WEBVTT 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:01.469 [marker squeaks] 00:00:01.470 --> 00:00:16.070 [marker squeaks] 00:00:16.070 --> 00:00:17.070 (Sir Ken Robinson) Every country on Earth at the moment 00:00:17.070 --> 00:00:19.229 is reforming public education. 00:00:19.230 --> 00:00:21.389 There are two reasons for it. 00:00:21.390 --> 00:00:22.679 The first of them is economic. 00:00:22.680 --> 00:00:24.569 People are trying to work out, 00:00:24.570 --> 00:00:27.689 how do we educate our children 00:00:27.690 --> 00:00:30.299 to take their place in the economies of the 21st century? 00:00:30.300 --> 00:00:33.809 How do we do that, given that we can't anticipate 00:00:33.810 --> 00:00:36.989 what the economy will look like at the end of next week, 00:00:36.990 --> 00:00:40.319 as the recent turmoil is demonstrating? 00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:42.149 How do we do that? 00:00:42.150 --> 00:00:43.709 The second, though, is cultural. 00:00:43.710 --> 00:00:47.759 Every country on Earth is trying to figure out how do we 00:00:47.760 --> 00:00:50.519 educate our children, so they have a sense of cultural identity 00:00:50.520 --> 00:00:52.709 and so that we can pass on the cultural genes 00:00:52.710 --> 00:00:54.599 of our communities, 00:00:54.600 --> 00:00:57.029 while being part of the process of globalization? 00:00:57.030 --> 00:00:59.909 How do you square that circle? 00:00:59.910 --> 00:01:03.149 The problem is, they're trying to meet the future 00:01:03.150 --> 00:01:05.488 by doing what they did in the past. 00:01:05.489 --> 00:01:08.129 And on the way they're alienating millions of kids 00:01:08.130 --> 00:01:10.949 who don't see any purpose in going to school. 00:01:10.950 --> 00:01:12.509 When we went to school, 00:01:12.510 --> 00:01:13.949 we were kept there with a story: 00:01:13.950 --> 00:01:15.959 which is if you worked hard, and did well, 00:01:15.960 --> 00:01:18.359 and got a college degree, you would have a job. 00:01:18.360 --> 00:01:20.129 Our kids don't believe that. 00:01:20.130 --> 00:01:21.509 And they're right not to, by the way. 00:01:21.510 --> 00:01:23.429 You're better having a degree than not, 00:01:23.430 --> 00:01:25.409 but it's not a guarantee anymore. 00:01:25.410 --> 00:01:27.419 And particularly not if the route 00:01:27.420 --> 00:01:29.399 to it marginalizes most of the things 00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:31.319 that you think are important about yourself. 00:01:31.320 --> 00:01:32.009 And some people say, 00:01:32.010 --> 00:01:34.319 "We have to raise standards," as if this is a breakthrough. 00:01:34.320 --> 00:01:37.889 You know, like, really? Yes, we should. 00:01:37.890 --> 00:01:39.119 Why would you lower them? [audience chuckles] 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:42.089 You know, I haven't come across an argument 00:01:42.090 --> 00:01:43.919 that persuades me of lowering them. 00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:46.499 But raising them, of course, we should raise them. 00:01:46.500 --> 00:01:49.289 The problem is that the current system of education 00:01:49.290 --> 00:01:52.619 was designed, and conceived, 00:01:52.620 --> 00:01:55.949 and structured for a different age. 00:01:55.950 --> 00:01:57.839 It was conceived 00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:02.099 in the intellectual culture of the Enlightenment, 00:02:02.100 --> 00:02:06.269 and in the economic circumstances of the Industrial Revolution. 00:02:06.270 --> 00:02:07.889 Before the middle of the 19th century, 00:02:07.890 --> 00:02:11.189 there were no systems of public education, not really. 00:02:11.190 --> 00:02:12.809 I mean, you could get educated by Jesuits, 00:02:12.810 --> 00:02:14.639 you know, if you had the money. 