Technology Self-Assessment: 2.0

NETS-T 1: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

“Ken Robinson Says Schools Kill Creativity”

Ken Robinson's speech was brought to me through Classroom 2.0's NET-S standard (1) which is facilitating and inspiring student learning and creativity. Ken starts out his speech by speaking about the unpredictability of education. He introduces the idea that educators are supposed to be teaching students to prepare them for a time that they themselves know nothing about. (In 2006) Students starting kindergarten will be retiring by 2065. He says that despite all expertise, we do not know what to expect, therefore, do not really know what to teach.  He explains that children are born creative, and later grow up to become educated out of it. He says that “If kids don’t know, they will take a go” meaning that they are not necessarily afraid of being wrong. Although, this idea does not pertain to adults because we have learned to be afraid of being wrong.  Ken educates us on the original purpose of public education: To accommodate industrialization and later produce university professors. Therefore, creative arts were not (and are not) as important as subjects such as math and science. This inevitably leads to many artistic students feeling unintelligent because their skills are not valued in pubic education.  Ken speaks of a successful choreographer that had a problem fidgeting in school and explained that today would have probably been diagnosed with ADHD.  Her teacher recognized this  and recommended that she attend a dance school so that she could express herself through movement, while today she would have most likely been prescribed something to calm her down. The main point of this is that as educators today, we need to embrace creativity in our students. “Our task is to educate their whole being.”