Standardization in schools is paving the way for a society without diversity and a profound lack of imagination. In Einsers article The Celebration of Thinking he explained that, “Our imaginative life is built from experience” (1998, p 25). This means that one cannot imagine a car without visualising a car that they have already seen or experienced. Therefore, the standardization in schools and the lack of diverse subjects leaves students with one way of thinking. This relation between the imaginative and creative process and standardization in schools is becoming increasingly problematic.
Educational institutions tend to value sciences and maths over arts; languages, music, poetry, etc.. This means that the minds of the youth will be conditioned in thinking one homogeneous way. Personally, I believe that there is a crucial issue in a society that lacks creative diversity. As people grow they begin to be educated in thinking one way and thus their creativity and imagination are hindered in that they don’t experience things that are other than the status quo. It frustrates me to see the societal shift away from arts education and towards more “valuable” subjects, like math, science and business. Our society puts us into little boxes that are alike.
I found Einsers distinction between the mind and the brain immensely interesting. Einser explains that everyone is born with a brain and it is our human experiences and primarily education that forge our brains into working minds. He suggests that the educational process develops a standardized mind and way of thinking where even arts, which is the freest form of thinking, still standardizes minds.
However, Einsers suggestion that those without an arts education are handicapped surprised me and is a profound statement and way of thinking because I always thought I was the one who was handicapped with my passion for arts. This is because sciences and maths career options are vast and often pay well and arts always seem to get the short end of the stick. Einsers statement is surprising, but it does have certain validity.
To, conclude Einser made several unique, interesting and surprisingly relevant points, considering this article was written in 1992. I hope that one day the world and its westernized educational system will change and support arts as it is always undervalued.
Questions
How do we change peoples opinions on "valued" subjects?
Do these subjects deserve to be valued more?
Educational institutions tend to value sciences and maths over arts; languages, music, poetry, etc.. This means that the minds of the youth will be conditioned in thinking one homogeneous way. Personally, I believe that there is a crucial issue in a society that lacks creative diversity. As people grow they begin to be educated in thinking one way and thus their creativity and imagination are hindered in that they don’t experience things that are other than the status quo. It frustrates me to see the societal shift away from arts education and towards more “valuable” subjects, like math, science and business. Our society puts us into little boxes that are alike.
I found Einsers distinction between the mind and the brain immensely interesting. Einser explains that everyone is born with a brain and it is our human experiences and primarily education that forge our brains into working minds. He suggests that the educational process develops a standardized mind and way of thinking where even arts, which is the freest form of thinking, still standardizes minds.
However, Einsers suggestion that those without an arts education are handicapped surprised me and is a profound statement and way of thinking because I always thought I was the one who was handicapped with my passion for arts. This is because sciences and maths career options are vast and often pay well and arts always seem to get the short end of the stick. Einsers statement is surprising, but it does have certain validity.
To, conclude Einser made several unique, interesting and surprisingly relevant points, considering this article was written in 1992. I hope that one day the world and its westernized educational system will change and support arts as it is always undervalued.
Questions
How do we change peoples opinions on "valued" subjects?
Do these subjects deserve to be valued more?