Answer: In this Ted Talk Ken Robinson argues that schools designed with the purpose of educating children for an industrial economy prioritize certain types of learning over others. This prioritization means that certain skills, capacities, etc that a child may have are either de-valued or stigmatized. So yes, in many ways schools – as they exist today – can kill creativity.
Another anecdote that may provide interesting context to this video. During my year in the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs I conducted a series of interviews (close to 30) with various stakeholders in the area of education. The purpose of these interviews was to determine ‘what was missing?’ from St. Louis’ collective conversation about education. What I found is that – in all but two interviews – the interviewee did not speak about what was in the best interest of the students until we were 45 minutes into our session. My questions were broad and open-ended, and I neither attempted to steer my interview subjects in that or another direction – I simply allowed them to go where they pleased.
Everyone says that they care about the issue of education. All individuals who work in the field of education say – when asked – that their primary concerns are with the students. What is missing from this picture?
Hope that everyone had a great holiday! Now it’s time to get back to work – both in the office and out. Today, I wanted to post a Ted Talk that I found particularly fascinating. This talk given by – Stephen Strogatz (a mathematician) – explores how things in nature have a tendency to sync up. For me, this drives the following questions:
How can we – as human beings – use this tendency to sync in the realms of society, culture, and politics?
If biological synchronization is based on self-preservation – how can we use this idea as a benefit to the entire world?
This is one of the most important posts on this blog. Please take a look.
In this TedTalk psychologist Jonathan Haidt explores the difference between liberals and conservatives. One quote that he draws on here is from Buddhist Zen Master Sent-ts’an who says:
If you want the truth to stand clear before you, never be for or against. The struggle between “for” and “against” is the mind’s worst disease.
Haidt argues that through moral psychology that we can all learn to step outside of our “moral matrix” which will allow for a more productive and civil society. Watch the video and ask yourself the following questions
How is Haidt’s argument playing out in the 2008 election?
How do you take this way of seeing the world onto a battlefield that uses morality as a wedge?
What are you for and what are you against? How do you feel about those who oppose you?
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase ‘each other’ doesn’t make any sense.” – Rumi
A TED Talk that outlines how we are all related. We all share the same family tree. This is just so fascinating. So if we’re all of the same descendents then we should start acting like it. In this talk Spencer Wells introduces how we are all geneologically of the same origin and that our differences come from a series of migrations across the world during the last Ice Age. Take a look…
Here is a fantastic TED Talk on classical music as it relates to leadership by Benjamin Zander. The essential idea that comes out of this is that a true leader allows others to truly explore their own talents in a constructive and creative way. Apparently, classical music provides us with a great example of how that can happen. Take a look…
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