The power of creativity
Sir: A rounded education should encourage creativity as well as maths, English, science and history if Britain is to compete in the modern world. Toby Young’s claim that the arts world is exaggerating the decline of arts in secondary schools therefore deserves to be challenged (Status anxiety, 24 October).
In spite of his confidence, teachers do think that there is a problem. They fear that the focus on ‘core’ subjects means they shouldn’t offer arts subjects. Students worry that studying the arts will damage an academic profile. But encouraging creativity makes people more adaptable, and helps prepare them for the uncertainties of life. The new head of Eton has argued that the arts are important in his vision for education, and he wants his pupils to develop emotional as well as academic intelligence. Do we want to deny state-school pupils similar opportunities?
George Osborne has championed the UK’s achievement in arts on a global stage. Educational policy should support his belief in the power of creativity, and reflect the wishes of young people who want to achieve excellence across a full range of subjects.
Nicholas Serota
Director, Tate galleries
Wrong end of the elephant
Sir: Writing in his Notes (24 October) that ‘If we want to save the elephant, we must legalise the ivory trade’, Charles Moore has bumped into one small part of a complex beast and guessed the wrong conclusion.
The truth is that the global trade in ivory is finished. In February last year, five African leaders launched the Elephant Protection Initiative, which calls for domestic ivory markets to be closed in line with the 1989 ban on international trade (which marked the collapse of western markets). Among them are Botswana and Gabon, which have the world’s largest remaining savannah and forest elephant populations.
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