Sir Ken Robinson‘s TEDtalk and Paul Graham‘s Age of The Essay make some provoking points about traditional education and how they may not necessarily be the best fit for the extraordinary presence of human creativity. We humans are complex creatures, and this one size fits all approach doesn’t do the majority of learners any favours.

As a third year student (I changed degrees, long story) I feel like I’ve changed so completely since starting university, and this subject has opened up a whole side of reflection that has made me both proud of the ways in which I’ve changed, and excited for the changes that are bound to come. However, “the seeds of our miserable high school experiences were sown in 1892” and my high school education was the typical academic-based model: only one art subject was available for study in VCE, and yet three maths subjects and three English subjects were happily offered. I’ve always found expressing myself easier in writing than speaking, so English was an easy choice. But the compulsory mathematics subject saw a lot of tears and turmoil endured, and for what consequence? It’s the age old joke that we’ll never use algebra in real life.

It baffles me and to a point it actually enrages me that schools make maths, reading and writing more important than painting, drawing, singing and dancing, when we used painting, drawing, singing and dancing to express ourselves before we invented maths, reading and writing. I tend not to dwell on regrets, but I do often find myself wishing I concentrated on one or two real passions in high school instead of trying to be the well-rounded, ‘perfect’ student that my school asked us to strive for. Similarly, I am constantly torn between doing the uni work I’m forced to do as part of assessment, and the new book I bought because of something I found when doing a uni reading, or writing about another facet that isn’t marked as part of my degree.

I often also think that a lot of stress could have been, and could continue to be, avoided if highly visual or abstract learners were given the opportunity and freedom to learn the way that best suits them. In maths in particular I often made no progress and felt incredibly stupid, disheartened and like I was a failure. If only it was made clear to me that I was allowed to better at some subjects over others; that it wasn’t me that was broken, it was education structure.

There isn’t an institution on the planet that teaches children to dance everyday as it does mathematics. Why?

Robinson asserts that intelligence is diverse. “We think about the world in all the ways we experience it: we think visually, we think in sound, we think kinesthetically, we think in abstract terms, we think in movement.” I can’t help but feel somewhat disenfranchised at the education system. How many great minds have been medicated and great ideas have been quelled simply because they didn’t fit the mold? Jillian isn’t sick, she’s a dancer.

As of my post a couple of days ago, I’m trying to be brave. I’m prepared to be wrong in the interest of creating something original. Some days it has to be a constant reminder to myself and some days it comes easily.

Never stop spinning.