RSAnimate – Changing Educational Paradigms
November 6, 2010
On their own, just the content or just the animations are worth your time watching. Together? Dynamite.
There is a RSA Youtube Channel with additional intensely interesting presentations, and a website, CognitiveMedia at which you can purchase the Animations in PDF form.
Here is the official RSA Blog. There is a download app for iPhone users. Hit the jump for the RSAnimate: 21st Century Enlightenment.
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Fascinating stuff. Really enjoyed it. However, I don’t feel like he ever really got to the point. What is his conclusion? What does he have to offer instead?
I’d like to take that divergent test. I think I’d score big.
Kenai, I felt he made some very major points and his conclusions while unspoken, were clear.
Major points:
1. The current education was created in a different era with very specific objectives which are no longer relevant to the present situation of our North American societies.
2. Schooling for the sake of securing future employment or wealth is no longer a valid argument. (Actually, it hasn’t been for decades in Canada and Japan is just starting to experience the same thing. There are so few jobs here, that the universities, in order to maintain high numbers of post-degree work placements, are actually encouraging students to apply for their Masters degrees just so the institutions won’t have to add their names to the list of students who found no work after graduating.
3. Being raised in an era when the environment is more stimulating than it ever has been in human history, most children cannot reasonably be expected to sit and “listen and learn”. Administering downright dangerous drugs to children just to “calm them down and help them focus” is exactly the opposite of what they need. (It is implied that what they need is anything but sitting in a desk for 6 hours a day.)
4. “Schooling” our children in the current system is, in many cases, destroying their capacity to problem solve and think creatively. The paper clip study is evidence of the detrimental affects of schooling on divergent thinking in growing and maturing humans. As regards divergent thinking, isn’t just not helping them, schooling is doing that part of their personality/capability HARM. While there are some that may thrive in the schooling environment, most do not.
Conclusions:
Get your children out of the classroom and or change the system completely.
Note: In this case as in many, the whistle blower doesn’t have to be expected to be the revolutionary. This is just the dude that says, “HEY! Wake up! Don’T you see what is happening here?!”
Understandably, not all parents have the resources to teach their own children, but parents should never be thinking of the schooling system as a place to keep their children busy for 12 years. Yet, if schooling isn’t helping them become better problem solvers and divergent thinkers, and at the same time isn’t helping them secure work, what the heck are they doing there? Learning to read? They do that in the first 2 grades. All else can be learned through reading.
P.S. If you feel confident about your divergent thinking skills (and I am not doubting you), perhaps it was because you weren’t in the classroom in some of your most formative years!! Thank your blessed Mother for that!
And I rest my case. 
P.P.S. In many ways, I have basically “schooled” my boys. However, I am hoping that their experience will give them the confidence when they are parents to take it a step further and raise and educate their own children without worrying about any of the government curricula.
EDIT: I just watched it a second time and I need to clarify they are not even complaining so much about the original model of intelligence and education based on learning the classics and developing deductive reasoning skills. They are saying that Standardized Testing is destroying even that little bit of benefit. Teachers can no longer teach the classics, nor do they have time to teach philosophy (deductive and inductive thinking) because they need to cover the content of the tests.
Very true about standardized testing, Mike. Unfortunately, those in charge of education, as in terms of politicians, are placing incredible weight on those testing results. It’s a trickle down theory. Now that school districts are proposing tying testing results to teacher evaluations, the heat is being turned up. Yes, I agree that there should be a method of assessing if students understand the fundamentals. However, when everything is reduced down to a number, you lose what’s most important- developing a universal learner.
The people that are not in the trenches are dictating what children should be learning in a manner that is extremely detrimental to creativity, self thought, and critical thinking. They’ve completely shredded the arts programs, dictated directed instruction programs, and essentially laid off the youngest and most energetic new teachers. I could go on and on about our educational state, but even commenting on this topic has raised my blood pressure. I will leave it at that.
Agreed 100%.
