Chapter 5
Quote: "...dance gives form to ideas that cannot be expressed in any other way. Martha Graham once said that dance is the hidden language of the soul" (p. 117). I love this quote because I think it's a terrific metaphor and because I think there's a lot of truth to it. I've seen many students who don't like to express themselves in class. It's almost as if they don't know how to speak the language of "academia" and that's a skill I believe all students should try to acquire, but obviously just because some students don't articulate ideas well in school doesn't mean they don't have wonderful and creative ideas at all. They just need a different medium to express their ideas such as dance, painting, acting, and so on. To me, this is one of the primary functions of school and I think Ken Robinson would agree: We're not only imparting knowledge on to children. Our job is to create an atmosphere that will tap into that form of expression that allows children to flourish. We need to facilitate the kind of learning and growth that happens when a student is truly immersed in a subject/idea. Question: Sir Robinson alludes to dance throughout the book and uses it as an example of a skill that isn't emphasized in school, a skill that hold less importance than math or science in our culture of education. He asserts that dance and other "right-brained" activities are just as important as the logical, "left-brained" subjects. I agree with him to an extent but I wonder why he so often chooses to use dance as the flagship of creativity. I believe that schools should commit more resources to providing classes in the visual and performing arts, but many schools have a tight budget and they have to prioritize by updating school infrastructure, purchasing updated materials, and increasing wages for underpaid teachers. My question is, in areas/schools where classes such as dance simply cannot be offered by public schools, do communities have any obligation to provide such opportunities for children? It seems to me that visual and performing arts classes, like recreational sports, should be more abundant. Connection: This chapter is very much about identifying skills, abilities, and potential. It made me think about several experiences I've had in clinical practice where I witnessed students who were non-participatory in class or struggled with certain activities. Sometime later, I'd see those students interacting outside of class with great enthusiasm, exhibiting terrific communication skills or I'd see an amazing sketch or drawing that a student had made and I'd think to myself: are those students getting any opportunities to practice these skills in the classroom? I think simply allowing students to utilize their natural talents in class is a good way to get students more engaged in the content material. Epiphany: I didn't get an epiphany from this chapter but it did make me more keenly aware of how many students go through school without having an opportunity to tap into their potential. Students learn in diverse ways and they have immensely diverse talents. It's an enormous challenge to identify and flesh out every student's natural abilities. It's especially difficult to allow students to practice or exemplify those skills in the context of a specific classroom such as math or history. But that's the beauty of the teaching profession. Everyday is a challenge and worthwhile one at that. Chapter 6 Quote: "Imagination is the primary gift of human consciousness. In imagination, we can step out of the here and now. We can revisit and review the past. We can take a different view of the present by putting ourselves in the minds of others: we can try to see with their eyes and feel with their hearts. And in imagination we can anticipate many possible futures" (p. 141). I believe this is the crux of Robinson's argument for this chapter. He's emphasizing the importance of imagination. He builds on that idea, saying that imagination is only the first step and that with imagination comes creativity and then innovation, with innovation being defined as "applied creativity". But it all starts with imagination, which is something that Robinson believes is fostered at an early age and snuffed out as we get older. Question: So much of school for the average student is following directions, following protocols, and demonstrating learning, often through standardized tests. I see the value in this process, as standardized testing makes it easy to evaluate students, protocols lead to uniformity and organization, and having clear and specific directions ensures that students will know and do what is expected of them. Nevertheless, we also want students to be creative and many educators have acknowledged the importance of allowing for student choice in order to get students more engaged. Robinson outlines what the first stages of creativity look like, that often it involves playing with an idea that is half-formed. It requires what Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown, in their book A New Culture of Learning, call "messing around." But with the fast pace of school, with so much content to cover, teachers often can't/don't offer students time to play with an idea. Students aren't given time to be creative. Would it be more advantageous to learning if we made the curriculum less dense and