My Experience with School in Colombia

My school in Colombia was a monotonous experience without creativity. When I got to University, I reflected on my time in school. I couldn’t understand why I didn’t have foundations related to my career in creativity and design. I always asked myself why I never had painting or drawing classes, or why there wasn’t space for art among subjects like math, physics, and chemistry. I realized that anything artistic was considered “just a hobby” and was not an “important” subject. I remember that every year we had a project like an entrepreneurship fair, where everyone created a company based on whatever we wanted. Many of my classmates sold their paintings, drawings, knitted dolls, clay figures or handmade porcelain dolls. The most surprising thing was that all of it was created by children under the age of 16. Unfortunately, this experience happened once a year, and after that, everyone forgot about it. The other days of the year followed the same schedule, and after a few weeks, we already knew it by heart. I often felt that many of us knew this monotony was truly the main focus of school, a space for learning and development, just like they always told us. However what kind of development can there be in a school that doesn’t let you take subjects other than the ones they consider relevant. In conclusion, my school in Colombia taught me about the importance of spaces where the arts and creativity are valued just as much as the exact sciences.