Archive for the 'Education' Category

Originality: Sir Ken Robinson, W.B. Yeats and Sir Elton John

Published on 17 June, 2010 in Education. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Sir Ken Robinson and I share many things in common, particularly with respect to viewing the crisis of education. There is a great need for our society to be filled with more people who love what they do and less people who just go through the motions, a shift that may be facilitated by moving away from thinking of education as being like an industrial process – that Ken likens to the “fast food approach” – and more like an organic, bespoke, Zagat or Michelin context for an individual to experience the conditions for them to flourish.

He ends his presentation at TED earlier this year with these words from W.B. Yeats:

Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

As I watched Ken reading, I couldn’t help but think of Elton John’s Your Song, a song that the late John Lennon described as “the first new thing that’s happened since we happened”. Just in case you don’t remember the lyrics, here are the first two verses:

It’s a little bit funny this feeling inside
I’m not one of those who can easily hide
I don’t have much money but boy if I did
I’d buy a big house where we both could live

If I was a sculptor, but then again, no
Or a man who makes potions in a travelling show
I know it’s not much but it’s the best I can do
My gift is my song and this one’s for you

So was Your Song original? Or did Elton read a little Yeats to Bernie one night before bed after a few bottles of wine, and have Bernie wake up the next morning with a flash of “inspiration”?

Perhaps Elton and Bernie have acknowledged the inspiration of Yeats in the past or perhaps the connection is only tenuous. Or maybe they came to this idea independently. Even if the ‘idea’ was from Yeats or even someone else, it was Sir Elton John that brought such a sentiment to the world in a form that we could embrace, love and enjoy today.

Creativity is sometimes strikingly divergent from the status quo. Sometimes it is a refinement. Other times, creativity might be more like a renaissance – a rebirth of older ideas so that they can find new life for another generation. This leaves the challenge for us to cultivate those conditions and contexts where those around us can find a way to express their uniqueness. And where we can express our own uniqueness.

Here is Sir Ken Robinson’s presentation at TED from earlier this year. I hope you enjoy it.

Optimization of everyday life: Making better decisions

Published on 8 December, 2009 in Education, Inner game and Self-awareness. 2 Comments Tags: , , .

Most of the time we don’t make rational decisions. Much of the time we can’t – there’s too little information and too much uncertainty. But if we can start to use some numbers, we can make the comparisons simpler, less subjective, and give us more of what we want, more often.

That’s the point of this post – and I’ll get back to that in a minute…

I have been reading Common Wealth, economist Jeffrey Sach’s take on how to make the world a better place. This morning, I came across his chapter on the economic proposition justifying social welfare – how increased taxation with a corresponding increase in social services can be fiscally responsible and yield quantifiable social benefits. While his argument was quite one-sided – after all, it’s his book – it got me thinking how we can use a bit of mathematics to make better decisions. Sachs was asking this sort of question:

If you were in government and thought that you had too much money, would you cut taxes or increase social welfare?

But I was thinking about my everyday decisions.

In the next few months, I have a number of flights scheduled though not yet booked. For example, I am due to fly from Sydney to Brisbane sometime after 7pm on the evening of 28 January. That route is mainly serviced by Qantas and Virgin Blue at that time. So how does one decide which flight to take?

Continue reading ‘Optimization of everyday life: Making better decisions’

Live Play School masquerading as child care-play-music

Published on 23 August, 2009 in Education. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

With only a few months to go, we figured it was about time to check out the child development options around here. Montessori is well known though the implementations can be inconsistent and there isn’t one really close by. So we checked out a local place that is supposedly part of an international conglomerate with 600 or so centres.

I was a little disappointed. Turns out they’re charging ¥240 ($42) per 45 minute class… and you still have to be there. The walls are pretty colours and the leaders are very animated, though the children didn’t seem at all engaged. And I can’t quite call the staff ‘teachers’ since they’re mostly just English majors who did a 2-month in-house course.

Yet what are the options?

The sales guy suggested that Shanghainese parents don’t know how to play with their kids so they bring them there instead. Ouch!

Maybe I had an enlightened childhood but it just looked like the kids were on the set of a second-rate version of the television show, Play School.

