Sir Ken Robinson makes the point that while it is not possible to teach creativity, it is very possible to inhibit or destroy creativity. Schools often do this by teaching children, at an early age, that it is bad to be wrong. Children who enter school full of enthusiasm and willing to “have a go,” take a chance, make a guess or be different, often learn that these behaviors will cause them to be in trouble with authorities or disliked by peers. Before they are adolescents, many children have learned not to venture into new or different ideas and, equally importantly, have failed to learn how to evaluate the ideas of others or defend their own opinions.

At The Harbour School, we encourage children to think about or consider many questions for which there are not “right answers.” We hold Seminar! once a week for all children from P1 up, using the Junior Great Books program, in which children use great literature and shared inquiry not only to analyze and consider some of the “big questions” of life, but also to learn how to evaluate and respect the thoughts and arguments of their peers and teachers. Outside of Seminar!, at The Harbour School it is not unusual to hear a debate about topics such as “Would you rather be a citizen of Sparta or Athens?” or “Is there a good reason for war?” or “What should we put in our neighborhood if we can only have ten buildings?”