Creativity is the new literacy, and I’ve got an anthem brewing over here… But what fires me up is that I’m not alone. So many of us are feeling this anthem right now. Times are changing. The old methods of memorization and rigid exams for a diverse student body is not working for today’s world. Those times were for the factory. But what now? The average US college student graduates with about $27,000 in debt. For what? Students in the arts graduate with the highest level of debt. For what? Student debt now outpaces credit card debt. For what?
The good news is, for those of us who came up through the traditional education system and always felt there was something off with that path, we are rapidly approaching a new era of freedom (wisdom) to learn about what excites you first…not “later” after you’ve been chewed up and spit out by the system.
Our attitudes around education and learning need to shift. It won’t happen overnight, but I applaud this spoken word piece.
I like the punk rock vibe of the video. While I don’t agree 100%, I think it is true that you have to constantly be learning and evolving. What worked for my parents’ generation, the ‘go to school and get good grades = good job you can retire from in 30 years’ is a myth. You have to think for yourself and engage in the process to find your best path is, it isn’t just laid out anymore.
I went the traditional route for school, got a Fine Arts Degree in sculpture. My student loans bought me time, freedom and studio space to explore my creative ideas. They bought me focused critique and even more ideas. What I got from college was learning who I am, how to focus on process, proof that I can stick to something and finish it, and people. Good or bad, it helped shape me into who I am today. Not everyone has the balls or focus at 18 to decide what to be and go be it. I admire people who can and do make that leap. I am a bit more conservative in my risk taking. Though at that age, what do you have to lose, really?
A young person has no idea what they will do or need in their life. Education gives people a starting point to get them going. Skip the education and you start behind those who didn’t. Personally, I think the problem with education is the opposite of that expressed in this video. Lack of discipline on the behalf of the students and their parents. There should be no option to allow adults out into the world without being able to demonstrate a standard level of education. Unfortunately, people are lazy. Teachers are lazy, students are lazy, parents are lazy and government officials do not do what needs to be done but rather, what will keep them in office. Obviously, there are planty of hard workers out there as well; they are the ones who get to support all the uneducated burdens on society.
If you want to work in mcdonalds, or some other ‘low skilled’ job, then yeah school isn’t important.
But what about the kids who want to become doctors, engineers, astronauts? You’ll never achieve that without hard work ethic and the desire to learn (even if it’s not something that you are interested in).
Going to university and racking up a huge debt might be stupid for most people. But, for many it is still worth doing. I studied engineering, and have no desire of ever becoming an engineer. But I learnt a lot of ‘soft skills’ which I am grateful for.
If you decided that school wasn’t for you, you don’t need maths or english. Subsequently you never learn to read or write, and can’t even do basic maths. How far is this person going to get in life? Are they going to become the next richard branson?
Mr. Jarvis, creativity is not the new literacy. Literacy is the new literacy. This post offends me as a graduate of an engineering school, this post offends the doctors and engineers and physicists and all the people that want to study and get good grades and learn all there is to learn, because one day, the difference between life and death might just be that class that you’ve skipped that day because it was too difficult. Just think of it like this: All the tools you use, ALL of them, they were not built and designed by creatives. No. Engineers and physicists and chemists and other people like that, people who use every day stuff much more difficult than Pythagoras’s, those were the people who built the tools you use. And I promise you this, they can’t afford not studying their asses off.
Radu, I too want to learn all I can, but learn how to take a standardize test does not help me in this regard. You are missing the point of the video. The Point is not to get rid of schools nor is it to make school easy. The point is to revamp education so it is not about the whole, so it is not about standardize test. Make education about the individual and you will see improvement in the whole system. Since you have gone to grad school you must know about honors college? what is the difference between honors college and normal college? The biggest difference is the class sizes. The education is more about the student not the class. Every person deserve that kind of education and that is simple what this video is stating.
If you’re thinking about a severe education change, or any type of change for that matter (be it lifestyle / work / education / whatever), but you’re intimidated and you’re getting the fear, this is worth a watch too: The Scared is Scared of the Things You Like: http://vimeo.com/58659769