Helping Students be Creative

The Huffington Post has a column here by the CEO of a software explaining that what he needs are employees who can think and plan creatively.  He worried that the current emphasis on testing is not producing these kind of future employees.

I think the education establishment forgets the spillover effect.  One  of my12th grade students explained to me why she would never take part in class discussions:  "Why would I think anyone would listen to me in school when no one listens to me at home?"

Why would we think students will magically be able to creatively work out problems when education more and more consists of following canned curriculum and taking standardized tests?