The decline in arts subjects isn’t the problem with creativity in education

This morning the news came out that in the last 5 years there's been a 15% drop in students taking arts GCSEs. People are understandably concerned about this massive drop. But it seems that most of them are concerned for the wrong reasons.

Most people tend to believe these subjects teach creativity. And they know that creativity is an important and valuable skill that's increasingly being requested in the workplace. But they’ve fallen for the big misunderstanding that art equals creativity.

It doesn’t.

Art is a subset of creativity.

Let me explain.

Creativity is not one thing

If you like Venn diagrams (I do), 'creativity' is the big circle. Within that the contents are split into two - 'creative thinking' and 'creative doing'. Art falls into the creative doing circle.

To achieve excellence in any area of art, you need to practice and practice to become great at executing. You’ll doubtless have heard the myth that it takes 10,000 hours of focused practice to become a master. However accurate that number is, it certainly takes a heck of a lot of dedication, commitment and focus to reach the level where the skill becomes natural.

The very best artists are also great at creative thinking. They come up with non-obvious ideas before using their creative doing skills to bring their vision to life. Without the kick-ass ideas, their executing skills wouldn't take them very far.

Ideas are the real currency.

Ideas are for everyone

And the great news is that creative thinking is something we can all do. In fact, I believe it's something everyone should be taught. But probably not as a separate subject. It should be embraced as part of the teaching method and extend to every area of learning.

It uses a broad remit of skills, like imagination, judgement, adaptability, communication and persuasion. It develops curiosity and tenacity. And it sets individuals up for the lifelong learning that the modern world requires. 

It's about more than creativity

This approach should go beyond creative thinking to simply thinking. Kids should be taught critical thinking skills so they can judge what they read in the media. They should be taught empathy, reasoned debate and persuasion skills to have more fruitful conversations. They should all be given a grounding in philosophy to understand how to think in different ways. And so much more.

Our school system should be focused on teaching kids how to think rather than what to think. Education needs to foster a broader variety of thinking skills, of which creative thinking is one important aspect.

When we combine thinking skills with STEM subjects we become more successful at innovation. And when we combine them with art subjects we get magic.

Back to the subject of art

This world would be a dreary place without artists, so we definitely need to be supporting arts subjects in schools. Not just to provide the next generation of struggling, bedsit-dwelling, Turner Prize-winners. But because the creative industries - which contribute about ￡92 billion to the UK economy - always needs fresh blood.

So the creative industries are the very ones who should be up in arms about this drop in British students learning the foundation skills that will lead to the next generation of architects, designers, screenwriters, film-makers, actors, musicians, dancers, authors and other creative doers. These industries should be campaigning outside parliament and lobbying for change.

Meanwhile, the rest of us need to be calling for reform across the rest of the education system to turn the next generation of students into the best thinkers we've ever had. Because that's something everyone will benefit from.