This rhetorical analysis is on a speech given by Sir Ken Robinson called “Changing Educational Paradigms.” Robinson is a former educator, who shifted his focus towards education reform, and has given many speeches on the subject. In this speech, Robinson shares with us his views and concerns on the current condition of our Western system of education. Robinson explains how the intellectual and cultural influence of the Enlightenment Age along with the economic circumstances of the Industrial Revolution helped conceive our current system of education. He talks about the way we educate our children today, giving special attention to shocking truths about attention disorders. Our speaker also discusses how we learn and why the current methods …show more content…
He reminds us that creativity is how we use our imaginations to come up with great ideas, and then he introduces the concept of divergent thinking, which is a way to use creativity to come up with several solutions to a single problem. Robinson tells us about a recent study that involved divergent thinking. Fifteen hundred people were involved in this study, and asked: “How many uses can you think of for a paper clip?” Someone who could list ten to fifteen things was considered average, but a list of 200 things was genius. In class, we attempted to tackle this question in groups, and my group came up with thirteen. Now, at this point in the speech, Robinson asks his audience to guesstimate how many of the 1,500 people ranked a genius level. Only after the guesses, did he reveal that the test subjects were all actually kindergarteners. That test showed that 98% of those little kids each scored a genius level, because of divergent thinking. Children were curious to know if the paper clip could be a different size and made of something else. Furthermore, this was a longitudinal study, meaning that the same group of children was tested five, and then ten years after that first test date. I am under the impression that these children tested as a group and not individually, so, I think it was a powerful example, because it shows what we are capable of, and what we become as time goes on. Robinson also mentioned that when a group gets together in school to compare answers, it might be perceived as cheating; yet, in a job setting where groups get together, that is collaborating. I feel that there is great value in learning by discussing some things with our peers. When finished, the study overall revealed that as the children got older, and more educated, fewer and fewer were able to reach genius score. This
In the article “Clive Thompson on the New Literacy,” writer Clive Thompson argues that the widespread use of technology and social media does not make kids illiterate and unable to form coherent sentences, but instead, keeps them actively writing and learning. Thompson’s article is based off of a study done by Andrea Lunsford, a writing professor at Stanford University. Thompson agrees with Lunsford that the use of social media and the Internet allow students to be creative and get better at writing. In his article, Thompson quotes John Sutherland, an English professor at University College of London, to inform the audience of the opposite side of the argument. He states, “Facebook encourages narcissistic blabbering, video and PowerPoint have
During this class I have been able to explore more into the world of education and through different videos of how education has changed over time. Today, I will be discussing the video “The Bottom Line in Education 1980-Present” and how education operated during this period. I was given the opportunity to understand how schools in the United States were functioning from 1980 until how schools are functioning now. The documentary talked about different topics concerning the impact of the educational system with how it has to be changed with things such as the curriculum of what the children are learning.
Education is one of the most widely debated issues of our country in this current day and age. Many people feel as though schooling is biased and unfair to certain students; meanwhile, others feel as though the schooling systems are not serious enough in order to properly educate students to prepare them for their futures. The three texts that will be discussed, are all well written controversial essays that use a great deal of rhetorical appeals which help readers relate to the topics being discussed. In the essay “School,” Mori manages to specify her views on how different modern education is in America as to Japan; meanwhile, in “A Talk to Teachers,” Baldwin presents his argument as to how all children, no matter
It’s no surprise that there are faults within our schools in today’s society. As both authors’ point out if our educational system is
Imagine a world without education where human history is totally forgotten by the young generation, and individuals are forced to live in their basic everyday life without having the power to change it. Such in balance or disorders are the growing problems that occur around the world, which were pointed out in many educational essays like “The Educated Student” By Barber, “The student and the University” by Bloom, and “Class in America – 2003” by Mantsios. These essays are among the many of their kind that address the status education in the modern world as being forgotten and lost behind all the technology and commercialization of education. This was the point of attention of scholars like Barber, Bloom, and Mantsios who came up with a common
The human mind is perhaps the greatest object on the earth, animate or inanimate, but without the proper training, the mind is a relatively useless tool. Through the development of formal education systems, humans as a whole have tried to ensure the training of all minds so as to continue prosperity for the world. Most of the time, though, education systems do not realize the harm they are doing to developing minds and the subsequent negative consequences. Among the largest of these inadequate education systems is the American primary schooling system. The American education system is in fact failing; it continues to deplete children of their natural creativity and thirst for knowledge while preaching conformity, which in turn creates an ill-prepared and incompetent public.
