Sir Ken Robinson’s TED Talk, Do Schools Kill Creativity?, released in 2006, has garnered over 77 million views on the TED website. His popular critique of the school system led many to question the true nature of intelligence and whether society’s view of it is misguided. Taking into account the arguments brought forward by Robinson, it is clear that the structure of education limits students’ creative abilities by confining student freedom and placing an emphasis on grades.

The education system manages students in such a way that restricts liberties, with one example being the rigid schedule that requires students to follow rules and dictates parts of student life. While this can be necessary to prevent schools from becoming chaotic, these rules also teach children to conform to the status quo rather than use their creativity. For instance, if a first-grade student wanted to draw something new in their coloring book or use different colors for different boxes, they may be reprimanded for not following instructions and never explore this novel idea again. The structure of school, therefore, prevents students from having original thoughts, inhibiting growth and thereby creativity. This negative impact of schooling on student creativity can be supported by a 2011 research study conducted by Kyung Hee Kim of William and Mary College. She found that high school students performed worse on creativity tests than kindergarteners, and as they go through high school, their creativity levels decrease. Throughout the school day, students must constantly rely on their schedule to indicate where they should be and what task they should be doing. This monotonous daily lifestyle of going into the same rooms inherently restricts students’ ability to make their own decisions and instead pushes them to think only about completing the work in front of them.

Furthermore, schools focus on grades and perfection, limiting the use of creativity. Core curriculum reinforces this idea by rewarding students who have the answers memorized and penalizing those who approach problems differently. Schools therefore perpetuate a fixed mindset—the belief that one cannot change their capabilities—by punishing wrong answers. The Foundation for Economic Education also found that standardized tests and curriculums stifle the ability for students to grow and expand their horizons. At the same time, schools prioritize student performance over effort. Instead of valuing growth, a test grade encourages students to seek validation by scoring high rather than learning from their mistakes. This quantification of a student’s academic success with a number or letter creates a culture where worse grades are seen as a complete failure and a lack of intelligence rather than an area for growth.

Opponents of this claim argue that schools encourage students to think more creatively, perhaps by encouraging extracurriculars. There, students can find their passions and express themselves through experimentation. However, schools overlook the simple fact that the lack of true autonomy still remains. Extracurriculars are typically focused on a goal, such as competitions or showcases. For example, students on sports teams go to competitions often and spend their practices training for them. This means that they may not have as much creative freedom since they spend most of their time working toward an award. While schools may offer some opportunity for students to be creative and explore their own identities, it is clear that schools are, at the very least, indirectly responsible for a decline in student creativity.

Schools are one of the most important centers for children to develop their own unique identity and form lifelong traits and skills that will benefit them down the road, as they spend six hours a day for five days a week in the classroom. With around 60% of CEOs stating that creativity is the most important quality for leaders to have, according to a 2010 International Business Machines study, it is extremely important that schools focus on fostering this trait to ensure future success. Schools should create an environment that encourages creativity to accomplish the goal of preparing children for adulthood, instead of hindering it by removing freedoms from the school day and quantifying a student’s self-worth.

In the ongoing debate over whether schools stifle or nurture creativity, many are quick to criticize the system and overlook the many ways educational institutions actively foster innovation. Although schools are structured with rules and schedules, they don’t necessarily inhibit creativity in their students. In fact, these very institutions often provide the foundation on which innovation can flourish. Schools give students access to various subjects, ideas, and opportunities that help them develop creative thinking in ways that would be difficult to achieve without the guidance of the education system.

One way that schools nurture creativity is through exposure to a diverse range of subjects. Whether it is creating unique and eye-catching posters in graphic design or collaborating with the entire class to titrate and identify a mystery acid during chemistry, classrooms offer ample opportunities for creative problem-solving. Encouraging students to explore their potential interests often sparks creative thinking in unexpected ways. For example, students may use what they learn from the Gunn Robotics Team to engineer a more efficient mechanical component or apply knowledge from history class and writing techniques from creative writing exercises to draft a novel set in the distant past. Without the school’s guidance, many students may never encounter the subjects that ignite their imaginations.

Schools also offer project-based learning, which, according to Prodigy Education, encourages students to find their own solutions and apply their knowledge in real-world scenarios. Instead of a rigor-focused curriculum centered around assignments and tests, project-based learning creates opportunities for students to understand what they will be doing in the future. Often, these programs are group-based, preparing students for the collaborative work they will be doing in the future. Project-based learning is an outlet for creativity, allowing students their creative freedom in designing, building, and finalizing their projects.

Indeed, schools may sometimes focus too much on standardized approaches, with letter and percent grades, but this does not mean that schools don’t try to foster creativity in their students. In fact, creativity can emerge from challenges such as deadlines and quality control. According to a research paper published in 2020 by the Journal of Management, creativity levels increase when a person encounters rules, regulations, or deadlines. These challenges prepare students for real-world scenarios where constraints of time, resources, and expectations are commonplace. In many professional fields, creativity thrives in environments that balance freedom with structure. For example, engineers are often forced to innovate within the parameters of safety regulations and project specifications.

The media commonly asserts that, as people grow older, the school system “drains” the creativity out of their brains. Not only is it impossible to compare the creativity of toddlers to high schoolers, but it is also essential to consider the context in which this discrepancy occurs. As students progress through their education, they will naturally encounter more complex subjects, which can shift their focus from purely creative considerations to critical thinking. The observed declines in creativity may not necessarily indicate that schools don’t nurture creativity, but rather an evolution toward more nuanced thinking. Creativity cannot be measured through numbers and studies, as it changes and grows along with the education individuals receive. While these studies raise important points about creativity in education, they do not account for the diverse ways in which students can develop and express their creativity as they mature.

Far from diminishing creativity, schools give students the tools and opportunities to explore, innovate, and grow as creative thinkers. In an environment with guidance and support, students are more likely to transform their ideas into something truly remarkable.