Kreatiwiteit en Dead Poets Society: ’n kritiese evaluering

Abstract

Creativity and Dead Poets Society. A critical evaluation

Although the need for the development of creative thinking is mentioned in the latest White Paper on education, not much has been done to enable teachers and lecturers to stimulate creativity in their classrooms. In this article, the film Dead Poets Society is used to explore central issues related to the development of creative thinking. The film is treated as a visual case study of Mr. Keating’s approach to the development of creativity. In an analysis of the film his assumptions about creativity are retrieved, as well as the specific methods that he employed in order to stimulate creativity in his students. In the fin a l part of the article a critical evaluation of his approach toward creativity is offered in which both strengths and weaknesses of his approach are exposed. By doing this the problems and challenges related to the development of creative thinking are explored.