For over a hundred years in the United States it has been mandatory for children to attend school — mainly ages six through sixteen. These years play critical roles in the development and socialization of adolescents. It would make sense then to hold the institution in charge of them for a large portion of their waking hours to be held to a higher standard. By challenging the status quo, we push for a brighter future filled with more content and successful people. One person who regularly challenges the schooling system is Sir Ken Robinson. The focus of this paper is on his 2006 TED Talk, “Do Schools Kill Creativity?”
Sir Ken Robinson is a british author with numerous New York Times best selling books, a renowned speaker with four popular TED
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Take Gillian Lynn for example. At a young age her teacher suggested she might have a learning disability due to her inability to sit still and pay attention in class. When taken to a doctor though, he informed her mother that Gillian just had a no illness; she simply was a dancer. He advised her to put Gillian in a dance academy to cultivate her talents. Gillian went on to then become the prima ballerina at the Royal Ballet school, opened her own dance academy, choreographed some of the most successful broadway productions of all time, and became a multi-millionaire (TEDtalk). A different doctor or less supportive mother could have cost Gillian this future success. They could have instead put her on some form of medication to help her focus during class and pushed her to pursue a different career or even just to become a housewife. This seems wasteful, does it …show more content…
Due to the fact that the institutionalization of mandatory schooling has, in the grand scheme of things, happened recently mixed with the population explosion, this fact does not seem very unexpected. The real notable component of this is that it means degrees are slowly losing value. A job that once only required a bachelor’s degree now needs a master’s or even a PHD. As the foundations for education become weaker and it is harder to get a job out of school, it seems just as logical to chase previously unimaginable dreams. Now it becoming a doctor appears as challenging as it does to become an actor or actress, so why is the one child supported while the other discouraged. This absurdity is still circulated throughout society. One child gets called ambitious while the other gets told they need a reality check, but currently it is becoming harder to determine which adjective fits which future plan. If we suffocate his or her creativity though, we may never discover the
The average human would think that going to school and getting an education are the two key items needed to make it in life. Another common belief is, the higher someone goes with their education, the more successful they ought to be. Some may even question if school really makes anyone smarter or not. In order to analyze it, there needs to be recognition of ethos, which is the writer 's appeal to their own credibility, followed by pathos that appeals to the writer’s mind and emotions, and lastly, logos that is a writer’s appeal to logical reasoning. While using the three appeals, I will be analyzing “Against School” an essay written by John Taylor Gatto that gives a glimpse of what modern day schooling is like, and if it actually help kids
In the article “Against School”, John Taylor Gatto urges Americans to see the school system as it really is: testing facilities for young minds, with teachers who are pounding into student 's brains what society wants. Gatto first explains that he taught for 30 years at the best and worst schools in Manhattan. He claims to have firsthand experience of the boredom that students and teachers struggle with. Gatto believes that schooling is not necessary, and there are many successful people that were self-educated. He then explains the history and importance of mandatory schooling. To conclude his article, Gatto gives his foresight for the future of schooling. Although Gatto has a well thought out argument for his opinion on schooling, he focuses
In his essay “Against School,” John Taylor Gatto illustrates his view point that the American population would be better off by managing their own education. He compares the school system to the concept of boredom; that students as well as teachers are victims of the long ago adopted Prussian educational system: “We suppress our genius only because we haven’t yet figured out how to manage a population of educated men and women. The solution, I think, is simply and glorious. Let them manage themselves.” In other words, Gatto believes that the main reason for the existence of schooling consists in that it trains our children to be obedient citizens who can’t think on their own. His point is that as a society we cut off the intelligence and creativity
What parents do not want their kids to have it better than they did? The way to the middle class is even harder to obtain today. The old way to the middle class was a high school degree and a factory job. In the new flat world with outsourcing these jobs are no more. The new way to the middle class is a secondary education, and that costs lots of money. Even though free community college would cost US taxpayers 65 billion dollars in 10 years, it would make college education more accessible than ever before. We should also consider free vocational school. With education becoming free and more accessible, this would not only help the ambition gap, but also the gap at the bottom, and the gap at the top. Filling all of
In this notable Ted Talk video "Do schools kill creativity?", Sir Ken Robinson discusses how public education systems demolish creativity because they believe it is essential to the academic growth and success of students. Robinson created a broad arrange of arguments to persuade the viewers to take action on this highly ignored issue, and he primarily focuses on how important creativity is. There are classes within schools that help utilize creativity, but they are not taken seriously by adults in society. Therefore, the value of creative knowledge decreases. Robinson uses an unusual combination of pathos and ethos to make an enjoyable dispute for implementing an education system that nurtures rather than eats away at creativity.