I do appreciate that he brings this to the table. Good history lesson.
The solution that he alludes to is
A) Teach our children differently by either teaching them at home, putting them in private schools that teach “a new way” and finally change our current education model.
However, changing our current education model (public schools), requires a whole new frame of mind. Collaboration. Individual creativity and responsibility. Something we are lacking as a society.
The main purpose of schooling (in my opinion) is to give kids something to do while the parents are at work. Educate, keep them busy, out of trouble and in a structured social environment. Not a very good solution, but better than having kids running the streets.
Long gone are the days where children helped parents around the farm.
I’ve seen many types of education. Public school K-3rd Private school 4th-6th Home schooled 7th – 9th and public schooled 10th – college. They all had their advantages and I benefited by all of them.
One suggestion that I would make for changing things would be…
Find a way to spark a specific interest in a student (aptitude test / guidance counselor)
Create a block of time per day 2hours + where a student could focus on a topic (or two) of a student’s main interest.
Computer programing
Science (astronomy, physics, string theory, chemistry)
Music (practice, theory, history)
English (journalism or classics or …..)
They would have more of a “Major” while in primary school.
That is something that could be done without making a Major change to such an established structure. In fact you could add a session of summer school to focus on that.
Main point: Our children come out of a school year (year after year) without any focus, just “general” education.
Kenai, all that you said is great and I agree.
In fact, if they just remove the Standarized Testing, that alone would cure much of the ill. There is only one risk that comes with removing the testing, the outcomes wouldn’t be as predicable. There are wackjobs out there and some kids would get taught some horrible things. There are also lazy people out there who would do even less, if that one form of accountability were removed.
However, I believe that, by a large margin, the number of students who would benefit from the change would outweigh those who fared worse.
Thanks for the heads-up on “Time Perspective”. Will watch today. The visual format is fantastic.
Removing standardized testing is definitely not the answer. In fact, it will lead to larger problems. Doing so would be irresponsible. The answer lies in assessing the student as a whole. Remember, the goal of education is to make the child into a universal learner.
Public education is constantly attacked because elitists and politicians want to convince that the system is broken. How the hell can you attack a system when the people that are in power are stripping more and more resources every time there are budget cuts. This attack on all public sectors is deplorable. Somehow, people have been bamboozled to rail against unions and public employees because they believe that privatizing everything is the key to everyone’s answers.
My blood pressure is rising…
Kenny, you just said above that it is because of the testing that you have no time to teach, or focus on, the real important and useful skills. You didn’t say it was because of a lack of funding. If you were suddenly given the freedom to teach the students as they need, and not having to make sure they can “pass” a test 2 months from now, just imagine the places you could go with each individual child!
Yes, the money and most importantly, the ratio of students per teacher is killing most chances of success, but just throwing millions of dollars per school even, at the teachers would not help much if they were still being evaluated based on their students Standardized test scores.
OK, let me take it out of your sphere and into mine. In Japan, English is used as one of the subjects for academic evaluation of prospective university students. It is on all university entrance exams. However, because giving proper Interview and Essay based exams is very challenging in almost every aspect, the exams consist of multiple choice or very brief short answer problems. The actual content of the problems consists of things like, for example, which is the appropriate preposition for this phrase etc.. My school wants all of the students to get into the high level universities, so instead of helping the students develop into literate individuals, they focus on helping the students pass the exams. The university entrance exams is the single most detrimental factor in English education in Japan.
If deemphasizing the Standardized Testing will allow the teachers to better meet the needs of their students then we are basically talking about the same thing. I am saying that the importance placed on the Standardized Tests is binding teachers hands from meeting the student’s needs – even more than the lack of money. You and your class are proof of that. Even more than more money, I believe that you need the freedom to do what you need to do for your students.
Here, let me bring it back to the original argument of the presentation.
IF you have the time to teach towards the Standardized Tests, you have time to teach important skills like deductive thinking and the classics.
