The Ken Robinson TED Talk was inspiring and mind-opening. I showed me an idea that I had not even considered before; that schools and public education are stifling children’s creativity and answers that they will need in the future to achieve greatness. Robinson’s story about Gillian Lynne, the dancer, made me feel so touched that she had gotten so lucky as to have that counselor instead of another who would have killed her talent. This counselor recognized her as a flower and allowed Ms. Lynne to blossom; a different person may have seen her as a weed that must be exterminated (not literally). My main “take away” is that the school system as we know it needs to change. It needs to allow for more creativity and less one-answer questions. Mr. Robinson was able to make that point through the use of jokes and an easy, relatable style of addressing the crowd. If Sir Robinson had just stood on the stage, with a PowerPoint and read from note card, the audience would not have been so relaxed and able to understand what he was saying; they would have been bored. He did not have a video, PowerPoint, Prezi, or any other visual enhancements during his speech. It was all him. This allowed viewers to really focus on the content and not pictures or background. He was able to captivate his audience with his points, not his scenery.
I found it very interesting that he mentioned his move from the UK. He said that no matter what continent, the hierarchy of education is the same, Languages and Math on top, Dance and Drama the lowest. Robinson goes on to say that the school system educated children from the waist up. Instead of focusing on body movements, building art with hands and movement, we focus on using the brain/head to do computations and diagramming sentences. This matters because, as Robinson says, we are not all college professors. I, personally, have not set the goal for myself to say that I have truly succeeded in life if I am college professor. I have set other goals such as having a loving family and living a fruitful life. I will not need to know the meaning of olfactory or the how to find the angle measurement of a 30-60-90 triangle when given the opposite and adjacent side lengths. It matters because I am the future. I want to learn things that will better help me achieve any goals I have. If this means that education will have to change to meet my standards and my peers’ standards of life then so be it. If what we require is reformation to benefit our career choices and ambitions. We are the future. We will rule the world. We are the next generation. Should education stay the same if it does not help the upcoming sovereign? And if education does not change, then do we fail? Does our society end? The answer to that should be no, but without an adjustment Robinson and many others, including myself, feel that this is where humanity is heading.
I found it very interesting that he mentioned his move from the UK. He said that no matter what continent, the hierarchy of education is the same, Languages and Math on top, Dance and Drama the lowest. Robinson goes on to say that the school system educated children from the waist up. Instead of focusing on body movements, building art with hands and movement, we focus on using the brain/head to do computations and diagramming sentences. This matters because, as Robinson says, we are not all college professors. I, personally, have not set the goal for myself to say that I have truly succeeded in life if I am college professor. I have set other goals such as having a loving family and living a fruitful life. I will not need to know the meaning of olfactory or the how to find the angle measurement of a 30-60-90 triangle when given the opposite and adjacent side lengths. It matters because I am the future. I want to learn things that will better help me achieve any goals I have. If this means that education will have to change to meet my standards and my peers’ standards of life then so be it. If what we require is reformation to benefit our career choices and ambitions. We are the future. We will rule the world. We are the next generation. Should education stay the same if it does not help the upcoming sovereign? And if education does not change, then do we fail? Does our society end? The answer to that should be no, but without an adjustment Robinson and many others, including myself, feel that this is where humanity is heading.
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