allowed more time for creative, more meaningful activities? Connection: A lot of what Ken Robinson is talking about in this chapter has direct correlations to the kind of skills students are expected to develop in social science classes. I've learned through the social science methods course I'm enrolled in that Common Core standards require students to analyze primary and secondary source documents. One aspect of this skill is to determine the perspective of the author/creator of the document. In the section of this chapter titled, "The veil of conceptions", Robinsons writes about how everyone is looking at the world with a different lens and, therefore, is noticing different things. Identifying this idea is important in its own right but this also speaks to the skill of empathy. It's important for students to learn how to put themselves in the shoes of someone else and attempt to see things from another perspective. Epiphany: This one was more of an "aha" moment for me. I've found through my clinical practice that many students refuse or are unwilling to raise their hand out of fear that they may be wrong. I saw this much less when I was teaching 6th grade, as it seemed students were less worried about being judged or mocked for saying a wrong answer. High School students will often say an answer under their breath, hoping the teacher heard but no one else did, just in case they said something "stupid". I was taken by something Robinson said, based off of a quote from Albert Einstein: "If you're not prepared to be wrong, it's unlikely that you'll ever come up with anything original." I try to always acknowledge students who take chances by sharing, even if they're not sure they're right. And many times, the student may not be right but the idea that they shared is brilliant in its own way and I attempt to highlight that fact as a way of promoting the sharing of ideas. Chapter 7 Quote: "Education should develop the whole child and not just their academic abilities. It should engage their feelings, physical development, moral education and creativity" (p. 179). I chose this quote because I wholeheartedly agree with Robinson's assertion. We forget so much of the academic content we learn in school but the "soft skills" we learn are the abilities we'll need and use for the rest of our lives. Question: Upon finishing this chapter, I decided to 'Google" Ken Robinson because I was curious about his professional background. He has a lot of wonderful and progressive ideas but sometimes I feel that there is a bit of a disconnect between what he proposes and what is currently viable in the typical American public school. I discovered from my search that Mr. Robinson, despite having taught at several universities, has never taught in a public school in America or anywhere else. I don't think this discredits his proposals and beliefs on education but I do find it noteworthy, and maybe just a tiny bit troubling, that an academic would be so outspoken about the culture of school without actually having the experience of teaching in one. Obviously he's had the experience from a student's perspective but I believe without having taught as well, one is more likely to be missing the entire picture of what school is like. It reminds me of jobs I've had in the past when a manager is hired from outside of the organization and outside of the industry. When they started implementing new rules or ideas, I often met those rules and ideas with a fair amount skepticism, not knowing if they were basing those rules or ideas on proper experience. Therefore, my question would be: Besides having a PhD, what qualifies Ken Robinson to make assertions about school? What information has he gathered to help him arrive at his opinions regarding school and how does he expect teachers and administrators to apply the information he presents in his book? That's three questions, but they all get to the same idea. Connection: This chapter reminded me of some of the lessons from the teaching credential program courses. In class, we've discussed, in length, the importance of being understanding and sensitive to other people's beliefs, customs, and perspectives. We've brainstormed and shared ideas of how we can create a classroom of inclusion and that shows appreciation for diversity. In this chapter, Robinson is describing the importance of these practices in regards to life and the workplace. Many businesses nowadays look for employees who have these virtues and are mindful of other people's perspectives and feelings. Epiphany: I really enjoyed this portion of the chapter pertaining to the connection between creativity and the sciences. Robinson explains that "There is a point in scientific inquiry where logic is not the best instrument. Discovery in science often results from unexpected leaps of imagination: the sudden jumping of a logical gap, in which the solution to a problem is illuminated by a new insight..." (p. 190). Robinson's argument seems to be that the logical part of the brain relies on the creative part of the brain and vice versa. Robinson, K. (2001). Out of our minds: Learning to be creative. United Kingdom: Capstone Publishing Ltd.
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AuthorGeorge Porter, English Teacher at Sage Creek Archives
May 2016
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