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
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and structure we are using in schools today is no longer acceptable. Then he imparts particular emphasis on the importance of divergent thinking and shares information about a very interesting recent study on the subject, including his interpretation of the results. Along the way, he also provides convincing solutions for these issues that we need to address. To lead off, Robinson claims that our current system of education is based on an old way of thinking. He offers support in the form of background on the Age of Enlightenment, the origin of purpose of education, and how the first system of education came about. By providing this history, our speaker is helping us to understand that this is not a new issue. By the middle of the 19th century, the likelihood of being educated pretty much depended on your socioeconomic status, which led to segregating those “worth” teaching from those could not afford it. This information implies how having an inclination for the arts over “book smarts” gradually became somewhat frowned upon. In other words, if you came from a working class or blue-collar family, you were less likely to get a chance at higher education (if any). Therefore, somehow, those perceived as non-academic were considered non-smart. There are those among us who possess the ability to learn in a classroom from lectures and textbooks, but perhaps not the capacity. Robinson uses Attention Deficit Disorder as an example to show how the purpose of education is getting lost in conformity, rather than being explored through individuality and creativity. He feels that ADD is not the plague or epidemic that many see it to be. To strengthen his argument, he points out that “diagnoses of ADD and ADHD have increased over recent years,” and automagically come with medication that may or may not really be needed or warranted. In making these statements, our speaker is trying to point out that, in a time where we are all exposed to so much information and technology, it is wrong that we chose to penalize our children for getting distracted the same way adults do. In other words, instead of suppressing their senses with medication so that they can focus on the mundane, we should let them learn to use their senses to an advantage and have better experiences. Besides an outdated way of thinking, and suppressing the senses, Robinson also feels that our schools are no longer structured properly. Referring to the economic circumstances of the Industrial Revolution, he gives the example that we use a factory-style assembly line approach to the way we move children through school. By using this example, I think he is trying to trigger our memories. To start school there is a cutoff date, to ensure we all start somewhere close to the same age. So, we do learn in batches according to birth date and not according to skill level. To ice the cake, Robinson ponders implies that too much priority is given to our “date of manufacture”. In elementary school, I remember this loud noise they called a bell. To me it sounded more like something you hear on a game show when you get an answer wrong; but ok, that was a bell. That was my cue for recess and lunch. The bell schedule continued into middle school and high school, where we now have some single subject teachers. This structure argument might be cause for concern, because I have been in combined subject classes myself. I had a core teacher in middle school who taught English and History together, but I do not hear about that any more lately. I can imagine math and science taught together as well. My point here, is that some people process information differently, and some of us will take longer to cook than others, so, maybe that manufacture date isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Keeping in mind that some of us process information differently, Robinson claims that we are being educated out of our capacity for creativity.
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
reflects that we all started out with a capacity to think creatively, but unfortunately, that capacity deteriorates over time. My mindset is one of a future educator of young children, and for that, Robinson’s essay spoke to me. He provided strong and clear examples that I could identify with, and he magnified the truth in the saying “Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.” He helped me realize that children (not adults) are the most creative and imaginative, and our imaginations can be suppressed by some forms of education, which can then limit our creativity. Even though it came from a different speech covering the same subject, it is worth mentioning Robinson’s quote that “If it was there in the first place, it’s still there.” He was talking about our imaginations and our capacity for creativity. Now I have a new mission: to rescue the rest of my imagination! Brain, don’t fail me now!
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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...
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,
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
In the video Robinson states, “I believe that we have a system of education that is modeled on the interest of industrialism and in the image of it”. Even though many things have changed since the 18th century, the current American educational system is still the same as it was back then. Robinson states that schools are still organized like factories. “ Schools are still pretty much organized on factory lines ringing bells, separate facilities, specialized into separate subjects. We still educate children by batches, you know, we put them through the system by age group.” All of this leads to limiting the students with their learning, by forcing them to work faster or slower than the pace they learn. Not all students work the same way as others do, some do better in groups while others work just as well alone. This all leads to many thinking that there are only two types of people, smart or non smart people. “They have twin pillars, economic and intellectual and my view is that this model has caused chaos”. The chaos Robinson is talking about is the ADHD “epidemic” that the U.S is facing because of how different the 20th century is from the 18th century. “Our children are living in the most intensive stimulating period in the history of the earth. They are being besieged with information and coerced for attention from every platform: computers, from iphones… And were penalizing them now for getting distracted. From what? Boring stuff.” The thing is that there is no progress with adapting the educational system to our way of life, the only thing changing is the amount of standardized test American students take and the medicines they are taking in order to focus in class. Robinson pointed out how “ADHD has risen in parallel with the growth of standardised testing” and the only thing that parents and doctors are doing is
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
Warner, D. (2006). Creating a perspective for schooling in the knowledge era. Camberwell, Victoria: Acer Press.