Yes, if we want them to actually develop creatively and in areas beyone those original classic ideas of intelligence, that will cost more dollars, but to even just get back to the basics, you need to first get Teaching for the Test OUT of the classroom.
This was a good link to go along with the main topic (Education).
This is “Time Perspective”
Ok, so this one is BRILLIANT, too. I have made a Page for these. As we go through them, we can add them there.
EDIT: The implications are profound and explain why I get so frustrated with my students when they refuse to do simple things that will make the future (that day, or the next day, or the next week) easier for them. I am not even talking about after graduation, just the very immediate future even.
I am definitely future oriented. Will have to watch it again, after I do the dishes…so that Chiiko will have a nice day.
Responding to Suns’ comments:
Mike, I never made any comment about not having the time to teach due to standardized testing. Whoever you heard that from, it wasn’t me, brother. Yes, I have mentioned that the lack of funding has forced teachers across the nation to be furloughed through our Skype convos. As a result, that translates to lost instruction time. I think that you may be projecting some of your personal feelings/frustrations about Japan’s teaching constraints/current opinions of standardized testing and applying them to mine.
First of all, I can give a rat’s ass about time schedules. I go by what I feel the students need and their best interests. If the students don’t grasp concepts, I’ll alter my plan to do what is necessary. I am always trying to convince my colleagues to stop moving at break neck paces because there’s a district assessment around the corner. If your student doesn’t understand something, it is irresponsible to move onto another concept. They’re simply adding to that child affective filter, and don’t be shocked when the kid shuts down on your instruction. You’ve already allowed some bullsh!t time frame to dictate what you know as a professional is downright wrong. You’ve got to have a strong personality to justify your actions. I can back up my actions with what kind of learners that I’m able to produce. *When I use the perspective “you,” I’m speaking about those individuals that fail to realize common sense methodology.
You misunderstand me about why standardized testing needs to exist, Mike. We cannot simply throw the baby out with the bath water. There is an obscene amount of attention focused on standardized test results. That is an undeniable fact. However, that is NOT the only method of evaluating the competency and growth of a student. Even though many educators realize this, the general public does not because the only thing that gets printed in newspapers and reported by the media are those scores. The public wants to see the results in black and white. Student portfolios, critical thinking exercises, use of rubrics, debate/discussion skills, etc. are just some of the additional evaluative methods. Politicians with no experience in the educational arena are the ones dictating this focus on scores. Solely focusing on standardized testing and placing all of the weight on them leads to minimizing student performance.
Standardized testing needs to exist to ensure that fundamentals are taught. However, too many are blinded thinking that this is the only way to gauge our children’s growth as a learner. I know that my students leave my class thinking “out of the box.” Going through life being force fed information is definitely not the way to progress. My kids know that they can question authority (respectfully), they learn alternative methods/techniques in problem-solving, deductive reasoning, they learn to use their brain and not take everything for face value. Their worth is not tied only to a standardized test, but it unfortunately, it’s the only reflection that the politicians and general public look at. The inability to open these people’s perceptions of alternative assessment/evaluative methods is the main problem here.
America wonders why we’re being demolished by other countries. However, that is another can of worms that I don’t want to get into. I will say that America’s situation is different because we are not teaching homogeneous groups of students. Our students come from a plethora of different cultural backgrounds. That fact alone leads to a multitude of other factors.
I’m just sick and tired of hearing everyone use public education as their scapegoat. That’s the most infuriating thing about this profession. Teachers are no longer treated as professionals rather they’re treated as someone to blame society’s problems on. They use aberrations that are reported in the media to paint teachers with. However, neglecting to cite examples of positive stories. It’s sickening. Unless you’ve walked a mile in my shoes, shut the f’k up.
Kenny, first of all, I have the highest respect for you as a teacher. I know the profession, and so I know by your stories when we have visited, that you are an outstanding teacher who genuinely cares for each and every student.
There has been a misunderstanding here.
