In 1984, a conference was held where technology, entertainment, and design converged. This brought about the creation of the TED Platform. TED Talk has been well known for sharing “ideas worth spreading,” just as their motto states. They live up to this reputation through speeches such as Sir Ken Robinson’s talk about schools killing creativity. However, what made Robinson’s speech worth spreading? Sir Ken Robinson’s talk became so popular because of the general acceptance of school corruption throughout society. This struck people to respond with their own personal viewpoints of school systems. Although, Robinson’s points were similar in many ways to my own, his approach towards solutions could have been more elaborate.
To give a detailed break down, it is best to begin with how Robinson’s speech became so popular. Obviously, speeches become popular when they are favorable, or sweet sounding to the audiences ears. However, what made Robinson’s speech so favorable? His speech was liked so much because he addressed schools limiting students abilities (Robinson). It has been well known that people are not completely satisfied with the current educational system, so it is easy to agree with his points. People also have a tendency to want to complain about something, so his speech gave them license to complain.
However, the general acceptance of his topic was not the only reason why it was liked. Robinson gave very well-thought and respectable points during his speech. For example, Robinson addressed schooling systems killing creativity by teaching people to be afraid of being wrong. As Robinson pointed out, “children are not afraid to tackle problems they are unfamiliar with.” He explained through a story about when a kid in a pla...
... middle of paper ...
...ive, they all generally agreed with his statements. As a result, his TED talk video became very popular and obtained over twenty-five million views (Robinson). His funny sense of humor, mesmerizing accent, and well thought supporting details allowed nearly everyone to agree with his speech, which is not an easy task. Sir Ken Robinson is a character that truly represents TED Talk’s “ideas worth spreading.”
Works Cited
Galanis, Philip C. "Today's Front Page." The Nassau Guardian. N.p., 22 Aug. 2011. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
Robinson, Sir Ken. "Ken Robinson: How Schools Kill Creativity." TED: Ideas worth Spreading. N.p., May-June 2006. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
Shepherd, Jessica. "Fertile Minds Need Feeding." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 10 Feb. 2009. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
"Speakers Ken Robinson: Author/educator." Ken Robinson. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
Jonathon Eig wrote in his book, Opening Day, “It was unclear if black American were on the brink of great gains or terrible troubles, but they were clearly on the brink.” Jackie Robinson served as a symbol for Black Americans success and therefore inspired other African Americans to take their own risks and action in order to challenge the structure of separation between the races at the time. Robinson’s infectiously appealing personality and actions helped him to attract to both audiences of the white and black population. What makes Robinson so successful was the constant pressure he felt not to fail and disappoint, because he was the one who could change the ideas of while and blacks. Eig quotes Robinson on the great effort he was challenged with: “There were times when deep depression and speculation as to whether it was all worthwhile would seize me.” Robinson did succeed in his efforts on the field as well as off the field. He is considered one of the original “pushes” in the civil rights movement and his efforts went a long way to help. While he did face lots of disapproval and hate from as a result of the actions and words he did and said, Robinson was celebrated as the leader and part of the developer of integration. At the time of the movement, the Vietnam War, Jackie Robinson was a figure that appealed to
...anged those around him and changed the way people lived their lives. Robinson was someone who worked for a cause not only for himself, but also for his fellow Negroes, and his country. His work for civil rights not only came when he had to provoke a change for his advancement, but even after he had advanced, he did not forget his fellow Negroes. His acts in the 1950's, 1960's and shortly in the 1970's has helped and influenced America to end segregation and racism in the world.
Rimer, S (2000). A lost moment recaptured. New York Times. January 9, 2000, 22 – 23 and 40.
Third Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2005.
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
Mathers, Marshall. New York Times, June 16, 2010. Intervew by DEBORAH SOLOMON. 1. Print. 23 Mar 2011. .
Simpson, M. , David. Los Angeles Magazine. N.P.. July 24, 2013. Web. January 30, 2014
What they neglect to realize is that most problems are unpredictable. So when a student faces a challenge not taught in the classroom, they will be incapable of solving or getting out of the situation. Once the formula does not work, creativity becomes a necessity. Some even fear the mere thought of imagination, since new possibilities open up the risk of failure or not being accepted. Students hold back their curiosity once they realize that teachers are unwilling to answer their question if it differs even slightly from the curriculum. These are the exact reasons our youth’s power to create fades. The value of creativity is beyond words; our society thrives on innovation. Take the stereotypical example of Bill Gates—he became a billionaire with the help of his creative thinking. So why would creativity not be the heart of our education system? Simply because there is not enough time or enough people willing to put in the
US Department Of Education (n.d.). Building the Legacy of IDEA. Retrieved April 9, 2011, from http://idea.ed.gov
A.S Neill, the writer and the founder of the this book and school has a strong belief that school should be like a place to fit children instead of a place where students have to fit for school. According to Neil, he thinks it is wrong to build a schoo...
...lls. Ed. Tamara Thompson. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Current Controversies. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 5 May 2014.
The American system of education is considered to be one of the most progressive in the world. One of the surveys on attitudes toward teaching around the world found that the United States is unique in its strong emphasis on "good teaching." My experience at State College has helped me to understand better how this system works, and what methods and techniques American teachers use to motivate their students for creative and active learning. However, I can also see that this system doesn’t work perfectly in every classroom. Reading Ernest Boyer’s article “Creativity in the Classroom” helped me with my understanding of the main problem that nowadays exists with the American college education system. According to the author, the problem is that teachers and students don’t see each other as one team doing the same business; therefore, in most classrooms the process of learning becomes a boring procedure instead of being mind-blowing. Moreover, reading this article, I could analyze the reasons of this problem that the author identifies through my own experiences at State College.
I am entirely certain that twenty years from now we will look back at education as it is practiced in most schools today and wonder how we could have tolerated anything so primitive. The pieces of the educational revolution are lying around unassembled."
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...
Standardization and creative thinking have always had a unique relationship because of how both deal with the ways that the public looks at the world. Standardization can be defined as the process of making something uphold a certain level. Creative thinking has always been thought of as a different way for people to learn and grasp information that might be understood in a more traditional learning method. “Project Classroom Makeover,” written by Cathy Davidson, discusses how standardization has a large impact on individuals who see the world from a creative way of thinking. The idea of standardizing education is one that has caused much worry in few people’s eyes because of the different ways that individuals learn and absorb knowledge. People