Creativity Over Knowledge

I recently watched a creative, inspiring talk written and performed by Sir Ken Robinson. This nineteen minute long speech was to promote the idea of one thing and one thing only, to show how schools are “killing” creativity. He then goes on to produce one of the most imaginative and original talks in recent years. The reason I’ve decided to mention this is that this talk was what inspired me to write this essay – it only seemed fit to associate him with my essay.

One of the main reasons I wrote this essay is to find out for myself how creativity can be much more significant than knowledge. I wanted to figure out why people who take and enjoy the group of subjects known as ‘The Arts’ are perceived as dim or simple. What truly makes an average, everyday job easier by gaining top grades in things like English and Maths? Surely average marks in exams would do fine if, for example, someone applied for a job as a photographer.

A possible case study could include, for example, two students applying for a photographer job. One of them would be respected for his seemingly ‘high intelligence’, because of top qualifications or a degree in academically minded subjects like English, Maths, History, or the Sciences. General first impressions would conclude him to be responsible, smart and hard working – but where is his passion? The other, with only fairly average grades in the compulsory subjects, like English, Maths, and a Foreign Language, lacking even more so in the sciences and social subjects, may not be so highly considered. Yet holding A Grades in Drama, Art and Music, as well as an incredible amount of enthusiasm and expertise when telling you about how innovative he can be, he comes across impressively. Obviously, put in that context, any decent employer would choose to employ the creative and innovative one for the originality needed for the photographer vacancy.

However, it would be surprising how many people are pushed away from creativity, by schools telling them not to take ‘The Arts’ as they’re bad for employers to see rather than things along the lines of Modern Studies and Chemistry. Of course these things would help you to be employed if you were to become a Politician or a Scientist, but again, without question, why would Maths hand you an advantage working as a receptionist? Would you really need to figure out the volume of a sphere day in day out? Wouldn’t average Mathematics skills with great imagination suffice?