Is There a Creativity Crisis?

If you're like me, you're hooked on TED talks.  The most popular TED talk is Ken Robinson's "How Schools Kill Creativity," at 26 million views.

While Ken Robinson is a fabulous speaker, it's the content that brings people to the site.  The idea that schools kill creativity resonates with people.

"A Whole New Mind" is a New York Times bestseller.  It is currently #24 on Amazon's bestseller list in cognitive psychology.

While Daniel Pink is a fabulous writer, it's the content that sells the book.  The idea that creativity is the key to the kingdom resonates with people.

Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman published "The Creativity Crisis" in Newsweek in 2010.  It was updated and re-released this year.

While Bronson and Merryman are fabulous writers, it's the enduring importance of this topic that led to a reprint.  The idea that there is still a creativity crisis resonates with people.

The problem isn't that the message isn't getting out.  The problem is that the message isn't getting to the people who matter - school administrators.  I know this because I spend a lot of time with this crowd.

Design thinkers may hold the keys to the kingdom, but superintendents and principals hold the pursestrings.  Arts education advocates must educate the decision makers in the school, and we must do it within the framework of current policy.  We are unlikely to gain traction by rallying against testing in English and mathematics.  Poor performance on these tests costs jobs.

So, let's be persistent and positive about arts education advocacy, and let's not hesitate to marshal all the benefits of arts education, including economic benefits.

Today's nugget, from Bronson and Merryman's article:  "A recent IBM poll of 1,500 CEOs identified creativity as the No. 1 'leadership competency' of the future."