"Changing Education Paradigms" by Ken Robinson

  Ken Robinson’s video “Changing Education Paradigms” was quite interesting. In this video, he explained how our current school system is outdated and doesn’t fully benefit all of the students. Robinson believes that our education system is modeled in the interest and image of industrialization. He believes that instead of standardization, we should focus on divergent thinking. Divergent thinking is an essential capacity for creativity; it is the ability to see lots of possible answers to a question. He spoke about a longitudinal study on children which focused on divergent thinking. It showed that we are all born with this capacity and as we get older it deteriorates. They found that the reason for this is that those kids became educated. They spent years in school being told that there is only one answer and so they slowly lost that ability.

  

  I agree with Robinson’s video and his message. I think that our educational system is definitely outdated and needs to change. I think that too much focus in put on standardize tests and not enough on engaging students. I think that students shouldn’t be treated as part of an assembly line. Everyone is different and unique in their own way and they shouldn’t be molded to fit into a box. I also found the study that was conducted on divergent thinking to be eye opening. It’s proof that our current educational system isn’t benefiting us to its full capacity.

   In connection to my observations, I can see how schools can resemble a factory. In my school, students must meet certain requirements and if they don’t they are automatically categorized as a special student. It ultimately falls on the child and the teachers. I can see the teachers struggling to teach different lessons under the required time. They have so many rules and guidelines to follow and I think that a lot of the time, it gets in the way of the students actually learning.  I believe that it’s time for the board of education to take some responsibility for their industrialized system instead of putting the blame on students and teachers.