Creativity is useless as far as the "No Child Left Behind" Act goes.  It cannot be rated therefore it is not valued.  The public's complaints about declining test scores (in the 80s and 90s) created these insane mono-chromatic NCLB-driven state tests.  It won't change until there is another public outcry against the stifling of our youth's creativity.
-Dave Rymenave

Creativity is a quality we all are born with, but if not developed and encouraged, it can atrophied. One way or the other, we are all creative. The point is, are we using our creativity for a good purpose?

No. Structure doesn't stifle creativity. . .what a load of crap. Structure isn't bad at all. My art was much better in college because of the structure I got in high school. I learned a level of confidence from my structured environment that helps me everyday.

There is nothing better than a professor or teacher who encourages you to think outside the box and even challenge their positions. On the flip side, there is nothing worse than a teacher or professor that insists that there is only one way to look at something - their way. I encountered both.

This is one of the worst features of most public-education systems, and many private, non-arts oriented schools. You feel like you are attending McSchool.

Yeah . . . ever notice that the most creatively-stifling programs are the ART programs? At least that's my experience.

The great professors are those who encourage their students to expand their horizons--always look for those, they make an education really worthwhile. Unfortunately many times there are teachers out there who just want you to parrot their beliefs without question. Some are just plain old control freaks who focus in on minutae rather than the big picture. The purpose of an education is to make you think, not merely to re-gurgitate a bunch of facts and figures. A good teacher realizes this and moves beyond that.