Education

Why schools need to embrace kids’ creativity | Sir Ken Robinson

Watch the full talk: A clip from Sir Ken Robinson’s TED Talk “Do schools kill creativity?” from TED2006 Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity. The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the…

Published

3 years ago

June 21, 2021

CYBER TECH TV

Watch the full talk:

A clip from Sir Ken Robinson’s TED Talk “Do schools kill creativity?” from TED2006

Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You’re welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know.

Become a TED Member:
Follow TED on Twitter:
Like TED on Facebook:
Subscribe to our channel:

TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at

My contention is, all kids have tremendous
talents.

And we squander them, pretty ruthlessly.

I heard a great story recently — I love telling
it —

of a little girl who was in a drawing lesson.

She was six, and she was at the back, drawing,

and the teacher said this girl hardly ever
paid attention,

and in this drawing lesson, she did.

The teacher was fascinated.

She went over to her, and she said, “What
are you drawing?”

And the girl said, “I’m drawing a picture
of God.”

And the teacher said,

“But nobody knows what God looks like.”

And the girl said, “They will, in a minute.”

Kids will take a chance.

If they don’t know, they’ll have a go.

Am I right?

They’re not frightened of being wrong.

I don’t mean to say that being wrong

is the same thing as being creative.

What we do know is, if you’re not prepared
to be wrong,

you’ll never come up with anything original
—

if you’re not prepared to be wrong.

And by the time they get to be adults,

most kids have lost that capacity.

They have become frightened of being wrong.

And we run our companies like this.

We stigmatize mistakes.

And we’re now running national education systems

where mistakes are the worst thing you can
make.

And the result is that we are educating people

out of their creative capacities.

If you think of it,

the whole system of public education around
the world

is a protracted process of university entrance.

And the consequence is that many highly-talented,

brilliant, creative people think they’re not,

because the thing they were good at at school
wasn’t valued,

or was actually stigmatized.

And I think we can’t afford to go on that
way.

Picasso once said this, he said that all children
are born artists.

The problem is to remain an artist as we grow
up.

I believe this passionately, that we don’t
grow into creativity,

we grow out of it.

Or rather, we get educated out of it.

We have to be careful now that we use this
gift wisely,

and the only way we’ll do it is by seeing
our creative capacities

for the richness they are

and seeing our children for the hope that
they are.

And our task is to educate their whole being,

so they can face this future.

By the way —

we may not see this future, but they will.

And our job is to help them make something
of it.

Share this video
with someone whose creativity inspires you.

Related Topics:creativity Culture dance Education featured Kids Parenting Sir Ken Robinson Teaching TED Talk TED Talks TEDTalk TEDTalks

Up Next

The search for microscopic aliens | Sarah Rugheimer

Don't Miss

Can you actually boost your immune system? Here’s the truth | Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter

51 Comments

Shahid Khan

June 21, 2021 at 5:58 pm

Excellent approach

Reply
BrotherBloat

June 21, 2021 at 6:10 pm

This was easily the best Ted Talk of its time… RIP

Reply
Ihab M

June 21, 2021 at 6:11 pm

If you’re reading this and you haven’t watched the full speech.. make sure you do.. most famous and amazing Ted talk ever…. and so funny too!

Reply
Lyssa’s Letters

June 21, 2021 at 6:22 pm

💗💗💗💗

Reply
Raphael Vasconcellos

June 21, 2021 at 6:56 pm

Schools need to leave kids alone actually. Teaching kids how to become productive machines is against basic human development. Just let them play in peace

Reply
David Oliveira

June 21, 2021 at 7:16 pm

Really the third best Ted Talk video I’ve ever heard & watched
(two other being one about loneliness and another about reading)

Reply
D Jackson

June 21, 2021 at 7:36 pm

Actually for our society to continue functioning we need people to be more like drones. Just smart enough to run the machines but not enough to know their true value, or establish independence, security, community or wealth (all those things are a form of influence/power).

Reply
Mr Tina

June 21, 2021 at 7:40 pm

Creativity is basically to create something new. At school we are often educated to re-create something old

Reply
D Jackson

June 21, 2021 at 7:46 pm

Our education system is no accident. It isn’t incompetence that stifles our children’s creativity, it is meticulous planning.
Disrupting attention-span, motivation, curiosity and independence ensures they will remain dependent on others.

