Is the American education system stifling creativity? That's the
attitude held by a majority of Americans, according to a new worldwide
survey focused on attitudes toward creativity in schools, the
workplace, and the home.
"The urge to create has never been stronger, and the ability to
create is unprecedented, yet a new global study shows that most people
feel they are not living up to their own creative potential," said
Shantanu Narayen, president and CEO of Adobe, in a prepared statement.
"We challenge the notion that creativity is reserved for an elite few,
and believe that no matter what you do, everyone has the potential to be
creative."
Globally, there's widespread agreement with that sentiment, according
to the results of the research, published in a report.
It found that, worldwide, 73 percent of respondents agreed that, "as a
country, we are not living up to our creative potential." That
sentiment was a bit stronger in the United States in particular, at 82
percent. Similarly, worldwide, 59 percent of respondents said their
educational systems are stifling creativity. In the United States, that
figure was 62 percent.
"One of the myths of creativity is that very few people are really
creative," said former education professor, author, and TED speaker
Ken Robinson,
in a statement released to coincide with the report. "The truth is that
everyone has great capacities, but not everyone develops them. One of
the problems is that too often our educational systems don't enable
students to develop their natural creative powers. Instead, they promote
uniformity and standardization. The result is that we're draining
people of their creative possibilities and, as this study reveals,
producing a workforce that's conditioned to prioritize conformity over
creativity."
Other findings from the study include:
- 70 percent of Americans agreed that, "as a culture, we take creativity for granted" (versus 52 percent worldwide);
- 72 percent of Americans said that "creating online is part of our culture: (versus 61 percent worldwide);
- 72 percent of Americans also said they believe that there is
increasing competition to have what they create get noticed, versus 63
percent worldwide;
- Only half of Americans said they're being increasingly asked to
think creatively at work (versus 55 percent worldwide), while 80 percent
said there is increasing pressure to be productive rather than creative
in the workplace (versus 75 percent worldwide).
Para ver el estudio, oprima
aquí.
