Ken Robinson is an innovator in education, and he pushes others to understand their students and their talents more fully. We listened to three videos provided by TED Talks in which Ken guides our thoughts into a direction away from the mundane, structural, and predictable educational system. He challenges us to question the current structure of our educational system and pushes us to encourage others in their creativity.
Authored by: Jo Davis
Authored by: Lindsay Stewart
In this video, Ken Robinson provides a profound case for the need of our educational system to nurture rather than undermine creativity. Ken’s talk is very entertaining, and he kept my full attention for the duration.
Ken explains that everyone has an interest in education; it is not only teachers or students that have an interest. Ken explains that education is meant to lead our children into the future. However, he also points out that the future is quite unpredictable, and how can we educate for unpredictability? Ken explains that we must begin with nurturing the innovation, talents, and creativity of others. He points out that our current education system stifles the creative minds of children; furthermore, Ken states that there is currently an academic inflation. There is a lot of focus on degrees and meeting education marks. Ken directs us to see that children are not, by nature, afraid of taking chances; rather, we are educating our children out of creativity. He argues that if you do not take chances and are afraid of being wrong, then you will not come up with anything creative and original; this is something that education takes away from children.
Ken is passionate about nurturing the creativity of others. Instead of squandering the talents of our children, we should embrace them. He shows us that degrees really are not worth much compared to the creativity we are stifling. We need to change our perception of human capacity, and we should use our gift of imagination wisely and encourage that gift in others. Ken’s talk on creativity brought to life again many points I have read and heard recently through the interaction in my EDM310 class. There are many passionate educators that want to see a change, and there are people that “really get it.” But how do we move from pointing out the issues to making the changes to put these great ideas into practice? There are many guidelines that educators must follow based on where they are employed. I would hope my classroom would be one that encourages all creativity, but I am concerned about my own limits as an educator. When will “those in charge” embrace the need to allow more imagination and nourishment of talents in our schools? As Ken says, the future is unpredictable; I hope the future includes many ideas I have in my own imagination.
by Secoria Burks
In this video Ken Robinson addresses problems that we face in education so far. Education as it is alienates certain students, and marginalises points of value in students. Current school structure was designed during the Enlightenment period and was based around economics and intelligence. This system has created the notion that there are smart and non-smart people and this is not only ineffective but creates unnecessary chaos. Another topic he discusses is the misappropriated use of prescription drugs on students and the effects they have on classroom participation. He explains how students of this age are the most stimulated in history. They are being stimulated by their surroundings and more and more by chemical substances.Both of these things make it hard for students to focus on what is usually boring student material. Instead of attempting to make the material just as stimulating students are often penalized for not being interested. The point he really works at is that students are being numbed to experiences that are supposed to make them feel alive. School structure is another big topic he discusses. He emphasizes the importance put on student age instead of ability. Also he elaborates on how schools are modeled after factories. There are ringing bells, separate facilities, subjects are divided up, and students are taught in batches determined by age. This is a form of educating that is only conducive to standardized learning. His final topic is divergent thinking, he begins by explaining that divergent thinking is an essential component to creativity and that as children progress in the current education machine they lose this skill.
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