Sir Ken Robinson's Lecture: Do Schools Kill Creativity?

In his lecture, Sir Ken Robinson posed a very bold question: "Do schools kill creativity?" In today's society, the goal is for mistakes to be completely eliminated. However, mistakes can play extremely important roles in anything from discoveries to learning. But today, nobody wants to try and do something new or out of the ordinary if they could be wrong. Without trying new things, creativity is hindered. Robinson defined creativity as "having original ideas that have value". He argues that creativity should be considered just as important as literacy.

The hierarchy of every public education system in the world seems to be the same: Math/Science at the top followed by language, then humanities, and finally the arts. Robinson believes there is a specific reason for this. There were no public systems of education before the 19th Century. Robinson argues that public systems of education were created to meet the needs of industrialism. Thus, the hierarchy is weighted more heavily toward subjects that apply most directly to work in an industrialized nation. This hierarchy created an attitude to the effect of, "Don't take music; you'll never be a musician," or "Don't take art; you'll never be an artist," etc. Some students may have been exceptionally good at something on the bottom of the hierarchy that is intentionally or unintentionally looked down upon by teachers and other adults. This may have caused those students to stop doing whatever it was that they excelled at, restricting their creativity. Looking at all of this, I believe that it is important for everyone to experiment with different things and find their niche in life. Whatever that niche may be, it is important, and people should not be discouraged from it.

To view Sir Ken Robinson's lecture, click on the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

Chalk

I had no idea what to expect when we started to watch Chalk. I had heard that it was kind of like the hit TV show "The Office", so I figured that it would be a comedy about teachers in the classroom. It was much more than that. Yes, some of the events that occurred were a little outrageous and hard to imagine actually happening in a classroom, but one common point I seem to hear over and over again about teaching is to expect the unexpected. Maybe those events aren't that unlikely to happen. Chalk takes its viewers in the world of teaching, and the various struggles, encounters, and successes that come along with it. I would classify Chalk as a comedy, but almost all the comedic parts were events that I could see happening in a real classroom. The movie started out with a very bold and somewhat depressing statistic: Half of teachers quit after their first three years. I had no idea about those figures. However, after watching the movie, the viewer can relate and somewhat understand why so many teachers move on to something else. Teaching is very demanding. However, if a teacher has the the right passion, I don't think anything can steer that teacher away from his or her passion.

The Power of Motivation

What motivates people? Can one person motivate another person? If so, how? The answers to all of these questions vary, but the most important thing to remember is the power of motivation. Motivation can drive individuals to do things they would never do without being motivated. So, how can teachers positively motivate their students academically? Many teachers use different techniques to motivate their students. From threats to rewards, motivation can be a result of various reasons. Finding a healthy balance to motivate students is a continuous experiment that teachers deal with. If every teacher could positively motivate all of his or her students, then teaching would be easy, and all students would be high achieving. It is not that easy. As a teacher, I will continually strive to positively motivate my students academically, and most importantly, I, as teacher, will have to stay motivated as well.

Become a Life-Long Learner

This past Monday, November 3, we had the opportunity to listen and ask questions to a panel of teachers from the Decorah Community School District. It was very interesting and enlightening. One of the quotes that stuck out to me that Jason Rausch, the high school choir director at Decorah High School, said was that, "You have to be life-long learner" which he said was a quote that Weston Noble, a former choir director at Luther, used frequently. I feel that this quote can be used not only in teaching, but in all aspects of life. In life in general, but especially in teaching, things won't ever continually be exactly the same. As things change, you yourself must learn and change as well to be as successful as you can be. This process constantly repeats itself. Therefore, you should continually be learning new things throughout life. Don't resist the changes. Embrace them and adapt to them. It may not always be easy, but it is necessary.