Sample Introductory Paragraph

In his 2006 speech at the annual TED conference, Sir Ken Robinson expressed the notion that “creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status” (2006). Throughout the history of education in the Western world, the focus has been on standardized, regimented teaching methods, allowing for rote memorization and regurgitation while actively neglecting the importance of creativity in the classroom. In the mid to late 20th Century, there came to be a new generation of educators who came up with innovative and revolutionary educational theories and techniques, which placed an emphasis on fostering creativity and looking for new ways to teach students the basic subjects such as language arts, mathematics and the sciences. This paper will focus on four key educators and their contributions to the modern educational landscape: James Moffett, Paulo Freire, Jaime Escalante and Geoffrey Canada. It will examine the innovations made by each of these pioneers and illustrate how their implementation has lead to greater academic and personal success, in contrast to the archaic educational system it was preceded by, which led to academic stagnation and the suppression of creativity.