A friend recently asked me what I thought of this talk called Changing Education Paradigms by Ken Robinson:

httpv://youtu.be/zDZFcDGpL4U

What do I think? I think that Robinson does an excellent job of diagnosis. Specifically:

1. The educational system alienates many kids.
2. A degree is not a guarantee of future employment.
3. The educational system was designed in and for a different age: the industrial age.
4. The educational system asumes an enlightenment view of human persons and learning.
5. The factory model of education diminishes (and often harms) individuals.
6. Sadly, children often lose the capacity for creativity as they continue in school.
7. Great learning happens in groups.
8. The habits of institutions shape children.

Here are some questions the talk leaves unanswered:

1. What are some positive visions of alternatives to the current model?
   (Robinson is notably silent on homeschooling, which can answer many of his critiques well.)
2. What role does discipline play in enduring things that aren’t immediately exciting to us in forming character?
3. Is the answer to over-stimulation neither anesthetization nor further stimulation, but the practice of solitude?

What other questions do you have? What possible answers do you see that Robinson overlooks?