Ellie Beveridge, Mulgrave School Student Reporter
“Everyone is born with immense talent” said Sir Ken Robinson in his enlightening speech at Mulgrave School on December 1st, 2010. Sir Ken was knighted in 2003 for his immense contribution and his forward thinking in the area of education.
Sir Ken Robinson encouraged schools and kids to find discover their unique talents at Mulgrave School on December 1st, 2010.
Sir Ken has several issues with today’s typical education system. He comments that there is too much emphasis on standardized testing, which he believes stifles creativity. (We hope our teachers took note of that!) He also comments that Maths and Sciences are often given more priority than the Humanities and the Arts, which is fine if you’re a math genius, but does little to encourage the next Picasso. Why is this not a good thing? He says that “unintentionally, a lot of people pass through education without finding out what they are good at, or how they want to live their lives.”
Sir Ken believes that the single most important role of education is to help students find their sweet spot combination of something they are good at and they also love doing. He calls this “being in one’s element”. He believes this idea to be so central to living a fulfilled life that he has written a whole book about it.
Of course, for many people, this may not be a traditional school subject or discipline. Sir Ken told the story of a young boy who was not particularly great at Math, Science or even English, but who was exceptionally brilliant at walking on his hands. Rather than discouraging his rather odd hobby and asking him to get on with his homework, his mother took him to a gymnasium and he went on to win multiple Olympic gold medals in gymnastics.
Sir Ken believes in the importance of implementing these concepts in the education system now because he says that we are living in times of such accelerated change that no one has any idea of what the world will be like when today’s Grade Ones grow up.
Sir Ken made his points with wit and a British humor that made his presentation entertaining as well as intriguing. Sir Ken didn’t promise that finding one’s element would be easy, but he summed it up, for me at least, by quoting Anais Nin; “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
They are known as “super candidates,” high school prodigies who scoop up hundreds of thousands of dollars in university scholarships.With these mind-blowing amounts handed out to a small group of elite students each application season, does a bright student who is active in their student council and volunteers at a local church even
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