Above, I wrote the following:
“I just watched it a second time and I need to clarify they are not even complaining so much about the original model of intelligence and education based on learning the classics and developing deductive reasoning skills. They are saying that Standardized Testing is destroying even that little bit of benefit. Teachers can no longer teach the classics, nor do they have time to teach philosophy (deductive and inductive thinking) because they need to cover the content of the tests.
To that you replied:
“Very true about standardized testing, Mike.”
I am not experientially familiar with the American system, so I made a statement and took your comment as a validation of my perception of the situation. I thought you were agreeing with my statement that the need to teach for the test is tying the teachers’ hands. I misunderstood.
“Standardized testing needs to exist to ensure that fundamentals are taught. ” I disagree.
Ensuring that the fundamentals are taught in public schools is simultaneously the responsibility of:
the curriculum – as developed by all stakeholders
the teachers (as you have taken it upon yourself to fulfill),
the administration – through providing the necessary support and holding the teachers responsible for fulfilling their duty,
the school board and government – through overseeing the principals, providing funds, and creating curricula to which they will hold the stakeholders in the system accountable,
and finally and most importantly, the parents who should be supporting and criticizing (when appropriate) the teachers in their fulfillment of teaching the fundamentals to their children.
The parents and the administrators should be the ones ensuring that the teachers of their children/students are being taught the fundamentals, not some statewide test that can’t possibly inform others on the state of the child. As long as Standardized Tests exist, most politicians and parents alike will never be required to look at all those outstanding and necessary alternative methods of evaluation that you mentioned.
As for my own situation in Japan, English education is as it is, and until my school allows me to teach real skills, content, and attitudes using researched, effective methods, I will continue to push the administration to give me the Computer Literacy classes (which, ironically, I teach in English). I am a fluent English speaking Canadian, teaching in a private high school in Japan in which no less than 7 hours of English week and per grade level is taught, and I am teaching the computer courses.
So, I am doing what I can in my situation, too, to meet the needs of my students even if that means giving me to a completely different curriculum.
I do not and will not make the public education system the scapegoat of society’s ills – responsibility for society’s ills falls squarely on the shoulders of each and every individual in that society.
And, though I assume your last statement was a general “you” and not a “Suns” “you”. The dearer I hold a friend, the louder I get, whether I have walked in your shoes or not.
LMAO
Much respect and love.
“And, though I assume your last statement was a general “you” and not a “Suns” “you”.” Yes, that was a general “you” which is definitely not directed toward you, Mike.
There is a misunderstanding here because I fear that I may not have read that edited comment as thoroughly as I should have in my haste to comment about it. Standardized testing is a very volatile subject and I have a lot of opinions about it. I went back through all of my comments and I couldn’t understand where you got that perception. Now I see where the lines of communication were crossed, Mike. It actually upset me because I didn’t know where you got that impression from. Sheesh. LOL
We disagree about the need for standardized testing because there needs to be some bar that is set which essentially proves that students know basic fundamentals. I would shudder to think about where students would be without some form of standard evaluation. As it is, America is all over the place because each state dictates what their standards and framework are. In fact, many private schools opt to utilize other state standardized exams because they are less rigorous than California’s. That fact alone means that their delivery of academics may not be up to par. Thus, they hide the actual prowess of their students by taking an inferior test. After all, their students’ parents are directly paying for their children’s education. That also keeps this continual beration of public education. Heads would roll if they knew the actual truth.
The SAT is also a form of standardized testing. Yet, colleges and universities require the results of that test in order for admission. In fact, many of the higher institutions make it mandatory for all prospective freshmen to take the SAT or ACT. If we didn’t have set standards, there would be no weight on grades that are issued because they would be subjective. What my colleagues think is an A isn’t even close to what I deem worthy of an A. I have extremely high expectations and they must be met in order to receive that kind of a grade. If standards and rubrics didn’t exist, some teachers would hand out As and Bs like they were going out of style. We’ve been there in the past and those generations of learners didn’t amount to much.
