“CHANGING EDUCATION PARADIGMS”

“Changing education paradigms” video talks about the requirement to change the focus of the current education system. It combines high speed drawings with the speech of Sir Ken Robinson. It is very difficult to summarize the explained subject in few sentences because it is a so dense talking. Therefore, I am going to point out the most relevant to me.

Mr. Robinson begins by explaining that one of the pillars which used to hold and still holds our education system is the economy. Children, and people in general, were told to study to get a good job. The higher level education you had, the better job you got. The economic turmoil we are just living shows that this statement has been altered. We have to change our mind about it.

Another important aspect that Robinson points out is the rise of the ADHD prescription. Kids are going to school medicated. On one hand they are living in a society full of visual stimulus as ever in the History.  On the other hand they are required to listen to monotonous explanations sitting in their classrooms. It is a contradiction.

I totally agree with Sir Ken Robinson. The bases, procedures and purposes of Education have to change, especially in university studies. Coping notes from boards and attending endless lectures has no meaning. Students should attempt to work and to reason for understanding the world they will manage. For example, I refuse that my students to memorize texts, or parts of them. Nobody needs to learn by heart all the capitals of the Africa countries when everybody has an Internet connection mobile so searching the capital of Mali does not take more than one minute. Moreover, working in group in the classroom is fine. However, what about when they start talking about the television series they watched last night?