TED Talk Blog 1: Ken Robinson - How Schools Kill Creativity

In Ken Robinson’s “How Schools Kill Creativity”, Robinson explains that schools are squandering the natural talents of children by stigmatizing mistakes, creating a hierarchy of subjects, and discouraging natural ability. One thing that children have that they lose through education as they get older is that they aren't afraid of being wrong. But, throughout education people have stigmatized mistakes and have made it downright horrible to ever mess up. This kills creativity because people never come up with new ideas just because of the chance they might fail. The hierarchy of subjects taught in schools have also had a detrimental effect on creativity due to the belief that subjects such as mathematics and languages are far more important and relevant than the arts. Children are taught more how to remember and repeat mathematical equations and rules of writing than they are how to express themselves and think outside the box. The arts aren't as highly valued as other subjects, and because of this, the natural creative ability that would flourish and grow in music and art courses is crushed. Natural abilities are disregarded and educated out of children to fit them into a common mold that has been in use since the beginning of the 1900's. According to Robinson, the only hope for the future is to rethink the principles and values on which education is based and adjust them to teach children for a future in which they must thrive on their own.

Ken Robinson’s “How School Kills Creativity” intrigued me when it brought up the issue of children today being diagnosed with learning disorders or illnesses that were just commonplace things 50 years ago and not seen as abnormal. 50 years ago kids that had trouble paying attention in class or fidgeted a lot were just unruly and daydreamers. Today they are diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed medication to make them calm down and “behave”. In fact, the number of children throughout the years that have been diagnosed has increased rapidly, from 7.8% in 2003, to 9.5% in 2007, and to 11% (6.4 million) in 2011. These kids are medicated so that they can act and think “normally”, or rather, normal as defined by society. But what if that Abnormal kid hadn't been put on medication? What could they have created if their abilities and creativity had been encouraged? The daydreamers could have thought up the most amazing ideas that we will now never know. The hyperactive kids could have put their energy to good use, like Gillian Lynne used hers to become an amazing dancer and influence dance as we know it today. I think that we as a society should stop giving children medication that hinders their natural abilities and weighing them down with the labels like ADHD. Those kids will now believe that there is something wrong with them that needs to be fixed so that they will be acceptable and will think that they are unable to do certain tasks based off of what some doctor says. Who ever wants to be told that they are not good enough?

Ben Franklin PLN

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Ben Franklin, 1759

Ben Franklin believed that people deserve neither liberty nor safety if they are willing to give up the first to get the other,.

Ben Franklin is correct in saying that those that are willing to give up liberty to obtain temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety because our country was founded on the idea of freedom. If you are willing to give that up you are willing to give up the basic american ideal, which means that you do not deserve to hold that right in the first place. The ideal of freedom should always be protected, otherwise that sends the message that it is not set in stone. It says that if you do not mind it does not matter.If it does not matter we should not have it in the first place. If its not there in the first place then the idea of America is dead.

A Vision of Students Today

“A Vision of Students Today” by Michael Wesch exposes the reality of the public classroom setting from a student's point of view.

“A Vision of Students Today” by Michael Wesch depicts the reality of public education methods in teaching in a way that is no longer relevant to an increasingly modern society and the detrimental toll that takes on the edification of the future generation. Public schools today are set in a rigid system outlined by view that is simply outdated and useless to a student of the 21st century. Technology is becoming more and more adapted to learning but is not being integrated into the school setting. Students own expensive computers, phones, and ipods but still learn in the same way: from a chalkboard that cannot provide the level of connection and possibilities for learning that a computer can through links, chat pages, references, and pictures. Michael Wesch’s “The Machine is Using Us” by Michael Wesch demonstrates the infinite possibilities that technology can provide people with because of the amazing technology people are. Another fault pictured is the fact that most of the content taught are skills and information that a student will never have to use again beyond their final. As explained in “Did You Know?” by Karl Fisch, we are currently preparing kids for jobs that do not yet exist, using technologies that has not been invented, in order to solve problems that we do not even know are problems yet. To sum up, Teaching needs to be modernized to accommodate the next generation of thinkers and prepare them for a life in which people must strive to keep up with technology, not the other way around.

