Time for a Ted Talk

Sir Ken Robinson: 'How to stop education's death valley.'

This Ted Talk by Sir Ken Robinson was really useful to view. It made me think of my role as a teacher, the educational system now and in the future, and how it is important to be a not remain the type of person who is immovable but the type who moves. In this blog post, I want to share with you what Sir Ken Robinson discussed. 

Robinson discusses in His motivational and informative speech, about the three principles which human life flourishes. He says how these are often contradicted by the culture of education by under which most labour and those students endure. Here were the principles he states:

1. Human beings are naturally different and diverse- There should be an equal weighting in curriculum, not just a focus on Maths and Science, but also on the Arts, Humanities and physical education also. Robinson argues that kids prosper best within a curriculum that offers variety and celebrates various talents. Arts can speak to parts of the human being that otherwise are untouched.

2. Curiosity- kids can often learn without assistance, as curiosity can be the engine of achievement. Teachers are the life plug of schools. Great teachers: stimulate, provoke and engage. 

Robinson argues that the whole point of education is to learn and as teachers, we must facilitate learning. Task and achievement are different. Is the activity achieving anything? Ken links this notion by using a great analogy of  dieting. You may be performing the task of dieting, but are you achieving the weight loss?

Robinson also stresses that even though testing is important in education, it should not be the main focus. Teachers should support learning and tests should not be the driving force. Something that he says in his speech which I have taken on board is that: 'teachers follow routine rather than to excite power of imagination and curiosity.' I do not want to forget that learning can be a passion, a hunger for some people, but that for some, they require more enticement to feel hungry for learning. It is my job to capture natural curiosity, to facilitate curiosity and to generate curiosity during teaching. 

3. Human life is inherently creative- as humans we evolve ourselves and we have the ability to recreate our lives. Education should awaken and develop these powers of creativity. If teachers fall into the pattern of sticking to standardization, surely there is the chance to individualize teaching and learning is minimized. My specialist subject of English really seeks to capture the 'creative,' and 'imaginative' through writing, presentations and story-writing. However, someone's imagination and curiosity can be applied to every subject. It is my aim to continually procure the most fascinating parts of students' thinking, the most personal, which of course are their individual minds. 

I also enjoyed Robinson's statement that: 'Education is not a mechanical system- it is a human system.' It is about the people and their personal journeys through education.

Robinson ends by saying that a change of conditions in schools (student/teacher relationships, opportunities, expectations), can breathe life into a school. He encourages: 'Create a climate of possibility.' Robinson argues that in creating a climate of possibilities will be what helps to revolutionize education.  

This Ted talk has really inspired me and has made me explore other Ted talks. Shameful to say, before being on the PGCE, I had never heard of Ted talks. It really is a useful and enjoyable way of injecting some meaningful and useful advice into your life. If you haven't had a look, here is the chance to check it out with the following link: https://www.ted.com/

References:

Sir Ken Robinson, 'How to stop education's death valley,'(2013), at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX78iKhInsc [ Accessed 8 January 2015]

https://www.ted.com/ [ Accessed 8 January 2015]