My job is to kill creativity

This is a really fascinating take on the ‘creativity’ question and I am intrigued by the ‘un-learning’ of things.

I went on a tennis course in Spain once and, on the first day of the course, the instructor said “today I don’t want you to concern yourself about where the ball goes, just hit it hard and as well as you can”. It was the strangest feeling but taught us all to focus on the stroke and follow through instead of being constrained by the need to hit the shot in.

We un-learned our reservations about htting the ball hard (because it might go out) but, ultimately were all playing better very quickly.

Very interesting indeed.

Lauren – your courses sound a very interesting multimedia experience. It is odd isn’t it that roles that need good networking skills, multimedia skills, creativity and charm are often taught in a classroom with a book!

Best,
Paul

This video is a very unique way of understanding our modern day education system. It touches on all the areas of the education process, and presents ways to improve the quality of education.

I found the discussion on growing out of creativity to be very interesting. Just as Robinson states in his discussion, if you are not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original. However, the education process teaches students to follow a specific structure, and once that structure becomes ingrained into students minds, it becomes difficult to break free of it.

I could not agree with Dr. V. more in that changing the medium, and allowing students to express their ideas without having to make sure they are within the guidelines of the APA format encourages them to be original.

Often times, originality is lost through the social identity theory, but by creating a platform of discussion on ideas through mediums such as blogs and twitter students feel more inclined to put their ideas out there.

By removing students from traditional research papers, it teaches them to think spontaneously as they will have to do in their jobs. Through changing the medium in which students learn and participate, students will learn more applicable skills to their profession, and the purpose of public education will no longer be to produce university professors, but to produce successful employees.

Mark, thank you for your comment. I’ve got to say, though, as much as I teach you useful things in the PR Principles class, I hope to help my students grow into successful people, not employees.

I know you need a job, and money is part of being successful and free.

But, being an employee means being a subject to a different kind of authority trying to shape you into someone you may or may not want to become.

I hope to help you grow (or at least not stifle) your creativity not (only) because I’d like you to get a job, but mostly because I’d like to empower you to reach your potential as a free, happy, wise human being.

Dr. V.,

I think that by having us blog and be on Twitter is a wonderful way of teaching us new skills and creativity. The research papers that fill up all of our time for other classes can be so mundane, not to mention daunting, with all of their rules to follow and research to do. Blogging is more creative and allows us to express our opinions without fear of saying something wrong. It allows us to more easily express our ideas, and is closer to the kind of writing we will do when we are out in the real world with a real job.

I found his quote, “if all the insects were to disappear from the earth, within 50 years all life would end. If all the humans disappeared on the earth, within 50 years all life would flourish…” most interesting because it really is true how as humans, we have a gift.

I also, however, am a firm believer that your gifts are what you make of them. There are leaders and followers out there, and the leaders are the ones who take their skills and use them to try and bring out the leaders in others…because even though some may be more gifted in different areas, we all have been given the gift to think and be creative.

Therefore, I think since you lead our classes your job is to make us think and give us the confidence to expand our thinking, and by blogging and using technology and being as current as possible you have done that for us, so I don’t think there is much left for us to criticize about you. In fact, I think more professors should take the same approach, because it really does allow an easier way for us to express ourselves, without the stress of a classroom — since for many public speaking is their worst fear.

This is a really great video! It’s so interesting that he says that we grow out of creativity. I’ll be honest- when I was a child I seriously thought that I was going to be a professional artist when I grew up. Clearly that did not happen (and I personally think that I am no good anymore!) But it is so true that kids aren’t afraid of being creative and being wrong. However, I don’t agree that children should be taught dance with the same intensity that they are taught math, history, science, or English. My mom teaches Reading Recovery for an elementary school that recently switched its focus to the arts- she was cut back to half time. Because of this, there are students now in the first, second, and third grade that are not reading on their grade’s current reading level and now they will not have the opportunity to catch up by means of an additional reading class.
I DO think that the arts are important and that creativity IS often “educated out” of us- but where do we draw the line between knowledge that is necessary to live within our society (reading, math, writing) and knowledge that comes from something beneficial (the arts)?

