Figuring History: A Bygone Institution

A Bygone Institution

An Analysis of Changing Education Paradigms

Artist Sir Ken Robinson explains in his compelling illustration Changing Education Paradigms, which the reason for world-practicing education reformation is due to cultural and economic circumstances. He argues that formal education is an archaic system developed in the early 19th century. During the industrial revolution, there was a radical and revolutionary idea of a public school that was not entirely accepted by society. American culture believed there were two types of people; academic and nonacademic. Our conveyor belt style of education has caused pandemonium in our lives which led to Ken's example of the ADHD epidemic. Although Robinson does give credit to doctors and pediatricians, and their belief that ADHD is real, he finds that old-school education has caused a "fictitious epidemic." (2)  The world is in a bracing and stimulating period like we have never seen before, and children are experiencing it first hand. Robinson finishes his drawing claiming that the most important and crucial way of learning "[comes from] the culture of our institutions, the habits of the institution and the habitats that they occupy." (Sir Ken Robinson) 

Robinson is a Ph.D. graduate of the University Of London. He has quite an extensive background working in arts education, was appointed Knight Bachelor by Queen Elizabeth II for his services in art, and his TED Conference videos have over 40 million views. (sirkenrobinson.com) This type of experience gives him a credible platform to inform students and hopefully change the minds of whoever is in charge of our outdated education system. As an educator, it is crucial for Robinson to confront his audience with an open mind to demonstrate his stance with limited bias, which he is mostly successful. Robinson demands that we challenge how we think about human capacity through examinations of divergent thinking, the ADHD epidemic, and the historical background of our institutions. Although Robinson may hastily windup his examples and indulge in post hoc fallacies, his poignancy, the address of social stereotypes, and reliability give him the opportunity to examine our culture and its inhabitants thoughtfully. 

There is a long history of our formal education system which Robinson describes in his illustration. We created our current academic model in the early 19th century from the prosperous success of the industrial revolution. Robinson states that "we have a system of education that is modeled on the interests of industrialism and the image of it" (3) and that we have "twin pillars - economic and cultural." (2) He identifies society’s stereotypes of one's capacity for learning and supports this claim with how people used to generalize working-class children unfairly. Robinson assumes in the early conversations about public school that many people didn't believe some children were able to learn due to their social and economic status. Society’s judgment toward children who don't have a specific type of deductive reasoning has led them to think that they aren't smart. Robinson claims that this historical model has been successful for some people, but for most of us, it has caused mayhem and the rise of the ADHD epidemic. 

Could the current system of education subsequently be the reason of the ill-judged and forged pandemic of ADHD? Robinson assumes that the reason for the ADHD epidemic is associated solely with education because he does not weigh every contributor. Robinson does give credit to doctors and pediatricians, but he lacks examples of other contributions to ADHD. Our industrialized image of schooling may be adding fuel to the fire, but his illustration fails to recognize some other essential factors such as premature birth, maternal drug use, and toxic environmental exposure. (CDC) His argument does, however, appeal to our emotions -- pathos -- when he explains that our solution is drugging our children to better conform to the current education method rather than looking at the issue of education itself. Our bottles of Ritalin and Adderall are perhaps Robinson's most methodical way to get us to listen. 

What type of children has been affected by the ADHD pandemic? Robinson claims that Artists are education’s current victims due to a lack of society’s understanding of the aesthetic experience. He states that "the arts especially address the idea of the aesthetic experience." (3) When someone is experiencing and reverberating the present moment with excitement, they're "fully alive." (3) This evidence strengthens Robinson's earlier claim about what happens when we drug our children with anesthetics. His logic becomes sounder when he presents that "an anesthetic is when you shut off and deaden yourself to what’s happening...we're getting our children through education by anesthetizing them." (3) The solution for education conformity that Robinson examines could be an argument that will get any parent to listen because no one want's their children medicated. Again, Robinson concludes this example by tending to our sentiments. 

Robinson puts artists to good use in his exposition of dissimilar thinking. There is a difference between creative and divergent thought, and we are all born with this capacity. Robinson writes that "Divergent thinking isn't the same thing as creativity. [Creativity is] the process of having original ideas that have value. Divergent thinking isn't a synonym, but it’s an essential capacity for creativity," (3) meaning that an individual can have many solutions to a question. For example, Robinson asks the different ways we can use a paper clip. For people who are successful (genius level) divergent thinkers, they can come up with 200 possibilities. Robinson explains merely that 1,500 genius level kindergartners scored 98% on this test. These children were tested again and again as they aged. As these children grew and became educated, their capacity of divergency decreased. Could education be the only cause of this decline? Robinson believes that education has deprived them of their ability to think different and fails to tell us what the percentage of children remained at genius level divergent thinking. 

All in all, the ADHD epidemic, the bygone image of education, and one's deprivation of divergent thinking brings us to Robinson's demand to change the paradigm. The saddening conformity to school leads to a stronger sense of standardization, and Robinson firmly believes that we need the opposite. We need our children not to feel judged or marginalized, and let them flourish in their learning environment. The illustration of Changing Education Paradigms attempts to answer these questions: Is education the cause of ADHD? Does one's capacity of thinking decrease in the linear education model?  If we live in an era with overwhelming aesthetic experiences how can we succeed in the image of industrialization? Robinson interrogates with exceptional attention to our emotions but assumes too much that education is the only cause. If we accept the issues of our current institutions, the question for Robinson remains: In what type of institution will our children thrive?

Works Cited:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), May 31, 2017,  https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/facts.html .

Robinson, Sir Ken. The official website of Sir Ken Robinson, http://sirkenrobinson.com/ about/ .

Robinson, Sir Ken. "Changing Education Paradigms" London 2008