Sir Ken Robinson Video

Watch the following videos as part of your work today in studio. Be prepared to discuss the topics covered in the videos with the instructors.

Every student should make a comment in the comment area in the this blog by the end of studio. I will counting your entry as part of attendance today.

Comments

[Katie Mitchell]

Sir Ken is right about how the academic world is structured. I went to a school that prided it self on its test scores, AP courses, and alumni's higher education achievements. But kids that were considered "average" were just shunted along. The kids that excelled in the academics were given a variety of topics and professors to choose from while the rest were left to shuffle through unnoticed. It was almost like my high school just tolerated rather than tried to help these kids. And it wasn't the professors, but the resources that limited their growth. Nobody bothered to see whether anybody needed courses on dance, etc. As soon as we entered high school, we were literally split on two paths: College or Technical. Students in the technical path were expected to never achieve much further than childcare, mechanic, or community college. Learning with your hands just wasn't valued. It's depressing to think how many students lost out by going to such a "great" school.

I also liked his comment on how the choreographer would in modern times be considered ADHD. That diagnosis is so crippling in kids today. It's like any child that can't focus like other kids has to have something wrong with them so they can be medicated. It's almost feels like a cop-out. I agree some children do have a problem, but I feel like ADD/ADHD is becoming as common as braces in kids today. It's just something everybody has. And it's so depressing to see how kids change under the medicine. Sure they can concentrate but what are they giving up to be able to do so? There has to be a better way to help them, and all kids really, without resorting to pharmaceuticals.

[Kendel Levy]

You know its so interesting about how Ted said that we grow out of creativity because we are afraid of doing wrong. We do the same thing with our peers don't we? Why is it that the students who speak out first to give an opinion or answer a question seem to be naturally smarter. While some hold back there views because they figure its wrong before they say it. I guess many people are afraid to approach creativity because they have assumed they don't have the ability or the knowledge to perform. I could really relate to the story of Gillian Lynne. I was prescribed to Ritalin at the age of 7 for my "ADHD". Growing up I thought I was not a naturally smart girl because I depended on medication to study, listen and take exams. I did so from first grade to my 3rd year in collage. It wasn't until I transferred over to the Interior design program that I decided to no longer take the medication anymore and push to learn with out the dependency of Ritalin. Since I have been in the design program I have made all A's and B's in every class including Physics which I made an A! That is not me or so I thought. The only way I knew how to deal with noise distractions and restless environments was to take medication to help me center my focus on one think. Then I started to listen to music as I work on projects that not only motivates me but inspires my design process and quickness my work without any medication. Instead of the noise being a distraction I tuned it to a different sound and it became a tool for my performance and creativity. I That is what I hope to find in my design for the Finland school. That I can recreate what is already there and retune the design to inspire learning.

[Anna Armstrong]

I especially like his use of the word squander when he’s describing how teachers and adults treat young children’s creativity. I have also experienced this in my own life, but the fear of making mistakes that grew out of such squandering is what has stuck with me to this day. I strongly believe that we need to cultivate environments for kids that are welcoming and not only encourage creativity, but encourage individuality. This effort could quickly move in an extreme direction and make kids who excel in math and science feel instantly stereotyped and forgotten. Kids should not fear their peers reaction to their work, no matter what subject it is in. They should be encouraged to excel in every subject, including creativity, but treated as individual cases. Each student’s strengths should be used as a form of communication in which other students and subjects can be taught.

This whole idea could even be the reason for problems in the economy today. Each child at a young age is told what they can or cannot do with their life and that they have to stick with it and be competitive. Because of this, children become either competitive business professionals in suits or starving artists. It is imperative, even within this movement, that children are not grouped or stereotyped so harshly. A “creative” person with no business or language skills cannot skillfully communicate with a “technical” person with no artistic understanding to produce meaningful work that contributes to the global community.

I was a kid who always seemed to enjoy school and make good grades. However, my teachers were always shocked that I made good grades on tests because I always acted like I wasn’t listening. I had to constantly be moving, doodling, or reading in order to retain information during a lecture. Eventually they just let me do what I wanted, but when I had to decide on a college major it was an easy decision. I wanted out a place that praised AP scores and science and math classes and wanted a chance to redefine what my gifts were and get over my fear of presenting my work to the world.

[Erin Bailey]

I was very inspired by the statement about not being afraid to make mistakes, because they could lead to something great. I'm instantly reminded of one Construction Documents class when Prof. Jeff Geren told us a friend of his invented some new type of machinery to build in narrow spaces, on accident. During my internship this summer my superiors also encouraged me not to edit my ideas too much before presenting everything to them because I may throw something out because I see it as wrong/incorrect but it may be perfect for the project's demands.
I hope we're all able to get into this mindset and keep true to it throughout the next 15 weeks; meeting the needs of the project and not compartmentalizing our design as is traditionally expected.
I believe we all agree that as the designers and mentors of the future generations we should embrace each child's particular strengths and not force traditional ideals upon them. Both of my parents are engineers and value math and science education above all else. My brothers are now both in school to become engineers as well but my sister and I are much stronger in literature and the arts. I'm less than a year away from graduation and I'm still asked whether I'd be interested in engineering or a career than has more of a math & science foundation.
Constructivism must be working if Finland is becoming the gold standard in education, and I believe it would be very well received in most parts of the United States. I'd like to see the US rethink the fundamentals and begin educating the whole being.

[Rebecca Pollard]

I enjoyed watching this video very much. Robinson uses his humor as a tool to get people's attention. He does this very well and asks the audience to help shape the future of education. His theory is exactly what this world's educational systems need. I agree that it is important to focus on the arts in education. Aside from a few art classes I was required to take in elementary school, I did not take any classes other than what was required of me. I always thought I was not skilled in the arts and therefore focused my attention on math. In high school, I began to rediscover art on my own and went to an art school for half of the school day. This drastically changed my perspective on educational institutions. After being allowed to use the entire class time to work on my own or in a group on projects we were interested in rather than assignments, I learned that education was something that could actually be entertaining. I learned not only about who I was as a person, but I fell in love with the creative process, thus making me want to become a designer.

After watching Robinson's video, I realized how much my education changed my life. This made me want to create a learning environment that catered to these children rather than conforming them to society's demands. I couldn't agree more that the world is becoming more and more creative and that we must adapt the educational system to meet these new demands.

[Ashley Wood]

Mr. Robinson definitely put a lot things into perspective for me as far as how I was raised and how I was educated. As a child, I never questioned the way that my classroom was organized, or how the teacher chose each lesson plan. I did what I was told, did my repetitive math homework, did each science project, and no matter how much I hated it, I did it because that's what I was supposed to do. I was horrible at math in elementary school and my mother did not know what to do with me, and to be quite honest I can relate with the story he tells about Jillian Lily. I always got in trouble in grade school, for talking, disrupting, etc. and I'm a dancer, if only my mother had taken me to a dance school, who knows where I would be today. It really made me evaluate my life, and how I now see my education. If only i could turn back time and re-do 1st grade.
The ideas that Mr. Robinson has on education and the way he puts everything into perspective shows how twisted children learn these days. The amount of times that I felt like a failure in school are numerous. I wanted so badly to be super smart in the areas that "mattered" like science and math. My brother is proficient in both and I always envied how easily it all came to him. If only I had realized then that I was "smart" in different ways, in ways that he was not. My talent was in the arts, and it wasn't until high school that I finally figured that out. Constructivist education provides the opportunity to let kids show their real talents early on in the classroom, while not discouraging them to be wrong or fear failure. This type of learning can not only benefit the overall education of the individual but the self-confidence as well.