Showing posts with label ken robinson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ken robinson. Show all posts

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Today's inspiration.....

....comes once again from Sir Ken. "You can think of creativity as a conversation between what we're trying to figure out and the media we're using."

This quote struck me so profoundly. Each of us has some creative capacity, and whether our medium is paint, music, words, mathematics, business, or something else, we are all on the same journey. We are all asking the same questions. We are all having that conversation with life.

What is it that we seek? We seek joy and peace. Love and comfort. Adventure, new ideas, laughter. Novel experiences. Comfortable familiarity. Each day is a new conversation with life. What will you teach me today? What can I offer back?

This journey to truth is our destination. Though we may yearn for faraway places, airplanes, and a full passport, we need only look inside to find ourselves on the path to the great unknown. For inside us lies an endless mystery, a pilgrimage to everything true.

Until next time.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Classroom Revolution

Lately I have become enamored with Sir Ken Robinson (and TED talks in general).

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

Ken Robinson asserts that schools squander creativity because they are designed to produce a specific prototype. He also posits that we must make a change soon, as education inflates to the point of nearly being obsolete. (A bachelor's degree used to secure you a job. Now, most jobs that used to require a Bachelor's degree now require a Master's, and so forth.) We are going to have to find more creative approaches to evaluating intelligence.

I tend to agree, and it is my sincere desire to make my class the best it possibly can be. To think about the real objectives I have and do all that I can to create an environment in which students can reach those goals.

So, what are my educational objectives?

1. To create better communicators
2. To generate interest in service projects, and provide them opportunities to serve in their communities
3. To find creative approaches to curriculum that is more interactive and engaging
4. To work with my mentor to write a grant that would enable us to take a group of students to Kenya
5. To help students to learn how to effectively research topics

This is only the beginning. I want to harness the enthusiasm I felt yesterday and focus on making these changes a reality.  I want to create a classroom experience that is as effective as it can be. It's time to take the training wheels off. :)