This animate was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert and recipient of the RSA’s Benjamin Franklin award. RSA is the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.
Watch the video and respond with your thoughts...
14 comments:
I watched this last semester for my Youth Literacies class and I remember thinking that it's so easy for educators to automatically diagnose students with ADHD simply off the fact that most students lose focus in school. What teachers fail to realize is majority of these students aren't focusing, is not because they have a learning disability, but rather the teachers fail at making learning enjoyable. How do we expect our students to learn anything if we're acting as dictators? In essence we need to encourage our students to remain open minded and opinionated. Where there can be more than one right answer, we as educators need to embrace the students that are willing to express their views. The key to success in life has always been to receive an education. Where have we failed at holding that notion to a high standard?
Regina said..
I enjoyed watching this video. This video was very different from what I expected. I agree completely with Sir Ken on the need for a systematic change in education. I believe that the idea of a "Theory of Change" presented by Robinson, and the need for transformation in our approaches to people, policies and practices in education are vitally important.I also believe that Sir Robinson is on the right track to demonstrate how teachers can incorporate creativity in school the same way that literacy is implemented. This video reaffirmed the original question from the beginning of my teacher career in this country. In my first year of teaching(as a co- teacher) I observed in a Kindergarten classroom a very motivated child, who was always ending his assignments quickly, and had difficulties following the behavioral rules in class. However his actions became more noticed by the rest of the teachers that promoted his parents to seek help for a doctor,who gave him medication .I was heart- broken seeing him indifferent, quite and disconnected from his peers, sitting down in his seat. I asked myself many times. Is the medication the only solution for this problem? Actually, I am more clearly that there are many solutions to students with behavior problem. Individual creativity needs to be encouraged and development. Behavior is a complex issue and initial efforts to address challenging behavior may not be successful. However,it is important to use the school's personnel team and work with the student's family and other school staff,to plan, develop and implementing behavioral interventions for specific behaviors. I agreed with Robinson that "teachers should waking up students to learn and there is a place for everyone at the table."
This video was very interesting to watch. It contained so much information and gave me so much to think about. I agree that we must change the educational system because we are living in a different time now. The changing economy and culture of today makes the old traditional educational system not effective. With the awareness that all students learn differently and the fact that there are so many different educational resources, the educational system must change to incorporate all these new ideas.
I found it interesting when the education system was compared to factory lines. Schools have separate classrooms for different subjects and for different age groups. Should we change this order in schools? I think we should keep the order of separate classrooms for different subjects and age groups. I agree that the only common thing that the students have in these classrooms is their age but I don’t think that this is a problem. In our society the normal way to teach students is by age groups. I think children feel more comfortable when they are learning with peers their own age, even if they don’t learn in the same way. Every person is different, so it would be impossible to create a class in which all the students are exactly the same in many ways. Separating by age is the best way because it creates order and a way to organize students and it also allows students to learn from each other. Having students that are different in the same class allows for variation in teaching methods and variation in what the students bring to the class.
The video referenced ADHD as a fictitious epidemic. It is interesting to me that with the increase of standardized tests and with all the new technology distractions, the rise of ADHD occurred. Is medicine the answer for the cure? For some children medicine might be the way to go but for other children different teaching techniques and activities might be helpful for students with ADHD. Creative, focused activities might be helpful and allow students with ADHD to learn and succeed from day to day.
Lastly, I want to mention the idea about divergent thinking and cooperation. I agree that teaching students to use divergent thinking is the way to go. Allowing students to see all different possible solutions to the problem and all different ways to interpret a question shows them that everyone can look at the problem differently and still be right. Cooperation is the right way to go because working in groups allows for more ideas to be used and the solution to be found easier. Learning from your group members can be very helpful.
Response to “Changing Education Paradigms” Video
This video addresses various problems that are found in our current education system. One of the first ideas mentioned in this video is the fact that many students don’t feel that an education is necessary in order to get a job or have security for their future. We can no longer use this as a way to engage or keep them interested in their education because there is some truth to this way of thinking. It’s not necessary to have a degree to get a job as well as a job isn’t secured for you if you have a degree. Therefore, some people would not find it necessary to get an education.
Another interesting fact brought up in this video was the use of prescription drugs for ADHD and other disorders that have an impact on learning. These drugs calm them down and somewhat shuts off their senses when in fact their senses should be fully turned on in order to gain a full educational experience. Therefore, we should look at changing the way we teach instead of changing our students. I really enjoyed the way the speaker mentions how students are getting penalized for getting distracted when they are giving boring things to learn. I thought that was an excellent point that he made. He also mentions how ADHD has increased as standardized testing also increased. This shows that we should change the curriculum and the way we teach to make it more interesting. We should find ways in which we can engage our students and keep them interested in their education. If we find ways to keep them interested in what they are learning as much as they are interested in the distractions they encounter in their everyday lives, this would help prevent students from getting distracted.
