Sir Ken Robinson’s lecture provided me very fresh view of the education. Current education model used around the world is created in the industrialized world. Sir Ken Robinson is asserting that we need a new system in modern society to concentrate on fostering creativity. However, I only partially agree to his opinion. Creativity is actually derived from knowledge.
Also, there are special education programs for the students talented in art or sports.
First, Creativity is rooted heavily on background knowledge. Without any knowledge, something new can’t be created at all. In the past, when not much knowledge was accumulated, we didn’t need much knowledge to create new things. For instance, when people invented papers or wheels they didn’t need much knowledge about the subject. However, if you are to invent new cell phone or discover new laws in science you need a lot of background knowledge. Nowadays, it is almost impossible to create new things without having a knowledge base and a broad spectrum of knowledge. As the old Korean proverb goes, you can see as much as you know. So in this way, we need to educate a lot of knowledge in order to foster creativity. Sir Ken Robinson mentioned that the ultimate goal of current education system is to make university professors but I disagree. I think the way the current education system is teaching is to provide students with the background knowledge.
Also, what our school system teaches are things that are necessary to survive in the modern society. Yes, it is true that there is no school in this world who teaches how to dance everyday instead of math but the reason is because it’s necessary to have certain knowledge. There is certain knowledge that are necessary to live in the modern society such as the system of government, basic math skills or language. Also, school has duty to teach subjects that are important to live spiritually abundant life. For instance, a student who is interest in math should also study paintings and music to enjoy the art. We can’t say teaching diverse subjects as ignoring diversity and waste of effort.
Furthermore, there are special schools for students who are talented in art or sports. If normal school and its curriculum can’t meet the needs of these students then they can apply for these special schools and foster creativity in a field they are interested in. Almost every education system offers these opportunities. For instance in U.S there are many great art schools as well as in many European countries. There are many great art schools and sports schools in Korea
However, I’m not completely against his opinion. Current education System has many problems to reform in some degree. Schools have become a place to prepare for the university and higher education. This leads to the aggravated importance tests and grading. I believe that tests are the biggest deterrent to the creativity. The thing that all tests are looking for is the right answers and I think this is the reason why students afraid to be wrong and gradually loose creativity as Sir Ken Robinson mentioned in his lecture. Also, you can’t examine and study deeply and create your own opinion about the subject you are interested in, but you should solve problems and memorize to score higher on the standardized tests.
Another problem is as Ken Robinson mentioned in the second lecture, we’re wasting human resources. People are talented in variety of fields but school systems are not ready to accept them. For instance, if one student is really talented at playing games, it is very likely that teachers will try to turn his interest and talent. School systems only expect students to do well in certain subjects. Education should work to find the talent for people but I think we are
In conclusion, Sir Ken Robinson was wrong, but he was also right at the same time. Creativity does not come from nowhere, it requires broad knowledge base. Also, school teaches things that are necessary to know, and there are special education programs for students talented in diverse fields. If people fix the problems we have about the education now, I think the future of education is not so pessimistic.
