I have just caught up with the interview of Sir Ken Robinson on the ABC 7.30 report on schooling and creativity amongst other subjects discussed. Warrick Wynne has managed to create a direct link to part 1 of the interview on his blog.
The interview is a must see for all parents enrolling their child in schools and for educators who know something is out of kilter in the school house but don’t know how to fix it. Sir Ken talks about head teachers being critical to the capacity of a school community being really able to address individual needs – where passion and interest collide.
He didn’t argue that all is bad but just that creativity and imagination which he believes are the real drivers in the 21st century need a place in the school. Its not all about the maths and sciences its also about the arts and humanities.
I agree with his thoughts about the “cramming” schools being dangerous for they have no real long term value. He defines cramming schools as those focused around state or national test scores. I think he was spot on about parent and some educators anxiousness about the future driving cramming as it’s seen as a way to ensure success when in fact no-one can predict with certainty what the future holds except that it will be different and will need different solutions to the worlds problems.
In past 2 of the interview I also think he got it right when he alluded to the notion that schooling is not all about preparation – you prepare for kindergarten, then you prepare for school, then high school, then university etc…. We need to learn skills and understandings and action our learning at each and every stage of schooling not waiting for some time in the future.
Each time I have viewed the interviews I get something else. I have previously written about his TED Talk.
Thanks Phil,
I have been reflecting on this a lot lately as I continue to add parts to Richard Elmore from Harvard thoery of action for improvement in schools. He makes the point that if you cannot see it in the classroom it isn’t there.
Sir Ken makes the point about valuing the creative and imaginative elements of a person athough I would extend hiw point to include areas like english and not just the arts.
The trick to how do teacher not only focus on the process but also the task that we ask students to do – not just memorising facts.
I think scaffolding instructional tasks that have a focus made explicit to students,which encourage self reflection based on a negotiated assessment rubric that also have a single entry point but multiple exit points allowing for a range of capacities takes a skilled practioner. Now connect that task to a real life context that the student engages with and takes action and you probably have a high level of learning going on.
Thanks for the chance to expand on this.
Mark
This is classic process versus result thinking. As you do Mark, give these kids the tools not the answers. It shouldn’t be as hard as it appears at the moment.