Sir Ken Robinson is a sane, reasonable, and extremely funny man. You can find a previous post on him here. Today’s video is one of the excellent RSA Animate series: it covers some of the same ground as the TED talk but it’s developed further, and the visualization really adds something. Needless to say, in the current climate of student protests this is all too relevant.
These observations are not confined to schools; it is more-or-less the same at university. A couple of comments:
- The separation of subjects is embodied in the division of universities into faculties. In my experience, it is very difficult to work across these divisions.
- Universities are still organized like factories, and it may be that under the current political and financial climate this tendency will be exaggerated. As Sir Ken states, the opposite should be the case.
- The idea that there are multiple answers to most important questions—not one “right” answer—is crucial. In fact, as Jerome Bruner has suggested, it seems obvious that to know something well is to understand it from multiple points of view. Meaning is context-sensitive.
- Learning is primarily a social activity. Meaning is socially negotiated.
All together now: the process is the product.
[Via Gareth Whittock. Thanks.]