Creativity Over Knowledge

As I attempted to discover why these two subjects are at the top of every employer’s list, the only good reason was that when real education and qualifications were established, Industrialism had just kicked off. As a result, industrialism and education would co-inside with each other to form the ‘best’ and the ‘worst’ qualifications available. On the contrary, we have now – without a doubt – entirely reformed and revolutionised our employment and trade systems both internally and globally. In addition, we have entered a completely new age of technology, and along with that came the sudden impact of I.T.

I.T. is vital if the employee is required to program any software used. Whether it be a printing mechanism, a word document or something used to capture and edit photographs, I.T. is undoubtedly a very valid skill. This knowledge is obviously important in the modern day in comparison to the last decade – a substantial amount may be required to be the writer of a newspaper, for example, but on the contrary – not a huge amount of computing ability is needed to simply press the print button to print that very newspaper. This makes I.T. a somewhat dubious subject choice where pupils are concerned – they are often unsure as to how useful it could really be.

However, what of the man who invented I.T.? He must have had plenty of imagination and creativity, not to mention a thirst for new technology. On the other hand, he must have been bright and well educated to create something so technologically advanced and powerful. Did he even know what he was making was going to be capable of?

More to the point, what are we teaching our younger children of today that will actually prepare them for another revolution when they graduate 2026? What if somebody else recreates the computer beyond what we could think of now? How can being taught the symmetry of a right-angle triangle truly engage them to continue giving these bright ideas and developments? We need to give kids the most useful skills available so they don’t end up like the forty year olds of today who can’t even work a modern mobile phone.

Although we still are not bringing out the creative side of pupils enough, as kids are, from a young age, being taught to shy away from the ‘funner’, ‘less difficult’ artistic subjects, and even to be ashamed of going near The Arts, possibly out of fear of being wrong – despite the fact that they may love these subjects. Not until primary schools begin teaching these as real classes will children stop feeling like a disgrace every time an employer notices they took Art instead of Biology.

Some pupils can get into the so-called ‘intelligent’ university courses without all the very top grades. However, without any creative thinking or experience of the future job the pupil has in mind, these degrees can be wasted by people who can do well in their degree grades, but not in the job.

Ultimately, it is vital that children stop feeling undermined by studying such an integral part of society, history, and humanity. There is a definite stigma attached to anyone following the arts – and therefore a lot less pupils studying the arts, when it can be a therapeutic, educational, and can also bring out the wonders of the imagination – I.T. being one of the imagination’s great products. The Arts are definitely underrated for what they can produce – and, it is my belief, that only when pupils start understanding the quality of life that The Arts bring, can they have every chance of truly spending a fulfilling career at school, and in their future.