Sam Nielson, an artist at Disney Interactive, writes this about creative expression and art education:

Based on things I’ve read and seen (ie. just a hyphothesis), I believe there’s a big dip in creativity as artists increase in learning.  I think this is one source of the common (but mistaken) idea that education inhibits creativity—because most people and artists stop actively learning about their craft before they reach their creative and expressive potential

This seems like something that will translate into other areas of education. Perhaps this is why so many people feel that content focused education for young children destroys their creativity.

If we’re honest, the most creative among us have been very well educated in their area of creativity. This isn’t about the savants, those who have an inordinate amount of natural ability. This is about those who practice consistent excellence in their field. The most creative web and graphic designers have usually had extensive education in practices and principles of design and art. The most creative writers have been trained in composition and rhetoric, as well as the norms of their type of writing.

Encouraging students to take in information won’t kill their creativity, it will expand it, but there is a period of the growth process where creativity wanes, before it surges. This, I think, is one of the concepts of Whitehead’s rhythm of education: romance, precision, and generalization.

H/T: Brilliant Anyway

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