After everything is said and done, standardized testing is NOT the solution to everything. We don’t live in a perfect world. Being pro-active to our students needs should be the priority, not teaching toward some test. That we can agree on. Too many people have horse blinders on and refuse to recognize or seriously implement alternative means in gauging students. The school doesn’t teach my daughter, that responsibility is mine to bear as a parent. Unfortunately, not every parent has the knowledge of providing academics to their children as we do, Mike. And that, is tragic indeed.
Good stuff, Kenny.
As a related aside, diploma exams came into being just a couple years before I graduated from high school. Each student in Alberta is required to take them and at that time (and I am pretty sure it is still the same today) the students could choose whether to use the results as 50% (combined with the teacher’s grade) or 100% of their final grade. As a student, they were a bit scary, but it was also cool to know that I hadn’t just done well within my school, but on a provincial level as well – that I had passed an agreed upon standard of competency. That was of special importance to me in the area of English composition, as it was my weakest skill/subject.
Again, good stuff.
Two more things. I talk in ideals a lot, and second, I would so much love to be in one of your meetings on any issue!
and 
All good stuff. The impression that I get from reading both of your comments is… Frustration. Overwhelm. My opinion: Too much responsibility is being put on teachers such as yourselves to produce good students and citizens. The root of the problem begins at home. Children become less parent orientated and more peer oriented (and at an earlier age as each decade passes). A fascinating book that discusses the problem, historical progression and his proposal for a solution is:
Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers – by Gordon Neufeld
We are losing our children to peer pressure. They focus on the other kids / styles / trends around them. School is no longer important. Family is no longer important. Time (or the future) is no longer important. (See Time video above – Present Time / Hedonism is our children’s new reality).
The family is broken down. 50% divorce rate. Single parent family. 20% of families eat dinner together. Facebook / Text messages take children “out of the home” even when they are AT Home. In the city of Detroit, only 25% of African American Males graduate high school. There is a higher percentage of these young men going to prison than graduating.
But this is not a true “Racial” issue in reality. I saw in NBC News last night that in Chicago, there is a all male African American Academy where 100% graduate. Why? How?
Simple. This school has turned the “Peer Pressure” to be focused on Education. Made it important and “Cool” to have good grades. How is this possible? Why can they do it, but the Public schools can not. I believe it gets back to (2) main things. 1) The “home” dysfunctional culture in too strong in mainstream America. 2) As Kenny Said “Class sizes are too big & lack of funding”. The Academy mentioned only graduates 180 students per year. Small enough for the Faculty to refocus the Students to a higher level.
Schools with 2,000 + students and an ever downsizing faculty are pushing up hill in regards to overcoming what Parents are not doing. Over coming the all powerful Peer Pressure that results from the void the children have to fill as a result of dysfunctional homes.
I may be overgeneralizing here, but based on some specials that I’ve seen on tv. There is a reason why are the Chinese students doing so well these days? Parents push their children and use their culture to Guilt them into doing well. Fear. Responsibility. Honor.
When these students are at school, this culture prevails and these students are in competition with each other. All (or most) want to get into the next level (Higher education). Some Kids commit suicide if they do not succeed. No one wants to return home in shame. This may be an extreme comparison, but the reason that I bring it up is because Parents DO have a major role to play. One that we as a country have allowed to be usurped by Peer Pressure.
So what is the solution? I do not believe that there is one. At least not on a large scale.
But that is fatalistic thinking, so what “could” be the solution.
Major Education reform? If so, what would that look like? For starters, Smaller class size? Smaller schools?
Of maybe “Forces outside the educational system” need to work? Perhaps there needs to be a major shift in our country such as: Some “great cause” that motivates our young people into action. Like a Global War (WWIII) or A great civilian movement like “Obama Youth” aka FDR social / civil engineering programs that put young people to work around this country.
On a smaller scale, we can do our best to “Hold on to our Kids” by fostering a good environment for relationship, whether they be the ones that live in our homes or the ones that visit your classrooms every day.
Thanks Kenai.