We had a concept for most of my lower level education: "said is dead". It was forbidden to use the word "said", even at the time I was a little suspect of the rule since every famous author uses it A LOT. However I think, as with most education, the most important thing is to send the pendulum too far in one direction, so that when it inevitably corrects itself you are in a good position.

In general I agree that creativity thrives with structure and rules, but that's exactly what the ban on "said" hopes to achieve.