00:02:14.640 --> 00:02:17.729 But public education, paid for from taxation, 00:02:17.730 --> 00:02:20.429 compulsory to everybody, and free at the point of delivery. 00:02:20.430 --> 00:02:22.619 That was a revolutionary idea. 00:02:22.620 --> 00:02:24.659 And many people objected to it. 00:02:24.660 --> 00:02:27.239 They said it's not possible 00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:29.399 for many street kids, working class children 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:31.229 to benefit from public education. 00:02:31.230 --> 00:02:32.789 They're incapable of learning to read and write, 00:02:32.790 --> 00:02:34.949 and why are we spending time on this? 00:02:34.950 --> 00:02:38.399 So, there's also built into it a whole series of assumptions 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:40.709 about social structure and capacity. 00:02:40.710 --> 00:02:43.799 It was driven by an economic imperative of the time. 00:02:43.800 --> 00:02:46.589 But running right through it 00:02:46.590 --> 00:02:50.369 was an intellectual model of the mind, 00:02:50.370 --> 00:02:52.919 which was essentially the Enlightenment view of intelligence, 00:02:52.920 --> 00:02:55.019 that real intelligence consists in this capacity 00:02:55.020 --> 00:02:57.179 for a certain type of deductive reasoning, 00:02:57.180 --> 00:02:59.609 and a knowledge of the classics, originally. 00:02:59.610 --> 00:03:02.789 What we come to think of as academic ability. 00:03:02.790 --> 00:03:05.699 And this is deep in the gene pool of public education 00:03:05.700 --> 00:03:07.319 that there are really two types of people: 00:03:07.320 --> 00:03:09.029 academic and non academic, 00:03:09.030 --> 00:03:11.309 smart people and non-smart people. 00:03:11.310 --> 00:03:12.509 And the consequence of that is 00:03:12.510 --> 00:03:15.809 that many brilliant people think they're not 00:03:15.810 --> 00:03:18.029 because they've been judged against this particular 00:03:18.030 --> 00:03:19.649 view of the mind. 00:03:19.650 --> 00:03:23.369 So, we have twin pillars, economic and intellectual. 00:03:23.370 --> 00:03:25.049 And my view is 00:03:25.050 --> 00:03:29.429 that this model has caused chaos in many people's lives. 00:03:29.430 --> 00:03:30.659 It's been great for some; 00:03:30.660 --> 00:03:32.909 there have been people who've benefited wonderfully from it, 00:03:32.910 --> 00:03:35.849 but most people have not. 00:03:35.850 --> 00:03:37.679 Instead, they suffered this. 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:39.149 This is the modern epidemic, 00:03:39.150 --> 00:03:42.599 and it's as misplaced and it's as fictitious. 00:03:42.600 --> 00:03:46.679 This is the plague of ADHD. [crowd murmurs] 00:03:46.680 --> 00:03:50.789 Now, this is a map of the incidence of ADHD in America, 00:03:50.790 --> 00:03:53.939 or prescriptions for ADHD. 00:03:53.940 --> 00:03:57.779 Don't mistake me, I don't mean to say there is no such thing 00:03:57.780 --> 00:03:59.819 as Attention Deficit Disorder. 00:03:59.820 --> 00:04:02.189 I'm not qualified to say if there is such a thing. 00:04:02.190 --> 00:04:04.289 I know that a great majority of psychologists 00:04:04.290 --> 00:04:07.079 and pediatrician think there is such a thing. 00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:11.099 But it's still a matter of debate. 00:04:11.100 --> 00:04:15.299 What I do know for a fact is it's not an epidemic. 00:04:15.300 --> 00:04:18.088 These kids are being medicated 00:04:18.089 --> 00:04:20.909 as routinely as we had our tonsils taken out, 00:04:20.910 --> 00:04:23.339 and on the same whimsical basis, 00:04:23.340 --> 00:04:26.939 and for the same reason, medical fashion. 