I watched this video clip a few days ago and have not commented until now because I have been stewing over the information. I have finally collected my thoughts.

I went to school for 13 years at a small, private, college-preparatory school in South Carolina. Although I feel like I learned a lot while I was there, classes were very structured and always taught the same way. Now in my second year of college, I am quite surprised to find that everyone of my teachers has a different method of reaching his or her students.

I wish more of my teachers could relate to Dr. V and Sir Ken Robinson in that every student is different. Each one is creative in his or her own way and needs to be taught with this in mind. Creativity and expression are never going to be the same between two students, and I am thankful this is finally being understood. I have never before had a teacher ask how I like to learn. I feel that because of this, Dr. V can reach me deeper than any professor has before. Although the material is hard, she has taken learning out of the classroom. I feel like I am no longer simply memorizing definitions and writing papers; I am actually learning about my future career and networking with professionals, and that is priceless.

It is refreshing to have a teacher that does ENCOURAGE our creativity instead of stifling it. We are being introduced to new forms of expressing our ideas, and yes, it is scary. I sat on twitter yesterday and typed out multiple different @’s to various people and in the end wrote nothing because I was worried what I was writing was not twitter appropriate or formal enough. It is nice to hear that it’s ok, in fact encouraged to try new, more creative avenues for expressing our ideas.

I loved this post! It really is quite enlightening. We’re so used to writing papers and taking traditional tests that we really are afraid to try something different and new. Each time you talk about photovoice and performing our final project, I realize how accustomed I am to doing things the “normal/typical” way. It’s sad that I’m so worried about getting a good grade that I don’t even think about trying something new. I know I’ll probably make a good grade if I write a paper so why wouldn’t I write a paper? I can think of plenty of ways in which doing something different would benefit me, but like you’ve been saying, there is just too much fear in the classroom.

I think you’ve done a wonderful job of bringing creativity back into the classroom. I like listening to the music (in 311) and being able to take what we are learning and quickly apply it (creating strategies, tactics, etc.) I feel like I really can share my thoughts and ideas and that they won’t be shot down immediately because they’re “wrong.” It’s interesting how you related changing the medium with changing the way of thinking. I’m sure that I wouldn’t have written nearly as much about this topic in my notebook as I have on this blog.

In the video Ted tells a story about the “three kings” and he explains how kids who “don’t know, will have a go.” He says they are not frightened of being wrong. Often times I wish I had more courage to say my ideas or my thoughts whether it be in class or with friends talking about our plans for the night. I’ve got to admit my ideas are usually at least on the right track if not correct. No matter how comfortable a teacher may make us feel in a situation I think some people are still scared of sharing their thoughts just for the sake of being wrong. The concept of Public Relations is a new one to me. The more I grasp about this subject, the less shy I will be sharing my ideas.

Dr. V. you are doing a great job in making us feel comfortable and introducing Public Relations to us in a very creative way. The fact that social media is our primary source of grading and learning increases the interest in the subject! When people ask me about the “PR class I am taking” I say it is challenging at first because I am not used to blogging and other social media tools but I am being exposed to so many essential online tools! Therefore, I think you should keep teaching via internet. Also, I love that you don’t assign papers because as much as we are used to writing APA style and paragraph after paragraph, it really does get old!

This video and blog are so interesting! Although I have always considered endless papers and essays to be mundane, I have never considered how they may kill my creativity. AND THEY DO!

Sometimes, after writing a paper, I reread it and think, “Where am I in this paper? This sounds nothing like me.” I now realize that in an attempt to abide by writing standards, paper guidelines, and professor specifications, I have lost myself, and usually, all interest in the topic. I have begun to learn topics, but have no opinion on them; understand an issue, but take no stand on it.

Your class is one of the only classes I have ever taken that truly encourages creativity. The small things, like starting the class with music or asking us to blog our notes, allow us to think outside of the 1.275 inch margins and express our ideas in a positive, safe environment. I think that this contributes so much to our lively and interactive class discussions, which make our class so fun. Thank you, Dr. V.