Sir Ken Robinson gave an overall amazing TED talk. He made a very clear, valid point, and addressed it in a very classy way. The first statement he made was that education goes deep with people, like religion and money. We have all had interesting educations, he says. Then he goes on to address the main topic of his talk: how education crushes childrens' creativity. He acknowledges the fact that children have extraordinary talents and capabilities, but we do not give them all the chance to shine. He makes it very clear that he believes creativity is just as important as literacy in education, and it should be treated with the same status. He uses children again, as examples of people who are not afraid to be wrong. We should all be like that, but by the time we are adults, most of us have been "educated out of creativity," he claims. In the world today, making mistakes is looked down upon. The only way to ever create anything original is to be prepared to make mistakes. Therefore, creativity is being crushed, because when kids try, they get smashed down. He defines "creativity" as the "invention of original ideas that have importance." Then he explains how in every country, the hierarchy of subjects in the education system is the same, no matter where you go. Mathematics and languages are focused on the most, then humanities, and finally, the arts. Even when schools do teach the arts, music and art, rather than dance and drama, are focused on. No system in the world teaches dance as rigorously as math. He asks the question, "Why not?" It is just important as math. He talks about how education came about in the 19th century, as a result of industrialism. It is predicated off of academic ability. He summarizes the purpose of education as, "to make university professors." Universities are what education systems are modeled after. Sir Ken Robinson describes that, "we focus on our heads, and slightly to one side." He says we need to use our bodies as much as our brains, and not just view the body as a transportation system for the head. He again references dancing, and says that we need to dance because we all have bodies. Later he gives attention to the many people that felt they were never proficient at anything at school, because everything that they enjoyed and were talented at was not appreciated or important. Another question Sir Ken Robinson asks is how people find their talents. He never really gives the answer. He concludes his TED talk by pronouncing that the only hope for the future is to change education. We need to see our creative capacities for how rich they are, and see the hope that is in our children for the future. We need to help our children make something of the future.
After watching this TED talk of Sir Ken Robinson's, I came away with a few key points. First, that education is not sufficient enough without equal focus on creativity and academics. Education as it is today crushes childrens' creativity. Second, that everyone is different, and that we cannot, and should not, be forced into one type of person. University professors are important in the world, but they are just one form of life. If everyone were the same, there would be no point. And finally, that the human imagination is amazing, and that we need to appreciate what it does. The brain is remarkable, and every person's is a little different. We need to respect that, and learn to focus on all types of people, whether creative or academic.
In my eyes, Sir Ken Robinson's point is valid. Creativity is definitely not appreciated as much as academics at school. It should be. To me, the brain is like a family. There are many types of families, ones with two parents, divorced parents, one parent, and varied number of kids. Every family is different, just as every brain. Sometimes certain members of the family have to pull more of the load, or are more natural leaders than other members. That is like which side of the brain is more dominant, or tends to be used more naturally. Without all members, however, the family would fall apart, and not be able to function. The same idea applies with brains. Yes, maybe someone is strongly dominant in his or her left brain. They still use their right brain for a good portion of the activities they do, and without it, they would not be able to function in the same way. No one is completely one side of the brain or the other. From the brain test that I took, I was 56% right-brained and 44% left brained. I use both sides of my brain pretty equally, so I can see both perspectives of the picture. I love school, especially the math and English aspects of it. I excel at writing and solving problems when given directions. I get good grades. On the other hand, I also love the arts. Music is the main way that I express myself, and I love to do art. I am not, however, very good at drama or dance. I see an equal importance for both arts and academics in education, but the arts are definitely not given much chance. The kids who are on the honor roll, or get good grades, or always participate in class are praised. Those kids who are in choir, or orchestra, or drama are not given very much credit. It is seen as more of an extra activity, or just as a hobby. I think it would be marvelous if schools taught dance as rigorously as math. (I am not just saying that because I would be good at it, because I have a really hard time with dance. I am not coordinated in that way.) Then, with more opportunities, all types of kids would not only have a chance to shine, but also have a chance to feel what it is like to let others shine. I think sometimes the kids who are always excelling at school get over confident, and think that they are better than those kids who struggle in school. The kids who do struggle at academics feel that they are stupid, and are never good at anything. The activities they are good at are not given much credit at school. Teaching all of the arts more in school would raise the confidence of all kids. It would balance the "scale of confidence." I also think that giving children more variety in the subjects they learn would make them all more well-rounded people. We say that that is achieved already, by teaching history, English, math, science, and other languages. These are all more focused on that academic ability though. Well-rounded people will be created when they are given opportunities to use all different sides of their brain and be creative and academic. Obviously, if all education systems have the same hierarchy of subjects around the world, it is a worldwide problem. The world would be a more balanced and better place if all subjects were balanced. Overall, I definitely and completely agree with Sir Ken Robinson and the point he made about schools killing creativity in kids. Creativity needs to be given more emphasis than it currently is in education.
Sir Ken Robinson used several techniques that added a special effect to his talk. A primary technique that I noticed he used was humor. He got the audience engaged by making them laugh. It also made it more comfortable and relatable to the audience. Another technique he used was storytelling. He told at least three stories throughout the course of the talk. All three were about children. One was about a girl who was drawing a picture of God, even though no one knows what he looks like. The next was about one little boy who had the part of one of the three wise men, and instead of frankincense, he said "Frank scent this!" These two both illustrated the point that kids take chances. The last story was about a girl who always had trouble in everything at school, and she could never sit still. She went to therapy, and the doctor realized that she was not sick, she was simply a dancer. She had to move to think. Later, she grew up and produced some of the most popular theater productions of all time. All three stories demonstrated childrens' abilities and smartness. Telling stories made the topic more relatable to listeners, when it becomes more realistic and personal. One other technique he used was quoting. He only used it one or two times, but it still added to his presentation. He said a quote by someone that said, "If all the insects were to disappear from the earth, within 50 years all forms of life would end. If all human beings disappeared, within 50 years, all forms of life would flourish." Using a quote helps add validity to the topic, and makes it more interesting. Sir Ken Robinson used a lot of methods to help create an effective presentation.
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