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Are kids really more creative than adults?

One of the most popular TED Talks of all time is Sir Ken Robinson’s Do School’s Kill Creativity? It’s highly entertaining, thought provoking, and I confess I have watched it many times.

But it’s always bothered me – both in Robinson’s talk and in general – that we seem to be so ready to accept that adults are less creative than children and – perhaps worse – that the process of education is responsible for this difference.

So, I was heartened when Harold Jarche recently highlighted this TEDx Talk by Elisabeth McClure titled Are children really more creative than adults?

McClure’s talk serves as a valuable counterpoint to Robinson’s. While it has currently gotten only a fraction of the views so far, I think it deserves to be viewed by every single person who has viewed Robinson’s.

I’ve written often that our capacity for learning is highly dependent upon what we believe is possible. The same applies to creativity – and, of course, learning and creativity are tightly linked. Pay attention to yourself and to other adults around you and you will realize that we are constantly creative. But too many of us have convinced ourselves we aren’t.

That’s not to say we can’t learn a few things from kids (and they from us). McClure highlights the creative strengths of both kids and adults in her talk. I urge you to watch (and to watch or re-watch Robinson’s) and reflect on your own beliefs about creativity – and, for that matter, learning.

Jeff

Image by picjumbo_com on Pixabay

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