Maybe we’ll be looking elsewhere for a place that has a stronger pedagogical foundation than “let the kids play and they’ll learn something”.

Still, what is important in child development?

Attend training? Why not just read the book?

Published on 28 July, 2009 in Education and High performance. 3 Comments Tags: , .

Training courses can be expensive. They can cost a lot more to attend than buying a book on the same subject. Earlier today, was asked, “What is the difference?”

And it’s a good question to ask. A book costs a lot less than a training course – and is far more convenient to read – so if you could get the same thing from a book, it would be a much more convenient way to learn. So why do we teach our children in schools and our corporations through training courses when we could just give them books to read? Anyway, I gave an answer like this:

When I was younger, I read books about martial arts. I looked at the pictures and ran through in my mind the exercises and explanations. And it looked really cool! It got me excited and interested so I kept reading.

One day, my parents allowed me to start martial arts training. It was the same – and yet totally different. While I already knew in theory much of what we were learning, training in a class with other people like me meant that I learnt much more than ever before. I realized that I didn’t really know as much as I thought that I did. And I had the experience of really learning. If I had kept reading books, I could become very knowledgeable, but I could never have become a Master.

If you want to learn about a topic, reading books is great. If you want to develop some serious skill, you will want to find the right context for your to explore, experience and expand yourself in ways that you might have never realized possible.

If you want to develop real skill, you’ll want to find the best training opportunities around.

Only you know if it’s the right time. But that you’re asking about this suggests that some part of you believes that you would benefit from some training. If so, we look forward to having you join us.

So are training courses worth the money?

VAST learning frameworks

Published on 4 July, 2005 in Education. 0 Comments Tags: , .

For a long time, I have argued that there are four levels of abstraction in learning outcomes:

  • Values
  • Attitudes
  • Skills
  • Techniques

Several other models exist. Some educational theorists delineate between knowledge-based, skills-based and affective goals (incorporating values, attitudes and interests), which is essentially the same as the VAST framework that I have used. Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Goals provides a very sophisticated framework, highlighting the appropriate assessment procedures that might be adopted as well as the helping frame the learning outcomes themselves.

How much better could our schools and parents be if they had clear outcomes in mind? How much more effective could we be as people if we clearly had in mind the messages that we wanted to communicate to those around us?

Each level is critically important, though different in nature. Educational experiences often focus upon some of these outcomes more than others; sometimes deliberately, othertimes not. UNICEF has created a list of what it considers to be “Life Skills”, a list that I think is valuable, interesting and worthy of consideration by our educators. As you look at this list, consider how many of those skills you were deliberately taught – ever – and how much more powerfully you could live your life and impact upon the world if you had been…

Communication and Interpersonal Skills

  • Interpersonal communication skills
    Verbal/Nonverbal communication
    Active listening
    Expressing feelings; giving feedback (without blaming) and receiving feedback
  • Negotiation/refusal skills
    Negotiation and conflict management
    Assertiveness skills
    Refusal skills
  • Empathy
    Ability to listen and understand another’s needs and circumstances and express that understanding
  • Cooperation and Teamwork
    Expressing respect for others’ contributions and different styles
    Assessing one’s own abilities and contributing to the group
  • Advocacy Skills
    Influencing skills & persuasion
    Networking and motivation skills

Decision-Making and Critical Thinking Skills

  • Decision making / problem solving skills
    Information gathering skills
    Evaluating future consequences of present actions for self and others
    Determining alternative solutions to problems
    Analysis skills regarding the influence of values and attitudes of self and others on motivation
  • Critical thinking skills
    Analyzing peer and media influences
    Analyzing attitudes, values, social norms and beliefs and factors affecting these
    Identifying relevant information and information sources

Coping and Self-Management Skills

  • Skills for increasing internal locus of control
    Self esteem/confidence building skills
    Self awareness skills including awareness of rights, influences, values, attitudes, rights, strengths and weaknesses
    Goal setting skills
    Self evaluation / Self assessment / Self-monitoring skills
  • Skills for managing feelings
    Anger management
    Dealing with grief and anxiety
    Coping skills for dealing with loss, abuse, trauma
  • Skills for managing stress
    Time management
    Positive thinking
    Relaxation techniques

Link – UNICEF website.

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