Ken Robinson and Changing the Educational Paradigm

   

Sir Ken Robinson presents at the 2006 TED talk.

     After watching Sir Ken Robinson's TED talk in 2006 and his talk with RSA, I have been enlightened on not only the history of the public school system, but also the effects that system has had on students and teachers today. Sir Robinson's cause involves "waking up" the students of the modern age. He outlines the purpose of the public school system as an archaic preparation of young minds to be contributing members of society. However, in what manner and how much a student should contribute is heavily praised from an academic perspective. Robinson counts two things as society's expectations for students after they leave school: he labels them as helping in industrial affairs, with a knowledge of the classics and a high level of deductive reasoning. These two requirements to be considered "smart" are purely academic in nature. Robinson points out that not everyone is built that way, and that, in fact, children are having creativity "educated out of them." That when children are not behaving the same as their peers, there is something wrong with them. This can be labeled as a learning disability or even a neurological disorder. He states the most depressing idea that many great, smart people think they are not. 

     As a future educator, I am worried that my students will have had their unique expressions of creativity already crushed within them. I agree with Sir Ken Robinson in that the public school system does not value creativity. However, I do not think that this attitude toward creativity is intentional. Since the Cold War, where mathematics and science were considered the only way to be innovative, the United States has fallen short in terms of testing scores when compared to the rest of the world. I can see how those people higher up in the government would want to push and push in order to compete with the rest of the world. Those people must be feeling a lot of pressure, and I sympathize with them. Sometimes. However, they must realize that our current course of action is so flawed, and that it is bringing death to creativity and individuality. As I observe a third grade classroom for my literacy class, I watch these students sit there, bored out of their minds, learning how to take a test. If they make one movement, the teacher yells at them to sit down and be quiet. They are not separated into any particular groups, just mushed together, expected to listen and behave. Now this flawed perception of education has had an effect on the education of prospective teachers as well, with test scores determining your job security, mandated standards, etc. That would be an entirely new essay for another day. But I would like to see a school system where the students are grouped based on prior knowledge and proficiency in certain skills, rather than age groups. Robinson points out how strange it is that we group children based on their age level. I never thought about that as being strange, but it makes more sense to group students based on other things rather than age. Furthermore, the groupings can be made according to how each student learns. They can learn most effectively in groups of people who generally share their way of thinking. I believe that these changes would help tremendously in the current crises we are seeing today in education. 

Sir Ken Robinson's 2006 TED Talk

Sir Ken Robinson's RSAnimate Talk