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I've also been thinking on how schools could actually make concrete changes that would result in encouraging creativity.  I think the easiest/potentially most effective thing to do would be to encourage change in how teachers think about and respond to "mistakes."  If teachers looked at mistakes as ways to really examine how students are thinking, and get the students to explore their own mental processes rather than simply looking at the end result, students might not feel as afraid to be creative based on a fear of being labeled as "wrong."  This could promote creativity in all subjects through a simple change in pedagogy.

Another goal for schools (in my opinion) should be exposure.  The more exposure a child has to creative outlets at a young age, the more I think they'll consider taking a more creative path and hopefully the happier they will be.  Rather than stressing the creative programming at a later age, I think children need to have a wide range of creative experiences in elementary and middle school.  Although we've been discussing how education has "taught us out of creativity," I see our generation, and younger ones, as being extremely creative.  Although of course I'm looking at a limited sample, most of the people I know have creative hobbies/talents outside of whatever their career goals may be.  And even more so recently, most of these creative pursuits have outlets made possible by the internet.  It's so easy to learn more about art and music now because of youtube, art fan sites (don't know what these are actually called), and other online communities.  Writers can post in blogs and have their writing looked at by countless others if they find the right place to post their work. 

I'm not sure how this will sound - but I think education shouldn't serve as a means to indulge a student's likes and dislikes, and therefore I think that mandatory creative education (like art or music, or even maybe gym) isn't necessary beyond a certain age, although the option should certainly be available.  Education should serve to mold a student into a responsible and active member of society.  Although it's nice to idealize a society of artists, the society we live in is very different and like Professor Grobstein says, it's important to think about the "deliverables" of education.  I think education can definitely deliver exposure to many types of creativity, and can encourage thinking in alternative ways. 

What part of fostering creativity is up to the educational system, and what part is up to a family/culture?  I think families are very important in encouraging creative hobbies, while school systems shouldn't necessarily be held responsible for that level of creative development (depending on the student/hobby).  Also, how should a profession be chosen?  We talked about the different things that go into choosing a profession in the society we live in - would these be different in an "ideal society"?    Would society work if everyone chose to go into a profession solely because they liked doing whatever the profession involved, and how would students even gain exposure to things that need huge amounts of background knowledge and training before the actual practicing of a profession comes in?