Sir Ken Robinson

The RSA animated feature that I was able to watch on youtube.com was phenomenal. I enjoyed watching the visuals portraying what the speaker was trying to explain. Sir Ken Robinson detailed how education is still based around the enlightenment period and the idea that if you work hard and get good grades you will get a job. However, this is no longer true in these economic times. Also, education reinforces the idea that some are smart while others are not smart. This is reinforced by those that believe our job types determine our level of intelligence, which could not be further from the truth. A gentlemen who makes a living delivering packages and sees a stock broker who has a better living blames it on their lack of intelligence. This is unfortunate because it is not necessarily true, but because education places emphasis on being smart and not smart they are left with no other conclusion.

What really got to me was the mentioning of using medications to alter children's attention, which appears to have a parallel with the growth in standardized test scores. As the need for standardized test scores has grown, so to has the need to prescribe pills that help with ADHD. The need for it also shows trends on a map, as you move close to the East Coast of the United States the more children are diagnosed with this disorder. I cannot stand this truth because I know how easily it is to attribute ADHD as the reason for children not paying attention in class, which sickens me. I was misdiagnosed with the disorder in the 3rd grade and did not get off the medication until my sophomore year of high school. I felt like a zombie and could barely get any sleep. I really blame my teacher in the third grade who recommended to my mother that I speak to a doctor about this potential disorder. The material she was teaching was boring that is why I was distracted. I was probably busy thinking about wanting to go home to play baseball,  but no it could not have been that! So, as you might be able to tell I am not a fan of ADHD and Ken Robinson did a wonderful job in showing how drugs (Ritalin, Concerta, etc.) are being used to help boost the all important standardized test scores.