Creativity is not a subject; it is a way of teaching every subject

Sir Ken Robinson's talk "Do schools kill creativity?" is one of the most-watched talks of its kind. It argues that education systems often prize one kind of ability and train children out of the habit of experimenting and being wrong. You can agree or disagree with its details and still take the question seriously.

We think creativity is best understood not as a separate lesson but as a way of teaching: asking open questions, letting students make real choices, treating mistakes as information and judging work by more than a single right answer. Maths can be creative when students pose their own problems; history can be creative when they weigh competing accounts.

The objection is that creativity needs knowledge. People cannot be inventive in a field they do not know, and schools must teach the basics. We agree, and see the two as partners: knowledge gives creativity something to work with.

What would change our mind: evidence that teaching methods emphasising student choice and open problems reduce learning of core content.

A fair test for any classroom: are students ever asked a question to which the teacher does not already know the answer?