Final Draft Unit 3 Essay

Paola Merrill

               

English 101

Unit 3 Final Paper

12/7/2013

According to education legend Sir Ken Robinson, "people grow out of creativity." He believes that the K12 school system oppresses creativity and diverse ideas in children, and makes many singular thinkers believe that they are unintelligent. In our modern world, the K12 curriculum puts math and science as our top priorities, and cuts financial aid to art programs the moment it is in need of funding. While many schools claim to encourage creativity, they do it in a controlled manner by telling a child to be creative, as long as they follow their rules. While concrete subjects suited to logical thinkers are crucial to progress and invention, so are more ambiguous and creative subjects, that not only inspire unique ideas, but encourage critical thinking. Creativity is not only self-expression, but a way to define ourselves as humans. Creativity is primarily associated with the arts, but it is even broader than that. Every time you express an opinion, be it genius or misguided, people are being creative, and that defines us as a people. The K12 curriculum needs to recognize the importance of creative thinking and encourage it as a core part of achieving a rounded education. To encourage creativity and free thinking in our students we must increase funding to our Arts programs and form after school clubs, for instance during their Junior High years where children are beginning to form their identities, and always have opportunities for children to take part in creative endeavors.

Free thinking and creativity, is for the most part, unwelcome in our school system and the K12 curriculum. This stems primarily from the way children are taught, to simply accept information without reflecting on it. In his paper, The Banking Method of Education, Paolo Friere states that in the classroom, "Narration leads the students to memorize mechanically the narrated content... turns them into 'receptacles' to be 'filled' by the teacher." (4) Friere refers to teacher lectures as just another way that students are conditioned to become great test takers, proving their intelligence on a Scantron sheet and their ability to consume temporary information. Simply absorbing information without truly understanding it is not an effective way to learn, since students are not acquiring a deeper understanding of a subject to be able to apply it later in life. Learning this way also prevents a child from forming opinions and finding opportunities to be creative. By creating multiple after school clubs and celebrating the arts, Junior High students can discover a new form of learning that is dynamic and full of passion. In her book, Teaching Critical Thinking, celebrated author bell hooks affirms that, "Schools shun independent thinking, and by the time the student reaches college, they come to dread it." (8) She explains that children are predisposed to be critical thinkers, and begin life wanting to pursue knowledge. Schools that do not fund their creative art programs create an environment that is completely toxic to those who wish to think deeply and form creative opinions on subjects. Those in favor of the present K12 curriculum, including members of the National Association of State Boards of Education, argue that math and science encourages students to think critically, but the truth is that concrete subjects always have definite answers, while creative programs are ambiguous. Creative subjects allow students to find their own answers to questions and be creative with their homework assignments. There isn’t one correct answer, so students get to form their own voice. This can only be achieved through schools giving students constant opportunities to take part in creative subjects, helping them believe their ideas are worth hearing, which spark confidence along with creativity.                                                                        

In John Gatto’s Against School; How School Cripples our Kids, he reflected that, "I taught for thirty years... and during that time I became an expert in boredom." He claims that schools are designed to make sure that no one ever really "grows up." Schools create people that follow trends mindlessly and don't have singular thoughts that allow them to ask questions and to improve themselves and their community. Some might think this behavior has nothing to do with oppressed creativity, but it is actually the core of the evil it does to children. When children are encouraged to be creative they are being encouraged to think for themselves, which is not only revealed through their artistic endeavors but their ability to become free thinking citizens later in life.  To writer Keith Gilyard society can benefit from encouraging creativity, as he states in his article Children, Arts, and Du Bois, that "The common good. Creative arts programs are integral to this vision." (2) Funding creative subjects in our school systems would allow many children to thrive in an environment that holds mastering music and poetry in such high regard as calculus. Multitudes of scientific studies have revealed that not everyone has the same abilities to process and understand the same subjects, but our school systems treat us like we should. Encouraging creativity will also allow students to unravel their sense of self, confidence, opinions, and be able to better apply them later in life.

While increasing opportunities for Junior High students to take part in art programs, Schools must hold creative subjects, such as the arts and classes that encourage singular thought, in high regard. Instead of seeing it as a pastime, schools should celebrate these subjects, and show their students possible career opportunities along those lines. Schools need to stop teaching children to pass tests, but give them an education that will benefit them in the future. As Paulo Friere adequately stated, “Liberating education consists in acts of cognition, not transferals of information.” Many teachers might make the argument that concrete subjects like math and science are more important than art, because they are used in the real world. It is true that these subjects are extremely important, but to say they are more so than art programs is to say that culture is irrelevant. Our culture is made up all forms of art, and if that is lost our culture will loose its identity. As the K12 school system, they cannot let this happen.   

