Stigma against the arts

Sir Ken Robinson; an English author and speaker who works in education, gave a TED talk seven years ago. To this day, it is nearing five million views on YouTube alone.

TED is a nonprofit organisation devoted to ‘Ideas Worth Spreading’. It started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds – technology, entertainment and design. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

‘Do schools kill creativity?’ was the name of this talk. I stumbled across it a year ago, and it has stuck with me to this day.

If you are yet to see it; I am highly disappointed in you and you should go watch it right now before you continue reading YouthTalk.

Robinson calls for a revolution in the way that education systems view and value intelligence. Although this talk is several years old; the infuriating truth is that every single syllable that that man utters is still relevant today. Everything that he said was wrong with education still is to this day.

‘Education goes deep with people’ – he couldn’t be more right when he says this.

From the ripe age of three or four up to the age of 18, school is the only other constant world outside of home for most children. Therefore, obviously there is a necessity for it to be a semi-pleasant place and experience; as it does take up about 14 years of your life - 14 very important years that you would hate to have misspent.

‘Many highly-talented, brilliant, creative people think they’re not; because the thing that they were good at in school wasn’t valued or was actually stigmatised’.

Checklists are held up against children and if they don’t meet the criteria, they are marked defective, left to grow dusty and think they are worthless; which is profoundly wrong.

For some reason, there is a hierarchy of subjects within education and children who excel in the arts are told that what they are good at will make a good hobby one day.

When a child is told such a thing, they hear ‘the passion that fuels your existence: is worthless. What you want to dedicate the rest of your life to: means nothing’.

Such a problem has always existed in our education system and unfortunately, it continues to exist.