A Children’s Manifesto for Creativity

The Tate Modern at Bankside

Question: What do you need to be creative and succeed in the future?

Point number one:

We want less formality in schools and more creativity in the classroom

Here’s an interesting story from the UK:  students from schools all over the country met at the Tate Modern to plan and design a manifesto for creativity.

The kick-off for this 18 month collaboration was a sleepover  in the Turbine Hall (the  Tate Modern is housed in the  former Bankside power station on the Thames in London). They slept in tents that they decorated with ideas drawn from the Tate Collection.

Points one through 10 were generated by young people across the country during the lead up to the manifesto Conference at the Tate last November. The last two points were voted on at the conference.

1. We want less formality in schools and more creativity in the classroom.
2. Change the curriculum so that our subjects reflect our lives.
3. Create spaces where we can vent our creativity.
4. Let us have opportunities to take risks so that we are not afraid to try new things.
5. We need mentoring help to get us into the creative industries. We don’t know how it works.
6. We need to gain confidence in ourselves.
7. Allow us to learn from each other, to get fresh ideas from cultures other than just our own. We want to mix it up.
8. We need it to be easier to use the internet at school.
9. Invest money in us because we are the future.
10. We are prepared to start at the bottom and make our way up.
11. We want time for out of school activities and we  want them to count towards our qualifications
12. Give us the choice between exams or course work.

So – did the kids get it right?

Here’s a link to some London schools that seem to be taking these ideas seriously.