When it comes to Singapore, you probably think of us as academically-driven and brilliant in Mathematics. If I’m not mistaken, California uses our Math textbooks for elementary school students. The caveat is that we haven’t produced any Nobel Prize winners (yet).

But you will not be likely to associate creative with the pragmatic Singaporean mind. In fact, the fact that we topped the ranking surprised many Singaporeans, including educators. It has generated much discussion in our nation.

I recently went for a talk conducted by the ex-Deputy Director General of Education, and she specifically highlighted inventive thinking as the number one trait that employers in Singapore feel is lacking among our youth. In addition, the question of how one brings inventive thinking to his work was asked for our teacher recruitment drive. Don’t ask me how I know!

Okay, the million sat question: Do you think that creativity can be taught in the formal education system?