This is not in our best interest but we have become complacent and gluttonous on a very entertaining and opulent lifestyle (even if you’re poor in America you can get tasty junk-food and watch amazing sports events , absurd reality T.V., spend time on social medias, video games, etc.).

We’re highly incentivized to give into impulse and not progress individually. You will get countless military recruits, factory workers, retail/food-service, and other underpaid jobs that don’t have much of a future, or are not desirable by that person.

Reply
D Jackson

June 21, 2021 at 7:48 pm

It is on purpose we copied the Prussian education system. We now specialize in making followers and people who lack individual motivation/creativity. It is a lot more profitable for certain people but not for you and me…

Can you name the education system we use in this country? If no, why don’t they teach us that in school?

Reply
Zenn Exile

June 21, 2021 at 8:11 pm

Every generation throws away at minimum 17,000 Nikola Tesla caliber children. Every single fuking generation has an average of 17,000 chances to solve humanities problems. And we throw them all away for money. MONEY. Every single person on this planet worshiping profit is walking cancer. Society is rapidly approaching a point where a lead based cure directly injected into the brains of psychopathic wealth consolidators will be the ONLY option to move beyond these dark ages we still apparently live in.

Reply
iFone Fan

June 21, 2021 at 8:44 pm

Oh lord, I remember when this was first posted. Sooo long ago.

Reply
joe.public

June 21, 2021 at 8:58 pm

lol As if TED is interested in what Ken has to say.
The reality is TED has been working in the opposite direction from the beginning

Reply
RantKid

June 21, 2021 at 9:16 pm

the most classic TedTalk of all time. Yet to be topped.

Reply
Read my ABOUT section PLEASE

June 21, 2021 at 9:37 pm

*Got a spare $1? No opportunities outside due to constant lockdowns in our country.* 😷 Just trying to save for a laptop (homejob). I’m not a bad person, just a desperate breadwinner. I just badly need help. Lost a lot since 2020. 😢

*Prayers and well-wishes are also very much appreciated. 😇*

Off-topic, I know… I hope you understand the desperation. I know some people need more help than me and my family but I do hope that does not invalidate my cry for help. 😔

Things are getting worse here. *We don’t have stimulus checks or anything like USA.* So I’m just really doing whatever I can to put food on the table. We may not be killed by the virus but the situation is surely slowly killing us. 💔

*Peace be with you. GOD bless you always. 🙏*

*To anyone who’s struggling, let’s hold on tight. All will soon be well. ❤*

Reply
thousand miles

June 21, 2021 at 10:11 pm

The problem is: everything is art related whether we realize it or not. Food? Culinary arts. Probably why we’re called ‘artisons’ sons of artists. When you think of everything as art then all you have to do is nourish that aspect of it. Sweeping floors? Feel it move effortlessly under your hands, watch as it moves so smoothly, the motions, the behavior of it, eventually finding the simplest and best way to do it::: simply art.

Reply
Michael Rodriguez

June 21, 2021 at 10:41 pm

The video that this clip was taken from was the first Ted Talk I’ve ever watched. Definitely one of my favorites

Reply
Robert Leach

June 21, 2021 at 10:52 pm

Double think?

Reply
Sami Hammami

June 21, 2021 at 10:52 pm

TED belongs to the whole world. Sir you talk so fast. If your lecture is for your fellow country men and women, say it right from the bgg. Sorry

Reply
ViLLaN TheDooM

June 21, 2021 at 11:04 pm

Schools were made like they are for a reason, it’s not a considence it’s on porpuse. Schools are based on pirnicple and strict rules. Schools are built for power, power to the CEOs

Reply
Iama freespirit

June 21, 2021 at 11:59 pm

My parents forbid me to be a vetrenarian, stewardess, and my third and final choice was a racecar driver… BECAUSE in the early 60’s a girl didn’t need an education, BECAUSE she was going to be married after highschool anyhow…
So, it’s not just educaters who inadvertantly keep children from future success, it is parents, siblings (the child looks up to) and the child’s environment that keep children from succeeding!
Especially if a girl wants to enter into a male oriented work world!

