Thoughts on Divergent Thinking

After watching the animated video on "Changing Education Paradigms", I couldn't stop thinking of many of the ideas that Ken Robinson touched upon. One in particular is how we educate our children in a changing economy. He discusses how kids now a days don't see a purpose in school, not like many of the kids in the past. I would agree that many of my students, don't find a purpose to education. Part of this reason I feel is the ongoing struggle with the current economy we live in. Many of my students watch the news, or read about how people are loosing jobs everyday. To them, they wonder what is the purpose of getting an education if there will be no jobs in the future.

Another issue that he discusses, is the how ADHD is a rising epidemic that is growing throughout the country. I agree that many students today are being diagnosed with ADHD, however, it is not their fault. Many parents today are not educated on the effects of television and video games, and how they affect children. They find it an easy way to self babysit, since many of their parents aren't home in the first place because of various reasons. Unfortunately, the affects of all the computers, video games, and TV watching is having a major affect when kids are faced with sitting in a classroom for 45 minutes, having to listen to a teacher teach. Since they are so stimulated most of their time, when they are in school and are not using computers or any other technological device, they find themselves very agitated and can't stay still, which is affecting their education. That is why we need to start thinking of ways to educate our children in todays society. For example, I myself have started using iPads in my classroom. It is a way of challenging my students needs.

Our education system is an on going process. The way we educate our students will always be changing. If it was an easy answer, we would have fixed the issue already. However, until we can fix this problem, we will continue to ask ourselves, "How do we educate our children in a changing economy?"