I do agree with Ken Robinson that schools kill creativity. The curriculum to graduate a public school is pretty much the same and it doesn't take into account people's strenghts and weaknesses or special talents, or what do they have going in their life. In high school I was the captain of the track team and I was the best long distance runner in school. Yet to graduate I still had to take a gym class each semester, which I felt was something good for someone who has a problem with his/her weight, and I felt it was unnecessary for someone like me. I had to run more than ten miles everysingle day. And one semester I was told to do weight lifting. The gym teacher ended up having a fight with my coach after he made us do squats and leg exercises the day of the race. People had a choice of saying no and getting a poor grade, or did the exercise and then were unable to run competitively later on in the race. I myself had to run the 800 meter run, the 1600, and later on I was to tired to run the 3200.
Like Ken Robinson says students each have different skills and talents. The girl he spoke of that ended up going to balley school and becoming successfull in like would likely never go to college, maybe even not graduate high school if the doctor did not suggest she goes to a dance school. Schools have a flat curriculum, and the only difference might be that smart students will take college level classes, and not so smart students take basic skills classes that will have them pass high school, but will not get them through college. Everyone has to pass English, math, and taking 4 years of gym is necessary. Schools do not take into account that someone might not be able to write well, but can excell in math and vice versa. And a top athlete might not need to take a gym class that will end up hurting his performance in the race. I do think that schols leave little room for innovation and creativity, and that schould change.
Nicely put. We seem to try to fit all students into the same box, forgetting that we should shape the educational experience around the needs of our students.
ReplyDeleteI like your personal experience when you talk about your high school track team. If a student is spending hours after school training for a sport then why must the gym teacher make them workout even more during class. This is unnecessary to the student and the team. But because of the structure public schools are in you are forced to do so.
ReplyDeleteI think schools attempt to make students "well-rounded" through Math, English, History, etc. If a student excels in one area and not the other it might hold them back from enrolling in more difficult courses.
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