In their article, “The Creativity Crisis”, authors Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman explore the urgency of the downfall in the public’s “creativity quotient.” Bronson and Merryman emphasize the necessity for young children to be imaginative. Through an IBM poll, they verify that with the decrease of creativity in our society comes an array of consequences seen in the work field. The authors remind readers of another reason for the importance of creativity; they argue that creative ideas can solve national matters. Hence, Branson and Merryman believe that original ideas are key for a better world. Though I concede that creativity is a vital key to the solution of many national problems, I still insist that teaching creativity,
With the scheduling of their parents, they have no opportunity to let their minds wander without guidelines. Moreover, the structure put in place has taken away the opportunity for children to develop their own interests outside of what others tell them. Furthermore, they are given countless opportunities to develop their knowledge without room for creativity, and hence become a shallow adult. She argues that creativity leads to the great artists, authors, and composers. Consequently, Quindlen’s argument is that scheduling has stunted children’s creative
At least once a person’s lifetime, everyone think about who they want to become in their future. Most of the things they want to become, requires certain college degree to achieve that goal. Taking that first step of attaining the degree can be time consuming and involves loads of hard work. Some people have more determination and motivation to be successful, while others lack the motivation and can not finish. Not everyone drop out because they lack the determination to finish, instead they run into other obstacle while equipped with the motivation. Those of which are trying to regulate the balance of work and school, unexpected family problems, and financial problems. Unprepared students sign up for school because they think a degree is a “Pass “ to the middle class, trying to get one step closer to their goal but drops out of college.
In “School is Bad for Children”, John Holt discusses the faults and failures of the education system. According to Holt traditional schooling stifles children’s curiosity and learning, causing them to be ill-equipped as adults. He believes children are smarter before they enter school, having already mastered what he says is the most important thing, language. Holt goes on to describe how children no longer learn for themselves in school. Their learning has become a passive process. Children then come to realize teachers are not there to satisfy their curiosity, and in turn, grow ashamed and accept what they think teachers wants them to believe. School also becomes a place where uncertainty and incorrect answers are forbidden. The students learn how to cheat and pretend to work when the teacher is looking. As a result, they only use a small portion of their brain, and soon they grow bored. Holt suggests this boredom shuts off their brain and is the reason why many students turn to drugs. Drugs he says is the only way many young people can find awareness in the world they once had when they were little. Children John Holt says, are very fascinated
In “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” speaker Ken Robinson discusses the effect of schools towards creativity. Robinson believes that the education system prevents students from fully expressing creative ability. He believes that students should be encouraged to show their intellectual capacities through art and other creative subjects. I agree with Robinson’s opinion because at school your work is graded to determine whether or not you have done something correctly.
Education dictates your future, if you are an educated person many opportunities come natural to you. Education, by far is the main occupation of children around the world. Being highly educated allows you to gain social mobility, altering your social status and advancing your country. Ultimately, an individual’s motivation constitutes whether or not they will be successful in the long run. Most Western cultured students deal with this conflict more often. The children of American are given the right to attend public schools, but according to the U.S. government must be proficient in reading and mathematics due to “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB). If a child has difficulties with completing and being skillful in the two subjects, there will be
Robinson, Sir Ken. "Ken Robinson: How Schools Kill Creativity." TED: Ideas worth Spreading. N.p., May-June 2006. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
Education is the one of priorities in life for most parents. Previous generation, which is the generation x born between 1961-1981 has pressure on the Millenial Generation. The money is the most important variable that specifies the quality of life for them. So the Generation X pushes their children to graduate from a qualified colleague to have high life standards (How Young People View Their Lives Futures and Politics A PORTRAIT OF “GENERATION NEXT” (2007) by Andrew Kohut, Kim Parker, Scott Keeter, Carroll Doherty, Michael Dimock ). Especially parents, thinks in the same way with Balogum and he describes it as a key that “... unlocks the door of development and modernization...” in the idea of an educated person in contemporary African thought(117). This thought points out that parents think of the child’s future when forcing children to go to school. Also Balogum state that “...the concept of ‘education’ and ‘educated person’ are both common in all cultures”(118). Although both are familiar for people for people, most people may confuse these two claims and there is a link between them. Education is a lifelong process so being an educated man is connected with the developmental process. Also to have education there is no age limit. Balgum point that “...from womb to the tomb”(120) totally fits the previous sentence. The author supports his ideas by saying that “ In Rome, an educated person was a person who was a good orator and one who excelled in the military training...”(112). This example shows that in ancient times people who had various jobs were educated. Oth...
TED Talks (Producer). (2006, February). Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
I’ve always believed that working on our education is just basically working for our own future careers. But over the years, I’ve seen many of my friends drop out of school to pursue personal business. I think they leave for two reasons. First, school’s hard. Second, school is really boring. In recent discussions of education and creativity, Sir Ken Robinson states that “Education is what we invest in the future” or in other word education is the key of success. I agree on this statement. But I think even though we didn’t graduate college, we can success in our own way. Why do I say that? Because I see many people who didn’t finish high school or college and turn out to be a successful man and woman now. It’s not because they finish high school or college, but because of their own creativity.