesses start and its the basis for how an economy grows.
Art in the curriculum is one place where students are allowed to be free-thinkers, to be creative and to experiment beyond the boundaries set by a syllabus. Art develops creativity.
But, let's consider Science for a moment. Science is hard, I agree, for most students. And it's important. Maths, in particular, is probably vital. So, I agree with trends to firm up the teaching of mathematics. But where in the Science curriculum is creativity encountered? Where, in particular, is free-thinking encouraged?
This September a new Computing curriculum will launch in Schools throughout the UK. Its emphasis will be on programming (actual coding) and that is exactly where it should be. This is an important development, don't get me wrong. I enjoy programming myself. I use it to generate Art. Programming is "making things", just like Art is "making things". But programming is not a substitute for freestyle Art by any means.
The Department of Education is missing a trick. If School students were to able to combine Art with Programming (and I mean proper Art, not just computer generated art) then perhaps the freedom of spirit that Art develops and the ethos of making things that it engenders will extend into their creative programming experiments, with possibly astonishing effects.
Moreover, Art is an excellent vehicle for encouraging students to take programming seriously. To not dismiss it like they do other science subjects, because it seems irrelevant to them. If students see how programming can be used to create images, music, videos, poetry ... and then allowed to free-think how they can expolit that, then I predict they will develop and enthusiasm for science that matches their enthusiasm for art. And such people will do amazing things.
There is a great deal that scientists
and engineers can learn from artists as thinkers, as creative
individuals, as explorers; so I believe that all students should be
taught Art, not just appreciation of Art, but production of Art.
Hence the maxim I have adopted: "Make something, Write something, Learn something".
Hence the maxim I have adopted: "Make something, Write something, Learn something".
A lot of my recent work has been an attempt
to develop these ideas. The video-art examples that I have published recently are an example, because they combine art, mathematics, music composition, video sequencing and programming.
If these ideas encourage science students to believe that they can learn from Art and art students that they can still be artists while working close to technology, then perhaps they will serve to encourage a closer collaboration between art and science in education.
The economy needs analytic thinkers, I agree. But it also needs creative people. Individuals who combine both these skills could be formidable. Unfortunately, those responsible for recent developments in education seem to be pushing in the opposite direction.
We need a breed of innovators working effectively right where Art meets Science. Perhaps they will emerge naturally. But surely the Department of Education should be making sure that happens sooner rather than later.
If these ideas encourage science students to believe that they can learn from Art and art students that they can still be artists while working close to technology, then perhaps they will serve to encourage a closer collaboration between art and science in education.
The economy needs analytic thinkers, I agree. But it also needs creative people. Individuals who combine both these skills could be formidable. Unfortunately, those responsible for recent developments in education seem to be pushing in the opposite direction.
We need a breed of innovators working effectively right where Art meets Science. Perhaps they will emerge naturally. But surely the Department of Education should be making sure that happens sooner rather than later.