Reply
Afungus Amungus

June 22, 2021 at 12:06 am

My teachers spent years telling me what could not be done, now I see my childhood dreams take life all around me. No child left behind means No child gets ahead.

Reply
T-Series2

June 22, 2021 at 12:39 am

أحسنتم

Reply
Neritan Baku

June 22, 2021 at 1:32 am

We should be careful on money useage,if you are not spending to earn back,then stop spending.

Reply
- Patsy R. carr
  
  June 22, 2021 at 2:04 am
  
  I stopped caring about bitcoin price ever since I started using Expert Felix trading services,it has really help me a lot.
  
  Reply
- Patricia J. Hartsock
  
  June 22, 2021 at 2:05 am
  
  If you’ve started trading with this man then you’re not far from making profits
  
  Reply
- Sanni Victor
  
  June 22, 2021 at 2:06 am
  
  he’s really amazing with an amazing skills he changed my 0.3btc to 2.1btc
  
  Reply
- Alma Dervishi
  
  June 22, 2021 at 2:08 am
  
  Don’t sleep on it…this is a time to invest I recently just bought another property valued at over $10m. I wish I knew the right investment firm to invest with earlier, better late than never thought.
  
  Reply
- Libby Walsh
  
  June 22, 2021 at 2:10 am
  
  Seeing alot of success stories, he must be honest and trustworthy for people to talk this good about him
  
  Reply
Mai Britton

June 22, 2021 at 1:41 am

I tell the kids I work with when they say they made a mistake. That they didn’t make a mistake , they are learning and how you learn is based on you as a individual. I don’t correct them when we do a art project. Correct what?

Reply
Arik Rahman

June 22, 2021 at 2:35 am

The title kinda outtta pocket

Reply
SAMCA San Andreas

June 22, 2021 at 2:49 am

Why Kids can’t express themselves…Common Core; courtesy of Bill Gates.

Reply
k4r1m k41i54ri

June 22, 2021 at 5:15 am

Thank you very much
🇬 | REVOLUTION | GLOBAL 4.0

‍🌈TED𝓝𝑒𝑤𝑠✶
Just you | its called an sharing. | because,
🇹he 𝓣𝑟𝑢𝑡ℎ
The Truth | الْـــــحَـــــقُّ
The Truth | الْـــــحَـــــقُّ

The Really | الْـــــحَـــــقُّ

The Truth | الْـــــحَـــــقــيْــقَـــة
The Truth | الْـــــحَـــــقــيْــقَـــة

The Truth | الْـــــحَـــــقــيْــقَـــة
and the Right✶ | وَالْـحَــــقَ
يُــقَــــــــــــــــالُ | is Said

Reply
عباس العبودي

June 22, 2021 at 5:48 am

wow, they take art lessons in my country they always make art the last lesson so that we can go home without missing anything important.

Reply
𐑧𐑜𐑜 𐑛𐑷𐑜𐑧

June 22, 2021 at 6:01 am

The one TED TALK that they won’t show in class.

Reply
Ashmita Pandey

June 22, 2021 at 6:13 am

(4-9/2) ^2

Reply
Souvik Chakraborty

June 22, 2021 at 6:21 am

I love you rupsa (was a dare)

Reply
Greg Gary

June 22, 2021 at 6:24 am

The original full version of this talk is must viewing, seriously. The industrial revolution inspired education system is worse than useless in the 21st century. All it does now is churn out consumers.

Reply
Gem Bonham-Horton

June 22, 2021 at 7:12 am

Here here 100%

Reply
Ramboghini Balboni

June 22, 2021 at 8:14 am

Am I the only one that came here expecting a talking Teddy to say………….well stuff? Any stuff but not this fucking drool. Who cares about how long a girls finger nails are, fuckin CLIP EM!

I don’t really know what the guy said, I lost interest because he wasn’t a teddy or Chubby Brown or remotely interesting. Reply to this comment if you want to hear something interesting. (no guaranteed response)

Reply
horseshoe 182

June 22, 2021 at 8:34 am

totally agree. ken is a very good speaker.

