OK, I was a bit surprised when I got to this "thing" and saw the TED video from Sir Ken Robinson which I had found and referenced when I was doing "thing 11". I was allowing myself to be distracted after watching a TED video on brain function. I found him to be engaging, funny and really in touch with the ways we curtail creativity in schools. This has been a huge concern of mine all during my teaching years. To prepare students to be successful in their working world we must encourage and support their creative attempts.
Creativity and collaboration are critical in most all professions. Unfortunately, sometimes these skills are not as encouraged in the school setting as they are in other professions. When teachers are asked to prepare all students to sit and perform well on a paper and pencil test, we have certainly tied the teachers' hands and the students' hands as well. I often tell my students that in my 11 years working as a microbiologist in quality control for the food and drug industries I only took one test. It was a test to certify me as a licensed pest control operator so that we could order our own chemicals to kill insects in our food plant.
Since I teach science, I am continually trying to get my students to think creatively. I do as many inquiry-based labs as I can and really encourage my students to perform the lab their way and to feel free to collaborate with their peers. It is always a real battle at the beginning of the year because the students want to do things "right". I am continually telling them that there are many ways to do science correctly. It takes them a while to learn that an experiment that "fails" can be the best learning experience of all.
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