Response To Dialogues on Sir Ken Robinson's Talk

Blogs that I read:

http://angeladodge.blogspot.com/
http://acttwointermission.blogspot.com
http://jzhang7.blogspot.com/


After hearing Sir Ken Robinson’s talk, “Schools Kill Creativity”, and reading the opinions of some of my classmates, some very important issues have been brought to my attention. Robinson claims that our educational system “squanders” the creative talents that we all possess from birth. He believes that all schools emphasize math and science and view painting, music, dancing, and acting more like hobbies than future careers. Robinson believes that from the beginning of a person’s education he or she is expected to strive to get a degree in math or science in order to get a good career and live well. Robinson shows that this might not be the best alternative for some people even though the school system pushes everyone in this direction. To do this, he brings up an example of a successful choreographer, who instead of becoming a great dancer, probably would have been diagnosed as having ADHD in the current school system.

Generally my classmates agreed with Robinson saying that he brings up many valid points about educational systems today. My classmates believe that teachers must strive to nurture the creativity that lies within students and not discourage students from achieving their dreams. Furthermore, they believe that we must celebrate the differences among students in order to show that going against the norm is not necessarily a bad thing. Teachers must value ideas more than right and wrong answers so that creative students are not afraid of voicing their opinions or ideas in school. My classmates believe that not only educational systems need to realize these important ideas, but society has to realize them as well so that schools can be supported in changing curriculum.

I mostly agree with the position of my classmates. I do believe that differences in classrooms must be celebrated to encourage creativity, and I do feel that teachers should value ideas more than right and wrong answers. However, one of my beliefs was not addressed in any of the blogs that I read. Specifically, I believe that mathematics can be one of the most creative subjects taught in schools today. Breakthroughs in mathematics happen because people have thought differently and have made valuable discoveries through applications of creativity. In math courses alternative thinking should be encouraged in order to develop the mathematical creativity of students. I believe that mathematics has caught a bad reputation because many think that mathematics is all trivial problems and skill work. In schools, Robinson is correct in saying that mathematics does not encourage creativity because it is usually the case that only right answers are encouraged and those that think different are penalized. I believe that this does not have to be the case in a mathematics classroom because creativity is very valuable in mathematics. Thus, in general, I believe schools should be reformed in such a way that creative thinking and abilities are valued in all areas.

In my future classroom I plan to take measures to ensure that creative thinking is valued rather than discouraged. Like Angela, I will utilize math applications problems that relate to music, dance, and photography. I will also make sure that my students know that the biggest breakthroughs in mathematics have occurred because someone decided to think differently about math. In this way, I hope to make my classroom a place where new ideas are encouraged and getting the correct answer is not the most important part of the class.

I do believe that all people are born with an extraordinary amount of creativity. I feel that through application problems and encouraging students to think differently, I can tap into the creativity that students possess and allow them to see mathematics in a way that does not inhibit their creativity but makes it flourish.