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.
This is good. It fails at building a connection that all topics are connected. At the point of entry into your mind they tend to have little relevance or are applicable to life. The effects are sometimes covert and so are the uses. The principal in this video demonstrate knowledge in social science, cultural anthropology and history to name a few. How, where and when he acquired this knowledge is irrelevant. The fact that it has happened and took a trans-formative effects upon him is far more important.
This video is moronic. I see hundreds of people reposting it. And what does it espouse? Ignoring teachers, focusing on what interests you, rather than the curriculum. Which is great if you are a creative. But that’s not who he is talking to.
Who is he speaking to? Kids in hoodies. Inner city. Blacks. (There I said it. We all noticed when we watched the video, but no one would say it out loud) Teenagers who are saying high school isn’t relevant to them, who don’t see the big picture. Who don’t want to do their homework. Who don’t want to learn the Pythagorean theorem, a simple piece of math that I use at most 5 times a year, but lets others know that I know how to figure things out on my own, that I AM independent. Who think they will do just fine without a High School degree. Future McDonalds workers.
What is he telling them? Follow your own will. Don’t listen to your teachers. Don’t listen to guidance counselors. Don’t listen to job coaches. Which is followed by not listening to your boss. Not listening to your spouse. Not listening to society. Becoming a societal burden, or even a criminal.
Contrary to what he posits, individual grades don’t affect your life, but the sum of all those grades and your academic level becomes your IQ, and if you don’t apply yourself and look dumb, that’s your own darn fault.
I wish he was talking about college degrees in graphic design, or photography, or liberal arts. Or sociology or philosophy or minority studies or any other BS curriculum that colleges offer which you could do better yourself with a reading list and an internship. But he’s not. Which makes what he is saying not only wrong, but a damaging message for today’s youth.
If you feel I am wrong please! Let me know why. I am sick and tired of this video.
I think it’s more like, tied to the title, y’know? The fact that student futures are decided by numbers is what makes students not happy. We wish to be more than just a number. We are humans and we have feelings. We don’t want to be force fed things that we will not use in our future. People don’t listen because they don’t want that force-fed feeling. Sure, that means ingnoring your peers and elders, but then look at them, do they listen they listen to us? Maybe some of us aren’t capable of memorizing every equation given to us. Some of us aren’t amazing writers. So,e of us don’t have good hand-eye coordination. We aren’t all the best at everything, and so shouldn’t we focus on what we are best at? The classes we hate are usually the classes we are worst at. Maybe it’s the teacher, maybe it’s us. But think of it this way. There’s a quote that goes along the lines of, tell a fish to climb a tree, and they’ll spend a long time thinking they are supid because they can’t. So a student can’t do algebra, but maks amazing artwork. Does that make him stupid? A student can’t make a nice story, but loves creating new machines and robots. Does that make him stupid? So a girl wants to be a ballerina, but she isn’t the best in academics. Does that make her stupid? You have to take in to consideration that, just becuase they’re wearing hoodies, just because they are black, doesn’t mean they all want to be rebels. This vieo is really just trying to make a point, an I think he did.
Sorry this message got long, but I would be annoyed too if I saw this video everywhere.
Your slippery slope arguments and false correlations aside, you are saying that he is not talking to kids who are creative because he is talking to Blacks? Furthermore, let’s assume he is speaking directly to the Black youth population. Is there any other group that has been rejected and let down by the system here in America more? I’m pretty sure your not so subtle racism and complete ignorance completely invalidates everything you said.
Strong message Chase!
This is really interesting. As an “educator” (I teach) and an artist (when I’m not teaching, I’m a working photographer and video director) I love the simplicity of “Creativity Is The New Literacy”. I think this video, while well intentioned, glosses over a fair few points to make it’s own – would our author have known that Shakespeare was the innovator of slang without memorising it from a lesson? perhaps. Would he know how to efficiently google what interests him without good lessons? maybe.
I’m an auto-didact, and I encourage all students to be also – because the school system is, and can only ever strive to be, a best fit. Best fits aren’t perfect, and can overlook, fail to stretch, or not support enough. Our educational model is definitely out-dated, and I’m part of a community that is very aware of how restrictive the teaching system is, and as the world continues to change in faster ways, how education refuses to change. Good educators will strive to ensure a child’s education reaches past the test they need to score in, and teach them the skills to educate, the attitude to try, and the coping skills to deal with failure.
It’s a fascinating area to study, and , just a suggestion, might make a good Chase Jarvis: Live…
Among the countless horse’s asses in education can be counted school administrators, government officials, teachers, students, and the endless array of foolish rules and policies. I’ve been fortunate for 20 years to serve as webmaster for an amazing school in Palo Alto where creativity is Job #1 and test results are phenomenal. The unspoken motto at Living Wisdom School (www.livingwisdomschool.org) is: “Kids who learn to love, love to learn.”
There have to be rules. There has to be structure. There has to be hard work. There has to be expertise. The enormous, decisive difference between soulless educational fact-cramming-factories and inspiring schools like LWS is that the administrators and teachers start by understanding human nature, and human aspirations. Understand what motivates the individual child – what excites him or her – and you have the key to providing an education that enriches the child intellectually, creatively, and spiritually.
How has this kind of $$$ for K through 8th – nobody I know – especially in the arts.
Living Wisdom School currently includes grades Pre-K to 8. The teacher-student ratio is 1 to 8. Tuition ranges from $12,510 to $18,050 (details).
THIS has to change – class should not be a barrier to educate.