Reader Response 6

I recall a talk Sharon Friesen gave at one of our PD sessions recounting the history of education and the industrial model it was founded upon.  She emphasized how in the past we intentionally bored our students to prepare them for working long hours performing monotonous tasks on an assembly line.  She challenged us to consider this model of education in relation to how our students currently learn how to "do school."

In the link below, Ken Robinson argues how "we are educating people out of their creative capacities.”  He maintains that Mathematics and Language Arts are given priority status in educational programming while arts education is universally marginalized.  I would agree; if a student shows proficiency in creative dance, is he given the same recognition as if he were able to solve two digit by three digit multiplication?  In my experience, the first thing parents ask about at parent / teacher conferences is how their child is doing in Mathematics and Language Arts.  Artistic ability and creativity are rarely discussed.

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

How do we enact change in education?  How do we design a system that fosters and cultivates creativity?  In the 2009 report, What Did You Do in School Today? Willms, Friesen and Milton note that "the longer students remain in school, the less likely they are to be intellectually engaged. (pg 31)  In order to engage students, they must be immersed in tasks that are "relevant, meaningful and authentic." (pg 34)  It is through these authentic experiences that we allow our students to connect in meaningful ways, yet are we achieving this in our classrooms?  The report is as alarming as it is inspiring.

http://www.cea-ace.ca/sites/default/files/cea-2009-wdydist.pdf

We are headed in a bold new direction in education.  As educators, we face many obstacles: an entrenched industrialized model coupled with parents and administrators with a degree of comfort in these traditional approaches.  However, our biggest obstacle is that of stale practice.  We must allow for student creativity to come alive and foster authentic environments rich with creativity and opportunity.