Do we need to use our imaginations to be creative?

According to this TED-Ed video, some researches now believe the infrastructure for life-long imaginative pursuits may be laid during childhood. Keeping this in mind how are we as educators supporting this finding while educating our youth?

​Many times there is a focus on achieving the curricular goals each year and that each strand is taught and assessed on. But...wait are we supporting the big ideas that may lead the the creative freedom our students need to express how they are perceiving the world?

I currently teach high school students, there is such an emphasis on getting things right. Of course we all need to demonstrate our foundational knowledge and understandings. However, I feel it's the use of our imagination that helps us come up with  a creative output, which supports critical thought and the ability to take on another perspective. Many times as we get older we become more concerned with fitting in, and performing. When you see a child who is 3 or 4 years old they are careless of the world around them. When you sit with an elder, they see the world very differently as well but similar to a 4 year old they can't be bothered to fuss about what others think. What is it about our development that causes this to happen? According to Victor Hugo, 'Forty  is the old age of youth; fifty the youth of old age'.