Additional Assignment #3

Sir Ken Robinson: Changing Educational Paradigms
      I think that there were a lot of things that were said in this video that I would call "important." One of them was definitely this quote: "Trying to meet the future by doing what they did in the past." I feel like this is a common concern in many of our assigned readings and videos, and it obviously needs to be addressed because it is affecting so many people. I also thought his argument with ADHD was pretty important, and much debated. However, it was also the portion of the presentation of the video that I disagree with the most. At one point he mentioned that students are being "penalized" for getting distracted from "boring stuff." Almost like, obviously boring stuff is going to distract students. As a student who has been treated for ADHD for 7 years and still receive treatment, I feel like I can safely say that many people are mislead in their arguments against the treatment. The "boring stuff" is not the only thing that students get distracted from. I often find myself distracted from even things I enjoy, like television shows or movies and I often have to go back and watch it again just to know what happened because it is so easy to get distracted. I also think that the argument that treating attention disorders is harming the arts. I don't think of myself as any less creative than I was when I wasn't being treated. I still participate in the same activities, I still play piano. My creativity level has not been altered at all. To say that treatment should not necessarily occur would also have negative effects in the classroom. If you have these students with hyperactivity disorders they are going to be distracting both themselves and their classmates.
      Many of the ideas in the presentation were consistent with ideas that I have learned in my classes this semester in the College of Education. One thing that I have heard repeatedly is that a college degree no longer guarantees a job, you have to go above and beyond a degree to stand out from your peers. Also, we talk at length about reforming our public education system in my classes and creating a more modern system of education.