Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity | Video on TED.com

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity | Video on TED.com

This video is one of my personal favorites on TED - Ted, in case you don't know it, is a nonprofit devoted to the spread of good ideas in Technology, Entertainment and Design. They have an annual conference in California, as well as events and talks worldwide. On their website you can access amazing talks from all different kinds of thinkers, and speakers. Every talk is 20 minutes. You can see Jane Goodall's TED talk by clicking on the link at then end of that post below.

Robinson's speculation hails apon Howard Gardner's approach to the notion of 'Multiple Intelligences.' Garnder's Multiple intelligences has immense educational implications because the student's success in school is greatly affected by the ways that the individual's strengths are either explored and nurtured or contained. Garnder focuses on the goal of education geared towards understanding and the student's direct involvement in the learning process. The empowerment of the student to engage meaningfully in their own learning is the schools most essential task. This is increasingly placed on the back burner as standardized testing and assessment take precedence in classrooms. Testing does not take human development into consideration, nor is it contextualized to culture. And the fact that tests are being standardized and applied to different cultures around the world, as a benchmark for intelligence is careless because definitions of intelligence are clearly shaped by time, place and culture.

Girls recall the day's lesson, via 'rote learning' after school in a sand-floored classroom. Keta Peninsula, Ghana, 2009

Are schools using varied methods of production, perception and reflection? Is the process being assessed, or merely the results in standardized form? How can youth be empowered to access and activate their own styles of learning, their individual talents?
These questions are not only for students in their youth, but for all of us who have been marked by the limited western notion of intelligence. Individually, am I actualizing my strengths, in the light of my specific community? Learning and the empowerment of individual capabilities is a lifelong process.

One particular tool that Gardner suggests is the time-honored tradition of apprenticeship. This relationship not only allows an experiential process to help guide and distinguish the student in their individual talents, but also offers the possibility of empowerment. Also, the mentor or master is able to witness the student in their approach and growth. The student's strengths should become the map for their educational development and learning style.

Roots and Shoots

Jane Goodall is one of the most inspiring and dedicated woman of our time. She was just like any other girl whose mother told her 'you can do whatever you set your mind to.' Except, when Jane was 22 and had the opportunity to go to Kenya - she seized it. Her energy and passion towards animals led her to assist Louis Leakey, the famed archaeologist and paleontologist. It was he that asked her to take on the study of a group of chimpanzees in western Tanzania. This area is now Gombe Stream National Park, a world renowned haven for chimpanzees and home to the Jane Goodall Institute.

However much Goodall would like to be out in the forest each day - she travels 300 days a year, giving talks in schools and conferences about the critical nature of our era. Jane usually greets her audience in chimpanzee, and always travels with a stuffed chimp called Mr. H, her gentle, yet determined nature makes her one of the most inspirational and eloquent speakers I have ever seen. I had the great fortune of seeing her speak during the fall of my senior year of high school. I remember that I went alone, not quite knowing what I was in for. Within the short talk she had convinced me of the great importance of my role here, and she gave place to the energy of my youth, which somehow felt stifled by my little high school existence.

"Every individual counts.
Every individual has a role to play.
Every individual makes a difference."

It was this talk that validated my thirst to do something different after high school. Having such an ordinary, plain Jane woman of such immense humanity and nobility stand before a disquieted teenager offered a great deal of hope. I promptly began searching for the right organization to volunteer with and read a few of her books, I recommend "A Reason for Hope."

The Jane Goodall institute has been working on the Roots and Shoots program since the early 1990s. The work is primarily with schools, working with teachers on how to incorporate notions of conservation in the classroom.

"The global Roots & Shoots program is about empowering young people to take action through service projects—creating positive change for people, animals and the environment."

The program emphasizes the role of the student, their thoughts, ideas and hopes as well as using experiential learning to engage the learner. Instead of teaching about fish, teachers can take students to fish markets where they can engage with the topic with all their senses. Then they can talk about different breeds, their origins, life cycles and most importantly, how to conserve their species and environment. Youth's connection and awareness surrounding food is used by many progressive educators as a compelling way to teach responsibility and interconnectedness. Goodall's recent books have been focused on mindful living and eating - "Harvest for Hope" is just one of the titles.

Jane Goodall on what separates us from the apes | Video on TED.com