TED Talks - Sir Ken Robinson

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.