00:04:26.940 --> 00:04:30.539 Our children are living in the most intensely stimulating period 00:04:30.540 --> 00:04:33.659 in the history of the Earth. 00:04:33.660 --> 00:04:36.089 They're being besieged with information, 00:04:36.090 --> 00:04:38.939 and caught their attention from every platform: 00:04:38.940 --> 00:04:42.629 computers, from iPhones, from advertising hoardings, 00:04:42.630 --> 00:04:44.939 from hundreds of television channels. 00:04:44.940 --> 00:04:46.469 And we're penalizing them now 00:04:46.470 --> 00:04:48.659 for getting distracted. 00:04:48.660 --> 00:04:51.989 From what? You know, boring stuff. 00:04:51.990 --> 00:04:54.509 At school for the most part. 00:04:54.510 --> 00:04:56.549 It seems to me it's not a coincidence, totally, 00:04:56.550 --> 00:04:57.659 that the incidence of ADHD 00:04:57.660 --> 00:05:01.409 has written in parallel with the growth of standardized testing. 00:05:01.410 --> 00:05:04.018 These kids are being given Ritalin, and Adderall, 00:05:04.019 --> 00:05:07.159 and all manner of things-- often quite dangerous drugs-- 00:05:07.160 --> 00:05:10.229 to get them focused and calm them down. 00:05:10.230 --> 00:05:12.869 But according to this, Attention Deficit Disorder 00:05:12.870 --> 00:05:15.929 increases as you travel east across the country. 00:05:15.930 --> 00:05:24.749 People start losing interest in Oklahoma. [audience erupts in laughter] 00:05:24.750 --> 00:05:27.899 They can hardly think straight in Arkansas. 00:05:27.900 --> 00:05:29.129 And by the time they get to Washington, 00:05:29.130 --> 00:05:31.469 they've lost it completely. 00:05:31.470 --> 00:05:35.909 And there are separate reasons for that, I believe. [laughs] 00:05:35.910 --> 00:05:38.579 It's a fictitious epidemic. 00:05:38.580 --> 00:05:41.129 If you think of it, the arts. 00:05:41.130 --> 00:05:42.989 And I don't say this exclusively the arts, 00:05:42.990 --> 00:05:45.179 I think it's also true of science and of maths. 00:05:45.180 --> 00:05:47.279 But let me-- I say about the arts, particularly, 00:05:47.280 --> 00:05:50.609 because they are the victims of this mentality currently, 00:05:50.610 --> 00:05:52.499 particularly. 00:05:52.500 --> 00:05:56.429 The arts, especially address the idea of 00:05:56.430 --> 00:05:59.069 aesthetic experience. 00:05:59.070 --> 00:06:01.649 An aesthetic experience is one in which your senses 00:06:01.650 --> 00:06:03.509 are operating at their peak, 00:06:03.510 --> 00:06:05.639 when you're present in the current moment, 00:06:05.640 --> 00:06:08.309 when you're resonating with the excitement of this thing 00:06:08.310 --> 00:06:09.989 that you're experiencing, 00:06:09.990 --> 00:06:12.449 when you are fully alive. 00:06:12.450 --> 00:06:16.319 An anaesthetic is when you shut your senses off, 00:06:16.320 --> 00:06:19.259 and deaden yourself to what's happening. 00:06:19.260 --> 00:06:22.109 And a lot of these drugs are that. 00:06:22.110 --> 00:06:26.159 We're getting our children through education by anaesthetizing them. 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:27.599 And I think we should be doing the exact opposite. 00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:30.269 We shouldn't be putting them asleep, we should be waking them up 00:06:30.270 --> 00:06:32.439 to what they have inside of themselves. 00:06:32.440 --> 00:06:34.079 But the model we have is this. 00:06:34.080 --> 00:06:36.369 It's, I believe, we have a system of education 00:06:36.370 --> 00:06:39.039 that is modeled on 00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:41.769 the interests of industrialism 00:06:41.770 --> 00:06:43.509 and in the image of it. 00:06:43.510 --> 00:06:45.609 I'll give you a couple of examples. 00:06:45.610 --> 00:06:48.369 Schools are still pretty much organized on factory lines: 00:06:48.370 --> 00:06:51.069 ringing bells, separate facilities, 00:06:51.070 --> 00:06:54.219 specialized into separate subjects. 