介绍:
Reforming China&`&s education system from the University level down to primary schools to include more creativity and innovation may seem far-fetched. But authorities are already making moves to promote innovation for the coming school years. Convincing Chinese parents that an education with creativity can lead to success is the key according to Beijing residents who make a living in the creative industry.
Authorities in China have already promised changes to the education system to encourage students to embrace creativity.
In May, the State Council announced a five year plan to establish innovation and business starting education systems in college to improve the ability of graduates to start businesses.
Earlier Yu MinHong, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People&`&s Political Consultative Conference called for education reform to promote mass innovation. He criticized primary schools for being too rigid and killing creativity. He added that the current exams only fostered memorization. Yu has suggested that primary schools add courses to stir students inspiration and imagination.
One organization that is already partnering with schools to provide such classes is Creatica. Creatica is a company that brings creativity and exploration into Chinese classrooms. They have partnered with schools in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to teach children under 15 to use 3D printers to code computers and everything in between.
Natalie Lo, Co-founder of Creatica Lab, understands that Chinese students have been lagging behind their Western peers in being creative. Which is somewhat a result of their environment.
" It&`&s a result of the system, so the students in the west who have had the privilege, to go through four years of schooling, to be trained every single day to think outside of the box, of course they are ahead of the curve when it comes to creativity."
Although Natalie agrees that Chinese students have many positive attributes like discipline and dedication. There is still much to be done to encourage the education system to place greater emphasis on creativity.
A 2013 Oxford study on the future of employment suggests that jobs requiring perception and creativity were under the least threat from robots and computerization. However, a Shanghai Statistics Bureau survey last year found that Science and engineering remained the most popular majors in Chinese universities due to the higher likelihood of finding jobs after graduation.
While, Chinese parents have been encouraging their children to pursue jobs that provide technical skills. American advertising art Director, Tim Paradise, has been working in Asia for five years and can understand the hesitation parents face with their children pursuing a creative career, especially having grown up in an Asian American family himself.
"When I started getting into the creative world, the creative industry, my personal parents said, wow, You can&`&t do this, You can&`&t make any money in this, studying engineering, or I.T. or medicine, that is going to guarantee you a job, and a certain salary. So going on to the creative route, people think you can&`&t make any money. "
Tim later explains that Chinese students have plenty of opportunities to profit in the creative industry.
" If you work hard you can definitely earn the kind of salaries that you probably didn&`&t imagine existed. So there are tonnes of industries; there is media, film, advertising, companies right now who need creative professionals."
In 2014, China began to reform the &`&gaokao&`& system to include more latitude in students selecting electives like physics, chemistry, biology, politics, history and geography. By 2017, the reform will take effect in all high schools in China. The reform represents progress towards the rigid &`&gaokao&`&. Yet there is still room to include more creative subjects in the future.
