Why Schools Need More Creativity in the Classroom
In June I wrote about my first experience building a robot. I will probably never forget that day: it was mind-blowing to first build a robot and then program it for the first time in my life.
However, building something out of scratch and actually believing in myself while doing it were all about one thing: trying to think creatively.
It is easy to find a myriad of articles from the web titled “21st century skills you need for today’s job market” or “7 must have skills in today’s job market” or “10 skills you need to survive the job market”.
However I believe that all these skills conclude to one of the most important skills in the job market/life today: creative thinking. Creative thinking is also something that should be included in the high school curriculum.
Let me tell you why.
Creative thinking
We are all creative thinkers. Some of us are in jobs where we have to use our creative side more and some of us less but we all face situations in life where we need to think creatively.
What does it mean really? To solve a problem, a situation, build something out of scratch? Yes — but it also means something else: making connections between already existing things.
You don’t always have to be the mastermind and innovator who comes up with something totally new. A creative mastermind is a person who can connect the dots between things that are already there; in the company culture, product-selling process or for example classroom.
And that is why we shouldn’t only commit to memory in the classroom. We should build, fail, apply, try, test, succeed and maybe fail again: only that way the creativity can really foster.
Creative technology and learning
Our company, Mehackit was founded in 2014. Our co-founders Henrietta, Otso and Charlotta came up with a total masterplan: we should go into Finnish high schools and educate the youth with creative technology skills! Easy. I soon joined the company as the first employee.
We started with a pilot course in SYK high school in Helsinki in November 2014. The pilot course lasted for three months and the students got to actually learn the basics of programming, build their own technology projects and have a lot of fun in the classroom.
We soon noticed that the results were really good: the students enjoyed getting to know different programming languages, arduinos, breadboards and wires and working in small groups and building technology themselves.
Now, multiple encounters later we are here: More than 50 Finnish high schools have the Mehackit creative technology course in their course selection and our first course started in a Stockholm high school in September. We have held several technology events for teachers and students in Finland, Sweden, Norway, England and the U.S.
The driving force behind our company is to encourage young people to make their ideas happen — to create new projects, ideas or develop the existing ones further — using technology as a tool. I mean, everyone don’t have to fall in love with technology but everyone should get the chance if they want to — right?
I truly believe that the necessary skills for successful projects, an even more interesting future for the humankind and greater self-expression can be found from creativity. Only if we let the youth to be creative already during the years in the school system.
