"I think being an artist, or just being creative, or imaginative, or aware, where I think everybody starts out, and by about the age of 10, that's been pretty effectively whipped out by education"

William Wiley addresses the transformative journey from innate creativity in childhood to its suppression through formal education. He observes that every person begins life with a natural sense of creativity, imagination, and heightened awareness. These qualities are spontaneous, the urge to make new things, invent stories, draw wildly, or dream with abandon appears universal in young children. Creativity in this context is not limited to the arts, but extends to playful exploration, divergent thinking, and an openness to experience.

Wiley suggests a critical turning point around the age of ten, highlighting the role of education in this change. Education systems, often built on standardized curricula and rigid assessment models, inadvertently or deliberately discourage the very qualities they ought to nourish. The expectation to provide correct, uniform answers and to conform to prescribed patterns can stifle experimentation and self-expression. Assignments shift from open-ended possibilities to single solutions. Mistakes, once embraced as part of learning, are now branded as failures. Imaginative inclinations may be scolded or ignored in favor of compliance and efficiency.

The phrase "pretty effectively whipped out" evokes the idea that this loss of creative spark is not accidental, but systemic, an outcome of institutional priorities valuing productivity, predictability, and measurable achievement over curiosity and risk. As children internalize these expectations, they grow cautious about originality, often abandoning personal interests and insights in favor of external approval. Creativity, once a reflex, becomes a rare or hesitant act.

Wiley’s observation carries an implicit challenge: if creativity and awareness are our starting points, perhaps they are fundamental, not frivolous. Recovering or protecting these traits calls for a critical re-examination of how education shapes children. It’s a reminder that nurturing rather than “whipping out” creativity leads to richer, more resilient individuals who can imagine and shape a better world.