Ken Robinson - Schools Kill Creativity
TED Talks
Ken Robinson bases his speech around
three main talking points. His first main talking point is creativity within
school. He emphasises that creativity plays a big part in the learning
experience. During the speech Ken Robinson mentions that children are willing
to take a chance and are not frightened to be wrong. I believe that this is
correct and that fact that children are willing to be wrong will improve
learning as without trying new things you may never reach your target and will
never come up with anything new. Sir Ken Robinson also believes that creativity
is as important as literacy and he says the creativity should have the same
status literacy in schools. I strongly agree with this point as creativity allows
children to be innovative and enables them to use the imagination efficiently.
Sir Ken Robinson also discusses that
there is a high level of unpredictability in education. He mentions the despite
all the expertise nobody will even know what the world is like in 5 years time.
This means that it is very difficult for teachers to prepare children for later
life when the world is changing dramatically all the time.
Ken Robinson touches on the topic of a
child’s capacity for education. Robinson believes that children are born with
creativity and are born artists. He discusses that children are innovative and
he believes that we squander children’s talents. He then goes to say that we
neglect children’s abilities and talents through the National Curriculum as
subjects which influence creativity are left out of the curriculum. Children
are also told to avoid subjects such as Design Technology or maybe Art as they
will not provide you with jobs.
He further discusses that every
education system around the world has the same hierarchy with Maths and
Language being placed at the top. Sir Robinson also states that our education
system is based on our academic ability and the top of the hierarchy is based
on the subjects that are most likely to get you a job. Is this where the
creativity is lost? Do children stop thinking they can be musicians, artists or
even professional dancers? Sir Ken Robinson strongly believes that and he thinks
that children will think they their talents are not valued and are not seen as
worthy, he uses the word stigmatised to describe these lost talents.
I think that children are taught with
their future in mind but this will only influence subjects such as Maths,
Science and English as these are seen as the subjects which will bring you
money in the future. Although I do agree with school being a tool for future
life, does the system neglect many talents? In an effective education system I
do believe that we should focus on the core subjects but we should also
emphasise the importance of areas which promote creativity.
Sir Ken Robinson states that we need to
radically re-think our view of our intelligence. He goes on to say that we know
three things about intelligence; we know it’s diverse as we think in many ways
such as visually, abstract and kinaesthetic. He says that intelligence is
dynamic as we see things in different ways. His third view is that intelligence
is distinct. He uses the example of Gillian Lynne to describe this.
Robinson concludes his speech by saying
that we need to change our education system and that we must look at children
in every way rather than just focusing on their academic talents. He celebrates
the human imagination and goes on to say that we must use this gift wisely and
use our creative capacity for the gifts they are. Although I do agree with this,
it may be difficult to achieve due to our National Curriculum. I think the
teachers have the most difficult job as they must try to encourage creativity
as well as teach the children in a set way.
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