Sir Ken Robision

Hey,

So, I had an interview last week for the course I am hoping to start in September which is Bed Primary (Art & Design). For this interview, we had to listen to a podcast broadcasted by BBC 4 where they spoke to Sir Ken Robinson about creativity within education.

I found that I agreed with all that he said and the ideas that he expressed. He spoke about how the creative arts are just as important as literacy and numeracy but they are not viewed in the same way which I agree with Ken. An example of this is that we don’t teach dance as much if at all in schools but we teach loads of maths, think about it we will always use our bodies but some of the maths we are taught will never be used outside of education. I feel that this is a good point but also illogical as you can’t teach dance at an equal amount of mathematics as there are only a certain amount of hours and days to teach and be taught what is needed to be learnt.

Ken Robinson also spoke about how creativity is being crushed in education but that it is not the teacher's fault but the government as they decided the curriculum. Education has become more strategic because in the past not many people cared about what happens in other countries but now it seems to be like a competition and the children seems to be at the end of the chain when education is meant to be about them. The Law of unintentional circumstances can be applied here as creativity is being pushed out of education altogether but it is not happening on purpose. We have become obsessed with education instead of how children learn and what can be done better to help them.

An example of this is that most likely if you paint like Pablo Picasso you will not get a Ph.D. but if you write about his works as well as other artists, write about what they have done, the effects it has had, how the work makes you feel, you are likely to get a Ph.D.

He also says that it is cultures fault which I feel is true as different cultures teach in different ways and I believe that focusing mainly on numeracy and literacy can make people think they are not smart enough when really they just learn in a different way, a more creative way. I know this to be true in my personal experience as I am dyslexic and found that I learn through being creative and when it came to the more literacy based subjects I always felt like I wasn’t smart enough.

Michael Gove said, “you have to learn the basics in literacy and numeracy to be creative”. I feel this is a load of rubbish, I mean if you have to learn the basics in order to be creative then explain how you are being creative at a young age before you have learnt to count, read or write, maybe even before you have learnt how to speak. Ken Robinson disagreed with Michael’s statement saying it is just not true and then he went on to give an example of the Beatles and how when they first started they only knew 3 chords and grew in learning as they continued in their career, but it wasn’t knowing the basics that made them being creative but that they had a passion for what they were doing as well as their enthusiasm for music. We need to teach in a way that will make the children have enthusiasm and a passion for the subjects being taught as they will learn better.

Please use the contact box on the side to give your opinion or ask questions,

Thanks for reading

Amy x