Reply
Sam K

June 22, 2021 at 8:45 am

Hear Hear

Reply
KootFloris

June 22, 2021 at 9:40 am

The most essential question he asked in that talk is: “How do we prepare children for a future we don’t know yet?”

Creativity is one. Being able to solve problems, adapt life to new issues.
We need to stop drilling kids to fit the system as it is! It’s destroying the conditions of life on this planet.
Helping kids to be successful in a dysfunctional system isn’t helping. So, though not mentioned in the talk, Regenerative Design is two. And daring to challenge the system, overturn/deviate/change/adjust corporate and national powers that defend their status quo at the cost of everything else.

Reply
random_stranger

June 22, 2021 at 9:47 am

it’s the entire population of previous generations, not just our schools.

Reply
Gran Korona

June 22, 2021 at 10:35 am

Well said

Reply
Rishi Raj

June 22, 2021 at 2:32 pm

🙏👍

Reply
Pavan

June 22, 2021 at 3:38 pm

great

Reply
J lc,

June 22, 2021 at 5:15 pm

highlights from this channel. so unorganized young mam, ted poo

Reply
XCAL 345

June 22, 2021 at 5:16 pm

The world is full of “PARA LIKHA GADHA” which translates from Hindi to English as “EDUCATED DUMMIES” people dont really know the meaning behind education anymore, its more like a ticket to places where they would eventually end up getting paid low or high depending on the quality of the content on the ticket.

Reply
Noukz

June 23, 2021 at 9:34 am

2006 and still I don’t see many changes… 🙁

Reply
JANE IRENE

June 24, 2021 at 3:46 pm

I’m highly favored that I was opportune to have met dr Onosetale on YouTube who helped me beat Alzheimer disease with his herbal supplement that I took for 3 weeks and it worked perfectly well……

Reply

Education

The US Has a Teacher Shortage — Here’s How To Fix It | Randy Seriguchi Jr. | TED

Published

5 days ago

May 15, 2024

CYBER TECH TV

How much should we invest in teachers, and what should new investment actually involve? Education innovator Randy Seriguchi Jr. suggests the US should create a “G.I. Bill” for teachers, with a particular emphasis on uplifting Black male professionals. He shares a model of this idea in action through community partnerships in San Francisco, which provide aspiring teachers with graduate school tuition, subsidized housing, personalized fit assessments and more. “If we truly want to elevate this profession to inspire new, diverse talent to join us, we have to improve both the personal and professional experiences associated with teaching,” says Seriguchi.

If you love watching TED Talks like this one, become a TED Member to support our mission of spreading ideas:

Follow TED!
X:
Instagram:
Facebook:
LinkedIn:
TikTok:

The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world’s leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

Watch more:

TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at

#TED #TEDTalks #education

Education

The Billion-Dollar Problem in Education | Tanishia Lavette Williams | TED

Standardized testing is deeply woven into the fabric of US education, but does it foster genuine learning? Educator Tanishia Lavette Williams sheds light on the racial biases, financial costs and limited effectiveness of this kind of testing — calling for a fundamental shift to prioritize teacher-led instruction and empower students. If you love watching TED…

Published

2 months ago

March 7, 2024

CYBER TECH TV

If you love watching TED Talks like this one, become a TED Member to support our mission of spreading ideas:

Follow TED!
X:
Instagram:
Facebook:
LinkedIn:
TikTok:

Watch more:

TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at

#TED #TEDTalks #education

Education

Returning to School Mid-Career? Here’s What You Need To Know | Candice Neveu | TED

Are you thinking of returning to school? Educator Candice Neveu shares three challenges you might face continuing your education mid-career — and three mindset shifts to speed up your learning, improve your confidence and achieve the results you want. If you love watching TED Talks like this one, become a TED Member to support our…

Published

6 months ago

November 13, 2023

CYBER TECH TV

If you love watching TED Talks like this one, become a TED Member to support our mission of spreading ideas:

Follow TED!
Twitter:
Instagram:
Facebook:
LinkedIn:
TikTok:

Watch more:

TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at

#TED #TEDTalks #learning