The essay will commence by focusing on the1944 Education Act, as it was "the most important piece of educational legislation since 1902" (Gosden, 1983:3). There was a great need for this Act, because the Second World War caused considerable disruption to the educational system. As Dunford and Sharp point out, "evacuation, staff shortages and suspension of building programmes all created their own problems. War also brought important changes in social attitudes, and [...] there was a determination for a better future" (Dunford and Sharp, 1990:17). Therefore there was a need to remodel the current education system "in order to ensure that every child would go to a secondary school" (Gosden, 1983:1). Planning for reconstruction of education culminated in the Education Act of 1944, which is also known as the Butler Act.
With reference to the secondary curriculum in England, emphasis is placed upon the aims, values and purposes of education. With the implementation of the curriculum, pupils should be given the foundations to develop and apply the knowledge, skills and understanding that will help them become successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens; regardless of social background, culture, race, gender, differences in ability and disabilities (QCDA, 2010). In doing so, children will become more aware of, and engaged with, their local, national and international communities; and effectively widen their po...
Labaree discusses how the United State’s education is in a school syndrome, as people in America want schools to teach society’s ideals as well as let people express their individuality. These two demands are polar opposites that cannot be achieved. As the focus goes towards balancing these in hopes of improving society as a whole, the bettering of actual student learning is put on pause. Labaree talks about the beginning of education reform, in the 19th century, being the most successful in developing society; however, as education reform continued throughout time, its effectiveness wore off. He then addresses how the desire for education reform is more about improving society than it is about learning. He finishes his argument by providing possible solutions to fixing this problem, but states that fixing this problem will never happen because no one is willing to give up both demands. Overall, Labaree goes in wonderful detail explaining the problems of education reform. What made me choose this article was that he addressed the desire that people have on school systems in promoting both society normality and individuality. This correlates well with my topic in whether public school systems promote conformist ideals or individuality.
The target of this section is about the success of modern miseducation and how it leads to the ultimate destruction of man. Lewis wrote a large portion of his the Abolition
Education has become stagnant. Intelligent individuals are still being molded, but the methods of education are creating individuals who lack free will. Through deep analytical understandings of education, both Walker Percy’s essay, “The Loss of the Creature,” and Paulo Freire’s essay, “The Banking Concept of Education,” have been able to unravel the issues and consequences of modern-day education. Despite creating clever people, Percy and Freire believe that the current form of education is inefficient because it strips away all sovereignty from the students and replaces it with placid respect for authorities, creating ever more complacent human beings in the long run.
By using the topic of public school systems disregarding creativity he can persuade the viewers to want to take action. In the middle of his speech, he points out how every education system in the entire world is based on a ranking of subjects. When Robinson talked about the rankings of classes he had two main topics that he made sure to talk about. One being, the ranking is based on the most useful subjects are at the top of the list. He brought up how children have driven away from certain activities that they enjoyed because were raised to believe that those businesses will not create a successful job in the future. For example, if a child were gifted at playing the guitar and liked it, he or she would be guided away from the activity because there is no promise to have a successful career as a musician. This point was followed up by talking about how the entire rankings are based on one's academic ability. The school knowledge has come to take over our view of what intelligence is because universities are designed with just one image in mind. He makes this clear when he says Because of this child who are gifted and talented are being turned away by multiple colleges because the only thing they excelled at in school, did not matter. This leads to the audience to believe in all of the aggravating points Sir Ken
I believe that the purpose of education is to produce the next generation of leaders who are intelligent and have great character. This idea is supported in the article “The Purpose of Education” by Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist who fought for black and white people to have equal rights in America. He writes about the true purpose, and meaning of education in the article by saying, “Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction (MLK1).” This quote from the article explains that being academically educated is very important. It will help people stand up, be a leader, and take charge to make the world a better place for everyone. That gallant leader will argue against the fallacy, lies,
Robinson explains how during industrialism society required an increase in mathematical and scientific studies and the education system responded. This is an example of an instance where the education system and society were in balance. However, during the Space Race which occurred during the late 1950s to 1970, the United States and the Soviet Union competed over several technological achievements, the most famous being the control over space. During this time, American legislation pushed a greater emphasis on mathematics and physical sciences through the National Defense Education Act of 1958 which increased funding for these goals. While Robinson agrees that maths and science are important, the imbalance today has grown larger due to budget cuts and the lack of funding to the arts. Secondly, Robinson makes a good point about the over-diagnosis of ADHD. In this presentation and another called "Changing Education Paradigms" he mentions ADHD and how it has been overused to treat children who may not need it. In this presentation, Robinson describes a woman who would have likely been diagnosed with ADHD if she had been a child today but instead became a world famous dancer, not because she couldn 't pay attention, but because she was a better learner and thinker when she was on her
Doing the weekly readings and watching the videos, my mind exploded with possibilities for change - not unlike Raphael’s “brain popp[ing] open” (Senge, 2012, p. 64). Senge brings to our attention that schools were organised due to the necessity of the industrial age. However he also states that it’s time to move on from this out-dated mode, as i...