Creativity

For children, imagination has no limits. When children make art, they are not concerned with creating literal representations of reality. They paint trees with purple leaves and blue trunks. But from the first day children step foot into the classroom, they learn that a tree trunk is brown and its leaves are green.

Schooling teaches children how to think, and the parameters within which they should think. Soon, conformity rather than creativity becomes the goal. After all, with standardised tests and curriculum to suit, they have to learn standard ways of thinking. 

However, by discouraging the development of creative thinking and the use of boundless imagination, research has shown we have unknowingly discouraged the development of some other significant abilities. 

We've lost the ability to be empathetic. After all, imagination is crucial to empathy. We need to imagine what it's like to walk in another person's shoes. 

We've also lost the ability to problem-solve and generate  innovate solutions. Complex problems often require creative solutions. And if we try to solve the same problem with the same solution that has been used before, we will never learn to innovate. 

While our schooling model hasn't really changed all that significantly since it's industrial-age development, there are those who seek to encourage creative thinking - and it's never too late to learn.