I told you the last of this discussion wasn’t had.
To bring you up to speed, I wrote the previous block post about my opinion about Sir Ken Robinson’s TEDTalk on “School’s Killing Creativity” called: “Is it really radical thinking?” and I have just finished reading his books “Out of Our Minds” and “The Element” – they were facilitating, enlightening, and so informative.
I think you should watch the TedTalk, and then read my perspective..
I completely agree with Sir Ken Robinson’s statement that, “The issue facing our education system is that it wasn’t designed to teach us, it was developed to see the needs of a former age.” In addition to his other statement that “we need to rethink the fundamental principals that are educating our children.”
As stated in this TED Talk, Education was created in the 18th Century, when there was a basic need to feed the industrial revolution. The innovators of 18th century, created a solution for a problem. However, since then, we have not “transformed” this education system in order to adapt any of the needs of today’s problems.
I believe we should have a class based on what sort of machines we’ll need to develop, what methods, or the precautions we should create when dealing with things occurring today like climate change. Or perhaps how our society and businesses will deal with the development of computers who will be able to adapt and think like humans. After listening to the TED Talk, I am inspired to believe that we need to set the focus on how to think creatively when solving global issues, and also simpler things like how to do your taxes. Think about how our children and students will react when the development of how Nano Technology is quickly going to change our future, how will they keep up if science classes are still talking about the periodic table, the mystical universe, and the invention of electricity. We need to begin to rethink what the fundamentals are that we are teaching our children. If we know not what is coming, let us prepare them with the tools so that they can be better equipped to developing methods of survival, methods to move forward, and methods to be creative and innovate a better future for themselves.
I might put this topic to rest, we’ll see..
Until then,
The Art Teacher