At school he was miserable. He complained of boredom, tiredness, loneliness and an inability to express himself. He tells me now that the work was always dull, that he only ever had to follow the pre-ordained work plans and that he was never given long enough to finish anything. There was never any painting or messy play because he was a 'junior' as apparently by eight years old such activities were deemed too childish - how ridiculous.
When he left I made sure that we took all his exercise books and school work. I wanted to know exactly what he had done during his third year at school and exactly what had been going on behind those prison like gates. I was shocked by what I saw. Plenty of Maths and a reasonable amount of English but little of anything else other than Religious Education. The subject of his religious 'education' is another issue entirely which I will write about another time. Suffice it to say that it was a horrific waste of his time and I wish it had been devoted to science not make-believe.
His Art book truly made me want to cry. It's contents are displayed for you below. These are the summation of nearly a full years art lessons. No painting, no clay, no mess just prescribed topics to draw within a half hour window. He was EIGHT!
I respectfully point out that on the strength of the work that followed he was awarded an 'A' for a years artwork. This is the entire book, and this is what they thought encompassed the entire world of Art for an eight year old.
Where's the passion? The verve for life? The experimentation? Some of it has been ticked for goodness sake! It would even appear that creativity has to be quantified and ticked off in a little box. Is that how we want our children to be taught? I certainly don't think that this is the way it should be and we were so unhappy with the status quo that we removed him from mainstream education.
Schools don't have to stick to archaic, Victorian ideals do they? Is this what Michael Gove will give us, more of something that hasn't changed dramatically in over a century? Why not look to our European neighbours for inspiration? In Finland children do not begin school until seven years of age and are then encouraged to think creatively as part of their everyday schooling. They wear their own cloths, call their teachers by their first names and can often choose the activity that they want to engage in each day. Self expression is embraced not shunned as it seems to be here.
So is creativity even important? Yes. That is the simple answer. Without the ability to think creatively man would never have invented tools and the innumerable things that have come since. It is the ability to think 'out side the box ' which leads man to forge forwards. Our inventors, explorers and even some leaders are those with this ability. Surely we don't want our children merely learning the STEM by rote with a complete inability to later apply this to the real world. Creative endeavours should be encouraged by our schools. Creativity is not just painting or drawing. On one occasion I recall being told by his class teacher that 'he is only missing art so he won't miss anything important' when taking him out of school for an appointment. That comment stuck in my ears and has stayed with me ever since. It may have been an off-the-cuff remark but it is indicative of the opinion our primary education system has of the arts. Creativity is seen as an optional extra which can be dropped without hesitation if the idea of a pot if paint brings the teacher out in a cold sweat.
Theo is now a happy child. He writes wonderfully imaginative story's and poems because he wants too and he can spend as long as he needs to finish them. He can paint or draw when he likes and play music whenever he chooses. He is constantly coming up with creative solutions to problems that he comes across in everyday life. He has an enthusiasm for learning which is in stark contrast to the melancholy child who once attended school.
For me school does indeed stifle creativity. It puts our children into 'one-size-fits-all' boxes and ostracises those who want to explore their abilities. I want children to get paint everywhere, plink plonk about on the piano, invent their superhero names and discover who they are and what they can do. Most of all I believe that being young should be an enjoyable experience where your imagination can have free reign. I am not suggesting that all children should be home educated. It doesn't suit everyone but I am suggesting that the current education system is lacking and unless we want the country filled with miserable drones then a revamp is needed. School should be an enjoyable place and for some it may well be but I fear that for many primary aged children it is a dull lonely place filled with boredom. If Mr Gove has his way and the ink wells return it will just get worse.
What do you think?
Prudence Clarke
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