It was great to meet you all today - I'm sorry we had so many room mix ups. It should be straigtened out in a few days and I'll post the correct room on this blog.
This week I'd like you to do two things as homework.
1) Decide - in writing - which paper you will be working on this semester.
2) Comment on the Sir Ken Robinson video we saw (you'll need to sign in, so if you don't use gmail/google, its a good idea to start by setting up an account there first to use this semester). PLEASE POST YOUR FULL NAME - OR AT LEAST FIRST NAME AND LAST INITIAL - SO I CAN GIVE CREDIT :)
Timothy Giral
ReplyDeleteWhen Dr. said we are going to view a video about a man named Dan Gilbert, at first I thought it was going to be another boring lecture. After I viewed the video an actually gave the video a chance, ironically I actually enjoyed hearing Mr.Gilbert speak on what is happiness. The way he explained the scientific explanation on what stimulates happiness.How the brain works to simulates happiness.Also how he showed how many things that people would think they would be happy actually doesn’t make u happier.
I also like how Dan explained the diifernce between synthetic happiness and and natural happiness. Which I realized that thery is a difference cause a lot of times people get the two mixed up and don’t even realize the difference.i enjoyed the humor that he put into the lecture which made it a lot more interesting.also how g=he talks about the people with memory problems and the study he did on them.i really liked this video and look forward to the next interesting video we view in class next time.
Maude Cherry
ReplyDeleteI thought the video by Sir Robertson was well done. I agree with him in terms of education killing creativity. When I went to elementary & high school, it was a requirement to take some form of art class. You had a choice of singing, drama,painting,music,dance, and you also had to chose a instrument in which to play. It was fun and it also gave you an opportunity to see if that was something you wanted to do as an adult. Parents didn't have to pay a extra fee & didn't have to worry about how to get the child to & from the lesson. It was all done within school hours or a hour or two after school.
First the school were told to downsize the programs & now we have none. All emphasizeis placed on testing not on learning or fostering well rounded adults who love the arts, but testing them & making them fell as though all there self worth is determined by the grade they receive.Parents have to not only have to find teachers of music,dance etc, but then have to pay high fees & worry about transportion to & from this lessons. I wish the government & the parents would fight to revive the arts in schools for the future generations to enjoy and explore the wonders of creativity.
Scott Swenson
ReplyDeleteHaving watched Sir Robinson's speech twice I came away with many conflicting opinions. His lecture, although well stated and funny could be subject to debate from both sides of the educational coin. I agree that creativity is not encouraged enough in school. In my opinion creativity is rare today even in the arts. Go to Broadway, the movies or turn on the television...There is hardly an original idea out there. Generally speaking, in today's world most creative concepts are recycled formulas that make money. This is allowed to happen because most people are unaware or simply don't care about uniqueness or originality. We are bombarded with mediums that require little or no analytical thought whatsoever. Children can be taught to paint, to sing, to do advanced mathematics, or any number of things, but there is little to no emphasis placed on children learning to think.
A teacher of any subject should be able to make a case for the relevance and importance of their specific discipline. There is an obvious hierarchy in educational subjects. While this hierarchy may stifle creativity, it is also generally a pragmatic forecast for survival in today and tomorrow's world. I maintain that the truly creative have a drive that cannot be suppressed. They may or may not do well in their other classes, but they will dance, paint, sculpt, draw or write if that is what they find fulfillment in.
I strongly disagree with with Sir Robinson's statement that "Creativity is as important as literacy." Creativity should compliment and enhance literacy. Being literate means that one posesses the very basic fundamentals a person must master to even survive in today's modern world. I see entirely too much emphasis on making children 'feel good about themselves' rather than having the basic scholastic abilities. It wasn't long ago that a college education was exclusively for the "smarter" students. The goal of a college graduate was to have a well rounded education with exposure to many disciplnes. A college graduate was expected to have read certain classics, have some level of proficiency in a foreign language, a certain level of higher mathematics and some basic sciences. They were taught to think. Today college educations are more about job training....very basic "memorize this and that, pass the test and move along. There is also less and less emphasis placed on vocational training of any kind, which I feel is a HUGE mistake. People with mechanical/vocational aptitudes should be encouraged and trained. This is another specific degree of intelligence, and one that can cultivate creativity in a very tangible sense.
In closing I feel there is validity in Sir Robinsons lecture. I just feel with the glib and humorous tone of the speech, that he never really hammered his point home in an inarguable manner.
MmmmmKay?
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ReplyDeleteJustin Smith
ReplyDeleteSir Ken Robinson truly examines the relevance of creative education from many aspects. He speaks on how young students have the ability to use their creative senses in phenomenal ways. He also touches on the downsizing of educational processes and how it will affect the world of the future.
I enjoyed the part of the speech where he says "If you're not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original." (5:43) He also mentions that society is educating people out of creativity. I totally agree with the viewpoint. Most schools in the education system imply that subjects like math and science are the foundation of a proper education, and that music, art, and dance are secondary. Most institutions are lucky to have extra-curricular activities as such, if that at all. The arts are always on the chopping block more so than most when budget cuts and deficits force schools to cancel programs.
Sir Ken Robinson stated something that opened my eyes about the schooling system. He spoke about Shakespeare as a child and being in someones English class. I began to consider the modern day Shakespeares in classrooms across the world. And how certain educational institutions may use their funding to better supply the "necessary" classes over creative writing and poetry. We may never get a chance to see that next great writer, if the focus is primarily on subjects that contain more investment.
Sir Robinson makes a strong point of how the educational system is based by starting with the most useful subjects. He also states that these institutions base their beliefs on the opinion that people will not get serious jobs with prior interests some may have had as a child. They believe that their is a better chance of becoming a successful lawyer or doctor over a successful dancer or painter. Society is attempting to restrain childrens ability to use their imagination and creativity to become something they really wanna be. Even if they didn't want to become the next big artist, it is becoming more apparent that the schooling system is obliged to letting the youth of our future try and figure out different paths to success and happiness.
So are we meeting in the same room tomorrow or has it changed?
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