00:06:54.220 --> 00:06:57.129 We still educate children by batches. 00:06:57.130 --> 00:07:00.109 You know, we put them through the system by age group. 00:07:00.110 --> 00:07:03.589 Why do we do that? You know, why is there this assumption 00:07:03.590 --> 00:07:05.509 that the most important thing kids have in common 00:07:05.510 --> 00:07:07.609 is how old they are? 00:07:07.610 --> 00:07:09.079 You know, it's like the most important thing about them 00:07:09.080 --> 00:07:12.039 is their date of manufacture. 00:07:12.040 --> 00:07:14.019 Well, I know kids who are much better than other kids 00:07:14.020 --> 00:07:16.509 at the same age in different disciplines, 00:07:16.510 --> 00:07:18.459 or at different times of the day, 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:20.439 or better in smaller groups than in large groups. 00:07:20.440 --> 00:07:22.329 Or sometimes they want to be on their own. 00:07:22.330 --> 00:07:23.769 If you're interested in a model of learning, 00:07:23.770 --> 00:07:26.379 you don't start from this production line mentality. 00:07:26.380 --> 00:07:28.419 These-- it's essentially about conformity, 00:07:28.420 --> 00:07:30.279 and increasingly it's about that as you look at the growth 00:07:30.280 --> 00:07:33.489 of standardized testing and standardized curricula. 00:07:33.490 --> 00:07:35.469 And it's about standardization. 00:07:35.470 --> 00:07:37.809 I believe we've got to go in the exact opposite direction. 00:07:37.810 --> 00:07:40.239 That's what I mean about changing the paradigm. 00:07:40.240 --> 00:07:41.709 There was a great study done recently 00:07:41.710 --> 00:07:45.639 of divergent thinking, published a couple of years ago. 00:07:45.640 --> 00:07:49.389 Divergent thinking isn't the same thing as creativity. 00:07:49.390 --> 00:07:52.659 I define creativity as the process of having original ideas 00:07:52.660 --> 00:07:54.519 that have value. 00:07:54.520 --> 00:07:57.219 Divergent thinking isn't a synonym, 00:07:57.220 --> 00:08:02.079 but it's an essential capacity for creativity. 00:08:02.080 --> 00:08:06.039 It's the ability to see lots of possible answers to a question; 00:08:06.040 --> 00:08:08.919 lots of possible ways of interpreting a question; 00:08:08.920 --> 00:08:12.459 to think, whatever De Bono would probably call, laterally; 00:08:12.460 --> 00:08:17.169 to think not just in linear or convergent ways; 00:08:17.170 --> 00:08:19.599 to see multiple answers, not one. 00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:20.709 So, I mean, there's tests for this. 00:08:20.710 --> 00:08:22.419 I mean, one kind of common example would be, 00:08:22.420 --> 00:08:23.959 people might be asked to say, 00:08:23.960 --> 00:08:28.159 how many uses can you think of for a paperclip? 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:29.419 All those routine questions, 00:08:29.420 --> 00:08:31.729 most people might come up with 10 or 15. 00:08:31.730 --> 00:08:34.609 People who are good at this might come up with 200. 00:08:34.610 --> 00:08:36.049 And they do that by saying, well, 00:08:36.050 --> 00:08:37.579 could the paperclip be 200 foot tall 00:08:37.580 --> 00:08:39.199 and be made out of foam and rubber? 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:40.999 You know, like does it have to be a paperclip as we know it, Jim? 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:43.219 You know. 00:08:43.220 --> 00:08:46.309 Now, there are tests for this, and they gave them to 1500 people 00:08:46.310 --> 00:08:49.069 in a book called "Breakpoint and Beyond". 