Last week, a friend of mine posted a link to a video advocating education reform. It starts with the fact that our education system was designed for different times and circumstances and talks about how students are pushed through and not encouraged to think outside the box.
At 7:42 it talks about divergent thinking or, basically, the capacity for creativity. The point that follows is a good one. It’s something we all know happens but most of us don’t want to admit.
As we are pushed through school, we are taught to think of things in a certain way. We learn that objects and procedures all have their place and that there is no need in using them otherwise. This is certainly true with music instruction, too. Whether it is from private instructors, professors, academic advisors, or our peers. We are all taught to think (even perform, compose and create) a certain way.
Here is the video:
I’m not big on New Years resolutions but I’m about to make one (granted, it’s a bit late…maybe we’ll just call it a goal). I want to think outside the box. I want to figure out how many ways I can use a paper clip. Just imagine what we can do if we figure out just two extra ways to use everything in our life. What would happen to our lives, our world, our buildings, our cities?
What can you use in a non conventional way? Comment your ideas and lets get a think tank rollin!
