First, I will be uploading a link to a youtube video that I encourage you all to watch. The clip is taken from a television comedy show called "Silicon Valley" about a group of friends who create one of the most efficient and helpful tools on the internet. In the clip, the main character goes up to a famous entrepreneur after a TED Talk hoping to sell a percentage of the tool. Watch what happens: http://youtu.be/eIAvB_pZ-6Q
The reason I am putting this on my blog is because I think he is completely right. An education in this day in age typically is being stuck in a classroom listening to a teacher/professor talk his or her knowledge into a classroom. Whats the problem then? I believe that this takes away from actual experience that could be learned and felt firsthand. I think that firsthand knowledge and experience is a lot more important and vital to life than just words being transfered about things that are going on in the world. Sure, in some cases the information might be relevant but they also take away from more relevant and important things.
Another thing that bothers me is the expectations of most modern age staff members. What "is expected" of us is to gain material and usefully and appropriately incorporate it into the world outside of school. From the perspective of a student, it basically means we are expected to "copy" material from textbooks and notes into our brains, then vigorously and tirelessly learn the material in order to pass the class. In other words, a good handful of students might interpret school as just learning irrelevant material for a short period of time to pass a class, then completly forget the material taught.
All of the irrelvant material and false interpretation of school and what school should be about kills creativity. It puts students under the illusion that "intelligence" is the most important thing in the world and creativity is meaningless. I put intelligence in quotes because if you think about it, learning then forgetting is not intelligence at all. We are judged on how well we can do as we are told. If you can mimic a school systems idea of a "perfect student", then you are a perfect person. If you be yourself and your ideas do not meet up with the schools systems idea of a perfect student, then there is something wrong with you.
In school, we are given a canvas that has already been painted on and are expected to mimic it onto a blank canvas to the best of our ability. Having said that, my school does not do that in a literal interpretation but most schools, and my school as well in some/most cases, have the same goal as my metaphor or something along the lines of it. In my opinion, we should be given a blank canvas and should be able to paint our own unique and creative painting. I think schools should focus more on embracing creativity instead of trying to set everyones brain to the same setting. My digital multimedia and global citizenship class does an outstanding job of embracing creativity. I am not saying that intelligence is something that should be dismissed, but creativity should be more fairly encouraged in a classroom.
I would love to get feedback on my blog on wether or not you agree and why!(:
I definitely agree with you, Andreas! As an "intelligent" student, I do have to say that I'm still not a perfect person. I do think that creativity is definitely something that we should embrace, though, and integrate more into all classes.
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