Bully Summary/Response

In his documentary “Bully”, Lee Hirsch illustrates the physical and mental damage unchecked bullying does to young people in today's society and the tragedies this damage can lead to.

Unchecked bullying is a huge issue in societies everywhere because of the people who do nothing to stop it. School administrations promise to help to stop the issue, but when it arises they make excuses. They hide behind the idea that children are not capable of such cruelty, choosing to believe that they are “as good as gold”.

This indifference and lack of support makes those being bullied feel isolated and alone, which can lead to mental damage. A feeling of worthlessness that, when not contradicted, can lead to kids cutting themselves and sometimes even suicide.

According to Hirsch, this issue can only be solved if an end to bullying is truly supported and promoted by schools everywhere and children are made aware of the hurt and suffering they instill in others verbally and physically.

Lee Hirsch, in his documentary “Bully” exposes the harsh reality of the indifference society shows towards the issue of bullying by striping away the lies it uses to hide the ever growing problems faced by children today. When all excuses are gone, it is the responsibility of authorities such as school administrators and  parents to protect their children from mental and physical damage that can lead to horrible tragedies in young lives.

Teachers play a very large role in a kids life. They are their mentors, and as such have a responsibility to watch out for them and keep them out of harm. But, administrations have turned a blind eye to the issue of bullying, hiding behind the excuse that “kids will be kids” and falsely believing that most children are “as good as gold”, and therefore incapable of hurting others. They make empty promises to parents that they will “do everything possible to correct the problem” then never follow through. Teachers are placed in a key position to stop this issue at the main source and should do so by enforcing rules and keeping a closer eye on things in the school, not just pretend that everything is fine by looking away when something bad is going on.

Likewise, parents are responsible for the issues that their children face. Bullying can cause deep psychological issues such as depression, anxiety, and feelings of worthlessness. Parents should be tuned into their own children enough that they know when something is wrong. That way they can catch the problem early on and support and help their child before they decide to deal with their problems on their own, which can lead to tragic outcomes such as self harm and suicide. Or the outcome can go the other way, where a child becomes so numb to the bullying that they can't tell if someone is a friend or not because it all just blends together.

It is stunning to realize that simple words and actions can hurt a person. Over time all the small things build up until they break over and all the pain manifests itself into something ugly, changing and scarring a person permanently. Its even more horrifying to understand that those who should care act as if its none of their business and ignore obvious issues in society. SOme even contribute to the scars even when they think they are helping. A simple act of forcing a boy to shake hands with his tormentor can seem like a solution to a bully problem, when in fact it is just traumatizing the boy more and showing the bully that he won't get in trouble for his crimes.

In short, it is the responsibility of those with authority to put an end to bullying by all means necessary, and hopefully learn from their failures and shortcomings in stopping the issue that bullying is a major threat to today’s society.

Expectations

This coming year will be my first year of high school and like almost everyone else, I am extremely excited. But, I also have certain expectations for my classes and school life to live up to. However, whether these expectations are achievable or unrealistic is a fact that has yet to be determined.
There are certain qualities that good teachers, students, and classes should possess. A good teachers listens to the students and promote an open thought environment, within reason of course. They also encourage students to push themselves to improve in areas that a student may be uncomfortable with. They are also passionate about what they teach and excited during class. Teachers like that inspire the students to care also, and often have better chances of keeping them engaged and awake. Good students do their best to pay attention and achieve good grades. They respect the teacher by not texting or talking during class, and are inclusive of all the students (class should be a small community of sorts). Good classes are made up of both of the above mentioned students and teachers.
What I most expect to get out of English this year is improvement in my writing skills, my annotating skills, and to learn as much as I can from the books we will be reading.