00:08:49.070 --> 00:08:50.329 And on the protocol of the test, 00:08:50.330 --> 00:08:53.029 if you scored above a certain level, 00:08:53.030 --> 00:08:56.359 you'd be considered to be a genius at divergent thinking. 00:08:56.360 --> 00:08:58.639 Okay, so my question to you is 00:08:58.640 --> 00:09:01.669 what percentage of the people tested 00:09:01.670 --> 00:09:03.229 of the 1500 00:09:03.230 --> 00:09:06.259 scored at genius level for divergent thinking? 00:09:06.260 --> 00:09:08.299 Now, you need to know one more thing about them. 00:09:08.300 --> 00:09:08.999 These were kindergarten children. 00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:14.399 So, what do you think, what percentage at genius level? 00:09:14.400 --> 00:09:15.029 -(audience member) 80%. 00:09:15.030 --> 00:09:17.249 -(Ken) 80? You think 80, okay. 00:09:17.250 --> 00:09:21.509 98% Now, the thing about this was it was a longitudinal study. 00:09:21.510 --> 00:09:24.089 So, they retested the same children 00:09:24.090 --> 00:09:26.699 five years later, age of 8 to 10. 00:09:26.700 --> 00:09:29.519 What do you think? 50? 00:09:29.520 --> 00:09:32.369 They retested them again, five years later, 00:09:32.370 --> 00:09:35.369 ages 13 to 15. 00:09:35.370 --> 00:09:39.299 You can see a trend here, can't you? 00:09:39.300 --> 00:09:43.199 Now, this tells an interesting story 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:44.219 because you could have imagined it 00:09:44.220 --> 00:09:46.829 going the other way, could you? 00:09:46.830 --> 00:09:48.269 You start off not being very good, 00:09:48.270 --> 00:09:49.889 but you get better as you get older. 00:09:49.890 --> 00:09:50.999 But this shows two things: 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:54.539 one is we all have this capacity, 00:09:54.540 --> 00:09:57.209 and two, it mostly deteriorates. 00:09:57.210 --> 00:09:58.649 Now, a lot of things have happened to these kids 00:09:58.650 --> 00:10:01.229 as they've grown up, a lot. 00:10:01.230 --> 00:10:02.789 But one of the most important things that happend to them, 00:10:02.790 --> 00:10:06.479 I am convinced, is the by now they have become educated. 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:09.179 They've spent 10 years at school being told there's one answer, 00:10:09.180 --> 00:10:10.769 it's at the back 00:10:10.770 --> 00:10:13.139 and don't look 00:10:13.140 --> 00:10:16.229 and don't copy because that's cheating. 00:10:16.230 --> 00:10:18.809 When outside schools, that's called collaboration. [audience chuckles] 00:10:18.810 --> 00:10:21.029 Not inside schools. 00:10:21.030 --> 00:10:23.279 This isn't because teachers want it this way, 00:10:23.280 --> 00:10:26.549 it's just because it happens that way. 00:10:26.550 --> 00:10:29.969 It's because it's in the gene pool of education. 00:10:29.970 --> 00:10:32.459 We have to think differently about human capacity, 00:10:32.460 --> 00:10:34.679 we have to get over this old conception 00:10:34.680 --> 00:10:37.259 of academic, non-academic, 00:10:37.260 --> 00:10:40.379 abstract, theoretical, vocational, 00:10:40.380 --> 00:10:42.869 and see it for what it is 00:10:42.870 --> 00:10:44.579 a myth. 00:10:44.580 --> 00:10:46.709 Secondly, we have to recognize that most great learning 00:10:46.710 --> 00:10:50.749 happens in groups, that collaboration is the stuff of growth. 00:10:50.750 --> 00:10:52.639 If we atomized people, and separate them, 00:10:52.640 --> 00:10:54.199 and judge them separately, 00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:58.069 we form a kind of disjunction between them 00:10:58.070 --> 00:11:00.019 and their natural learning environment. 00:11:00.020 --> 00:11:02.779 And thirdly, it's crucially about the culture 00:11:02.780 --> 00:11:05.419 of our institutions, the habits of institution 00:11:05.420 --> 00:11:07.340 and the habitats that they occupy.