Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative by Sir Ken Robinson is a book that discusses the importance of creativity and the lack of creative learning going on in the current school system. What does this mean? What are the impacts that the lack of creativity has on society? According to this book it results in a void of innovation and collaboration in workplaces. People have been taught all their lives to work hard at their desk, pumping out worksheets and writing papers, reading textbooks. But where is the exploration? Creativity is not something everyone has, it is a skill that needs to be fostered. Robinson identifies the three tasks for teaching creativity – encouraging, identifying and fostering.

This book, along with much of Robinson’s work shows me that if we want our students to grow up to be innovators and creators, we must begin to teach them starting in kindergarten. It is not something that can be achieved by one or two motivated teachers, but these ideas need to permeate into policy, on district and provincial levels. I wish that I had been taught using creative methods, promotion of hands on, project based, artistic learning, and all I can do now is try to foster creativity in my students.

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