In the Ted talk, “Bring on
the Learning Revolution,” Sir Ken Robinson argues that a reform in education is
simply not enough. He states we do not
need a evolution, WE NEED A REVOLUTION.
He begins to talk about how education
has a literarity, that there is one path in education (it starts and ends in
the same way for everyone). People
believe if you follow this path of education then you will be set for
life. But almost every TED talker will
argue that this is not the case: life is organic. He says in order to improve education we need
to change our direction from industrial to agrilcultural. What he means by this is that we need to stop
trying to use the same strategies, techniques, goals, directions, etc. in our
teaching for every student. Sir Robinson
states that one way our country industrializes education is by stressing the
importance of college. Instead of making
education industrial, teachers should be like a farmer; a farmer cannot
determine the exact outcome of the growth of a plant, but they can create an
environment where the seed can flourish.
He then gives us a metaphor
on how we have designed our education system to be like a fast food chain. In a fast food chain everything is
standardized. In contrast there are
local restaurants that use the resources in their local area to provide food. Although the fast food industry gets a lot of
business it is “depleting our bodies.” I
believe what he means by this metaphor is that something that is standardized
does not always mean it is good. We are
more likely to come across healthy options at a local restaurant (that has
local produce and less processed foods) than we are at a fast food
restaurant. This relates to the way we
teach our students. If we continue to
teach kids based on a standardized curriculum we are not necessarily using all
of our “local resources.” These
resources can vary from the skills and talents the students possess to the job
market in your area. It may be useful to
use our students skills and the local job market to teach instructions better
fitted for the students’ futures.
He also talks about how
education does not fill our spirits.
People typically enjoy doing things they are good at…and are good at
doing the things they enjoy. He argues
that students may “opt out of education” because it is not suiting their
enjoyment. I definitely think this
relates to what we have discussed in the course. We often find students that struggle in
reading do not enjoy to read. When
students do not enjoy to read, they do less reading, which causes them to
struggle even more. As teachers it is
important for us to promote both sides in reading…interest and skills. If we can build a student’s interest we can
increase their skills and vise versa.
The point of all of his
examples in his talk are to show us that it is important to personalize
education. Yes, there are important
things for every student across the country to learn while in school. With that said, there are different, creative ways to teach the particular students in each classroom.
I definitely think this talk
applies to many things that we have discussed in this class. We have learned that every student comes in
with different cultures, backgrounds, reading experiences, etc. If a teacher uses the more agricultural
approach to their classroom they are able to create an environment where every
student has an opportunity. Because we
base our classrooms on such a standardized track we are not allowing students
to reach their full potential. I think
Sir Robinson give excellent examples in his talk as to why this approach is not
working. As a future teacher I will take
his ideas into consideration. I plan to
build on my students interests and talents.
I also want to be a teacher that supports individuality. Every student may have a different plan and
it is important for me to help them achieve it.
In my classroom I will create an agricultural environment where my
students have an opportunity to flourish in their own ways. I will provide them with the materials they
need, and individualize lessons as needed.
I will base lessons on people’s interests so that their enjoyment causes
success.
There are many different
strategies I have learned in this class to incorporate my students. I would love to use a technique like the
Robust Vocabulary so that my students feel involved and are learning words that
are important to their daily use. I also
want to encourage free choices in books so that my students can read about
their interests and enjoy reading. I
truly believe when a child is making decisions and helping creat their own
track they will have a better reading and educational experience.
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