The school curriculum has a very precise, strict and confining air about it. There are rules set in place, and steps to follow if we want to succeed.
At times, the mould we’re meant to fit into can seem suffocating and even give a sense that it’s creating cookie-cutter members of society.
But perhaps we’re looking at it the wrong way. In English class, for example, we’re given countless guides on how to write a paper, how to study a topic, and how to build a story along with all the little rules that come with composition. We have four walls in place, we learn the structure of them, we learn how to live within them, and that’s when the magic happens.
For the purpose of creativity, boundaries need to be set; if we didn’t have a box there would be no breaking out of it. Rules are meant to be broken, but we can’t do so unless we know them first.
We’d never be able to better ourselves if we didn’t have a foundation to grow from.
The purpose of studying our craft isn’t so we can follow the pack and do the same as everyone else. Once again, we can’t break down those walls unless we know what they are.
It may sound colourless to read through textbooks and listen to lecture after lecture on the confines of an art, but if we shift our frame of mind and strive for the little things, the possibilities are endless.
Macy How is a grade 12 student at Brooks Secondary School in Powell River.