Another very important fact the speaker mentions in this video is the idea of divergent thinking. I found it very interesting how the level of divergent thinking decreases as the students get older. This part was important because it shows that almost all of us our capable of this type of thinking but as we get older, it goes away. This is a sad thing to hear because this means that the education system is doing something that makes students not think this way anymore. So in other words, the education these students receive is discouraging them from divergently thinking. They are taught to find the answer and that there is only way to find this answer. This is why it is important to teach them that there is more than one way to see a problem and that there are many ways of thinking. It is important to let our students know that there is no wrong way to think or no such thing as wrong ideas. We must encourage our students to think and feel that there are no restrictions in their learning.
I thoroughly enjoyed that video. I had never seen or heard of an RSA Animate before, but I am now hooked. The animation is a brilliant and well-done accompaniment to the lectures.
I think Sir Ken has to be, at least partially, trying to push people’s buttons. Calling ADD a fake epidemic is a little inflammatory to say the least. What’s more to the point, in my opinion, is that ADD is relatively recent diagnosis for a condition that exists and has existed for a long time. The trends on the map show frequency of diagnosis, not incidence of the condition.
Furthermore, while I do agree that there is a tendency to overprescribe drugs in our society in general, some people do benefit greatly from medications used to treat ADD. I have a friend who takes medication for his ADD and says he would never make it through college without it. For him learning is actually possible, really for the first time, now that has been diagnosed and is on medication.
Comparing contemporary schools to the old factory model is also not entirely fair. I believe teachers, or at least good ones, try to evaluate how they perform and improve from class to class, year to year. I don’t think most teachers intentionally perpetuate the factory model. Pedagogy involves a lot of experimentation and quantification. Many very smart people work very hard at developing teaching strategies. Therefore to paint teachers as uncaring cogs in an ineffectual machine is another bit of button pushing, in my opinion.
Robinson does provide some good food for thought, but I think more than one of his comments are meant to inflame as much as entertain or enlighten!
Very interesting video! I agree with Sir Ken in that public education needs change. If students feel there is no purpose of going to school then why do we have schools, why do we continuously want to educate students? Educators need to ask themselves what is it about school that makes students disengaged and simply bored. It is the lack of creativity in schools. If educators found a way to make learning creative, engaging and enjoyable, students would want to come back to school. It is easy for educators to diagnose a student with ADHD and blame the student for not understanding what was taught. If the educator just blamed himself/herself for not making the lesson engaging for students then there would less problems. Teachers should stop putting students to sleep in the classroom and start waking up children to what they have inside themselves. Educators need to conform to different types of learners in the classroom. There is not one way to think. Not every student is a convergent thinker.Some students see multiple answers. Teachers should adhere to divergent thinking as much as to thinking in a linear fashion. Educators should also allow collaboration in the classroom because most great learning happens in groups.
Divergent thinking, ADHD, and the factory model seem to be the things that you six have been writing about... I am glad the "animate" has gotten you thinking... and it has evoked some emotion. As for the rest of you, it is 10:46 pm, the night before class, and I am getting nervous!!!!!
See you all tomorrow.
My opinion on the validity of the ADD/ADHD “epidemic” has varied over time. I have known students who had noticed improvement following their diagnosis. I’ve also known students who sought diagnosis in between the May and November SAT in order to have more time on the test. While I agree that the national map did not show actual occurrences only diagnoses, I do not believe it to be coincidence that the distribution exists as is. Pharmaceutical companies have grown exponentially, representing one of the more powerful lobbies in Washington, D.C.
My personal and professional education experiences were predominately in private, Catholic schools. There are uniforms, desks in rows, and the only thing that differs now from my high school days is that power point slides have replaced overheads. Creativity is fostered only in specific instances, and individual needs were not the priority. It was and remains to be “sink or swim,” an example of twentieth century methodology in the twenty-first century. I have since come to understand that teaching is lighting a fire, not filling a bucket.
The de-industrialization of education should commence immediately. I believe Sir Ken would not be a fan of the current regents program in NYS. I myself do not believe you can accurately judge the accumulated knowledge of a year’s worth of learning with a three hour government issued scantron exam. It would only compound the problem if teacher’s performances were graded based on student success on these same exams.
