Thoughts on Robinson

Sir Ken Robinson gave a lecture on creativity and the modern education system, and his style of delivery made a point that his actual lecture didn't: humor works to get your points across, and stories do, too. He narrated his points with wisecracks and told stories to illustrate the wisdom of his views. Sure, he used some data and philosophy to discuss creativity, too, but his style was predicated on folksy humor and, at times, self-deprecation.

The gist of his remarks turns on the ways the modern education system drains creativity from students as they move through the system. He traces this impulse to the advent of factory-style education in the 19th century, during the rise of industrialism, which needed workers trained to do one or two things, and, moreover, to be obedient. It's clear that remnants of that system survive today in retail and food industries, though not on the whole, and that too much of the education system in particular still seems bent on testing students rather than fostering creativity.

Robinson defined intelligence through three terms: diversity, which tries to get students to think original thoughts and think differently; dynamic, which refers to interactive lesson designs and to the style of learning the brain likes best (here, he used the example of multi-tasking); and distinct, which refers to the ways a system would cater to individual talents and bring out what makes them passionate.

I have to go now and read the class blogs, but I feel these topics are ripe for connection to the ideas of James Moffett, which we've been studying, as well as peer tutoring itself...

...Ok, I'm back. I can't emphasize enough how much I value risk-taking and original thinking in my students. I'm convinced that even on social media the majority of argumentation and reasoning is parroting of mainstream for-profit 'opinion producers,' which we might of as celebrity infotainment and top-down, directed and enframed new sources. To me, it's very obvious why people who think differently, both in college and in the so-called outside world, are generally paid more and more highly valued in their careers. All industries go through transition, change, and crisis; what we need are people - and employees and leaders - who can adapt to new situations as they change by providing leadership and strategy to help others adjust and change to new realities. To do so, minds must learn from the past and the present to move to the future. Literally, what that means is that leaders are people who can challenge conventional wisdom.

I'm fond of the adage about people on the Titantic, when they discovered it was sinking. There were the people who saw what was happening, and told others they had to move toward the lifeboats. Then there were the people who froze, and didn't know what do, but they were willing to be led. Then there were the people who didn't believe: the Titantic was unsinkable. They went down with ship. Education should be about producing people who can conceive the crisis and have the confidence to act - and follow others, too, when they assess the situation and decide someone else has the right course of action.