I didn't like school, in fact, I struggled most of the time to take even a passing interest. I never wagged a day in my life out of respect for my parents. What didn't I like? I never felt interested in how things were taught, I always felt like my (young) life could be better spent doing things I enjoyed. I liked science, PE and lunch time - I had some pretty good laughs with my friends.
So what's this post all about? Recently on the 7:30 Report (ABC TV) Kerry O'Brien interviewed Sir Ken Robinson, a leading thinker on education, creativity and innovation. Sir Ken has advised various governments and major global corporations and says that most education systems around the world including Australia’s, are still modelled on the needs of the industrial age. You can find the transcript of the intereview here.
One of the things that strikes a chord with me is when Sir Ken said: "people achieve their best when they firstly tune into their natural aptitudes....they've found this thing that they completely get. But the second thing is that they love it. And if you can find that - a talented and a passion - well that's to say you never work again....our current education systems are simply not designed to help people do that. In fact an awful lot of people go through education and never discover anything they're good at at all." he went on to say.....
"we're all born with tremendous creative confidence and abilities....the culture of standardised testing is a blight on the whole of education....we all think and learn differently....getting the best from kids in schools is about understanding the way they think, as well as what it is they're supposed to be thinking about. And I think that's also why some people get through the whole of their education and don't discover themselves at all."
At the end of year 11 my result in Maths was 36%....a few years later I won a merit-based scholarship to study engineering, I went on to gain a Masters and PhD in Biomedical Engineering. So what? Well, I truely believe my progress was hindered by the education system. Engineering is somewhat mathematics related - I didn't even study physics at school! Yet out of the school system I was able to flourish.
I am deeply concerned that my kids are not going to be able to reach their full potential under the current education system. Kids, these days, don't seem to be allowed to be kids....tutoring, coaching, weekend study camps, test preparation....it doesn't seem to end. Gaining close to 1oo% in an exam when you are 16 years old does not mean you are heading down a road that will enable you to attain a fulfilling professional life. Parents (and kids) are being forced into thinking that you will only succeed if you get perfect scores.
Sir Ken has raised some fantastic points about skewed importance of maths, science and languages "at the expense of music and dance and art and poetry and all the things that the arts teach, and humanities and history, and all of those things which speak to the nature of what it is to be a human being and to be able to make your way in the world." Our government needs to reassess this and allow schools and universities the freedom to foster growth in these areas.