Rob Linne shared Ken Robinson’s “Changing Education Paradigms” with our Youth Literacies class in Fall 2010. I was truly inspired by Robinson’s ideas about education reform. I appreciate art and have always been a visual person. Robinson’s use of graphic design to convey his ideas enhances his theory that knowledge can be distributed in alternate ways. It is time for the education system to brake away from traditional modes of learning and embrace the era we exist in - one that is technologically and ingeniously dominated. With the invention of gadgets like the IPAD one wonders if the geniuses that produced these marvels of technology gained their tools of success in the parameters of conventional education systems. It is a new century; things must be engineered to adapt to create optimal success for this new generation of children. Ken maintains that the schools are killing creativity. I think that the schools need to hire fresh new teachers that expand knowledge rather than retaining old ways of creating knowledge and understanding. Bloomberg might have the right idea but doing away with stale teachers that continue to use outdated and obsolete lesson plans, but new teachers out of school should have a fighting chance!
Wow! This is my first time watching this video. (This is actually my second time posting this blog which I have already tried to do 5 minutes ago). I'm not a believer in medicating students in order to help them to focus in school. The distractions has risen over the years, which makes it difficult to have them consistently focused in school. These distractions include cell phones, iPods, tablets, computer and more. The education system has been changing as well. We can start by incorporating these gadgets to the classroom setting. These different types of technology is not completely a bad thing for these kids. Our problem is getting them focused in school. If these devices already has their attention then we can use it to our advantage. Who will be the next great minds to invent the next big thing? It will take focus, time, and commitment for sure. It's always good to take a step back to observe of what 'exactly' is happening in our classrooms. Are we actually helping them? Are they fully understanding? What needs to be changed? There is always room for improvement.
This video reinforces how diagnosing a student with ADHD is the easy way out. This actually made me think of my brother. He’s turning 5 on Monday and is extremely energetic like any other 5 year old. On top of the fact that he is a boy, it is obvious that he is engaging in “normal” 5 year old behavior. Because my step father claims he has ADHD but was never formally diagnosed with it, my brother must have it. He gets a lot of complaint from his teachers about not listening and getting distracted easily. So of course my mother jumps directly to the conclusion of ADHD. I’m not ridiculing my mother’s parenting, she’s a great mom (look how wonderful her daughter turned out (: just kidding… but seriously). I’m just suggesting that the influence of society on her self-diagnosis. Luckily she has me to persuade her differently. Considering now that we have learned that there is no such thing as the diagnosis ADHD any more. My 5 year old brother is extremely intelligent, he uses words like “sternly”, phrases like “seriously?” and “Are you kidding me?” and “What in tarnation?” His lack of concentration makes me think that preschool is just too easy for him and I constantly tell my mother to wait until kindergarten. I also ask her not to take him to the doctor because for the most part, they will just give him pills.
I also completely agree with the point that kids are bored by school. They are living in a media saturated world, and everyone will agree that the technology that we have today is with out a doubt more entertaining that listening to someone telling you what to do and how to do it. They get enough of that at home form their parents; they don’t need it from their teachers too. Since they are so consumed by media and technology, it should be incorporated into their lessons. Students will most like become more interested and less likely to be diagnosed with supposed ADHD.
I really enjoyed watching this video because the visual component that accompanied his speech. The central argument was “How do we educate our children to be prepared for this globalized world?” It is interesting that our current structure of education was formed with all of the values expect that they didn’t think that people of the lower working class would benefit. That explains why so many people haven’t benefited from their education and also why more and more having a college education does not guarantee you a better life.
Another argument given was whether ADHD is epidemic and are we dealing with it accurately as it has become a more frequent diagnosis? I agree with the speaker we are not dealing with it accurately. Besides dealing with ADHD, sometimes teachers do not push their students to their full potential. One of his solutions was that we should get students to be more of a critical thinker.
I am completely fascinated by this video and by the presenter. What also fascinates me is the fact that we don’t utilize people who actually think of better and more likely, successful ways, to educate children. What are the people who are in charge of creating alternative methods to better prepare students doing?! I’m confused, really. I have always believed that the system of keeping those at the bottom, stay there, and those at the top, remain there, is the reason why nothing in the education system has dramatically changed. Our culture is so fixated in competition. We want to win, rule, control, and conquer EVERYTHING that we forgot that not everyone is going to want to do that. The idea that we must be better at science and math than Russia (for example) by raising standards and creating harder exams is not the answer. We are holding children back from themselves, from what they would like to learn to what they don’t care to learn, from the way they want to learn to the way they MUST learn. It is sad that divergent thinking decreases with age because, as Robinson said, we’re being educated. He is completely right. Personally, I love learning but I hate being tested on what I learn. It shuts me down, it makes me question what I know and what I thought I knew. There are so many other ways to assess students that help bring out what they are good at by awakening their own, individual way of learning and thinking. I am going to use this video as a reminder of what I don’t want to do in my classroom and what I should set out to do.
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