Sir Ken Robinson stated during a TED talk “At the bottom of every school system is art,” and that "Intelligence is diverse and dynamic... and distinct." Intelligence is relative, but school systems tend to make students believe that a test score makes them competent or not. When students evaluate their own intelligence by grades, many feel lacking. The moment, however, that you allow children to begin expressing themselves through any form of art, many show a deep understanding of human emotion. This reveals that intelligence is ‘diverse’ and discouraging students to pursue free thinking is suppressing a large amount of people that could make a difference in the world, if given a chance. Creativity and critical thinking are inexplicably intertwined, and to reap the full benefits school systems must fund and form art programs. As bell hooks summarized in her paper, “In such a community of learning there is no failure. Everyone is participating and sharing whatever resource is needed at a given moment in time to ensure that we leave the classroom knowing that critical thinking empowers us.” (11) As a society we can continually be improving ourselves, and the greatest difference we can make is in the next generation, and the only way is to do this is to encourage each and every form of intelligence. Only then is when we can truly make a difference in our students, and the world.

                                                    

Works Cited Page

          Hooks, bell. “Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom.” New York and London: Routledge 2009. Print

           Freire, Paulo. “The Banking Concept of Education.” Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum Books, 1993. Print.          

Gilyard, Keith. “Children, Arts, and Du Bois.” The Council Chronicle. National Council of Teachers of English, Sept 2012. Web. 11/29/13.

Robinson, Ken. “How School Kills Creativity.” TED Talk: Feb 2006. Web.

Gatto, John. "Against School - John Taylor Gatto." Wes Jones, 2003. Web. 

Essay Rough Draft

According to education legend Sir Ken Robinson, "people grow out of creativity." He believes that the K12 school system oppresses creativity and diverse ideas in children, and makes many singular thinkers believe that they are unintelligent. In our modern world, the K12 curriculum puts math and science as our top priorities, and cuts financial aid to art programs the moment it is in need of funding. The few schools who claim to encourage creativity do it in a controlled manner, by telling a child to be creative, as long as they follow their rules. While concrete subjects suited to logical thinkers are crucial to progress and invention, so are more ambiguous and creative subjects, that not only inspire unique ideas, but encourage critical thinking. Creativity is not only self-expression, but a way to define ourselves as humans. Creativity is primarily associated with the arts, but it is even broader than that. Every time you express an opinion, be it genius or misguided, people are being creative, and that defines us as a people. The K12 school system needs to recognize the importance of creative thinking and encourage it as a core part of achieving a rounded education. To increase creativity and free thinking in our students we need to increase funding to our Arts programs, for instance during their Junior High years, which stimulate these abilities, and always have opportunities for children to take part in them at whatever age.

Free thinking, the most important benefit of encouraging creativity, is for the most part, unwelcome in our school system. This stems primarily from the way children are taught, to simply accept information without reflecting on it. In his paper, The Banking Method of Education, Paolo Friere states that in the classroom, "Narration leads the students to memorize mechanically the narrated content... turns them into 'receptacles' to be 'filled' by the teacher." (4) Friere refers to lectures as just another way that students are conditioned to become great test takers, proving their intelligence on a Scantron sheet and their ability to consume temporary information. Simply absorbing information without truly understanding it is not an effective way to learn, since students are not acquiring a deeper understanding of a subject to be able to apply it later in life. Learning this way also prevents a child from forming opinions and finding opportunities for creativity. In her book, Teaching Critical Thinking, bell hooks affirms that, "Schools shun independent thinking, and by the time the student reaches college, they come to dread it." (8) She explains that children are predisposed to be critical thinkers, and begin life wanting to pursue knowledge. Schools that do not fund their creative art programs create an environment that is completely toxic to those who wish to think deeply and form creative opinions on subjects. One might argue that math and science encourages students to think critically, but the truth is that concrete subjects always have definite answers, while creative programs are ambiguous. Creative subjects allow students to find their own answers to questions and be creative with their homework assignments. There isn’t one correct answer, so students get to form their own voice. This can only be achieved through schools giving students constant opportunities to take part in creative subjects, helping them believe their ideas are worth hearing, which spark confidence along with creativity.                                                                        

In John Gatto’s Against School; How School Cripples our Kids, he reflected that, "I taught for thirty years... and during that time I became an expert in boredom." He claims that schools are designed to make sure that no one ever really "grows up." Schools create people that follow trends mindlessly and don't have singular thoughts that allow them to ask questions and to improve themselves and their community. Some might think this behavior has nothing to do with oppressed creativity, but it is actually the core of the evil it does to children. When children are encouraged to be creative they are being encouraged to think for themselves, which is not only revealed through their artistic endeavors but their ability to become free thinking citizens later in life.  To writer Keith Gilyard society can benefit from encouraging creativity, as he states in his article Children, Arts, and Du Bois, that "The common good. Creative arts programs are integral to this vision." (2) Funding creative subjects in our school systems would allow many children to thrive in an environment that holds mastering music and poetry in such high regard as calculus. Multitudes of scientific studies have revealed that not everyone has the same abilities to process and understand the same subjects, but our school systems treat us like we should. Encouraging creativity will also allow students to unravel their sense of self, confidence, opinions, and be able to better apply them later in life.

While increasing opportunities for students to take part of art programs, Schools must hold creative subjects, such as the arts, including writing, and classes that encourage singular thought, in high regard. Instead of seeing it as a pastime, schools should celebrate these subjects, and show their students possible career opportunities along those lines. More importantly, schools need to stop teaching children to pass tests, but teaching children to achieve an education that will benefit them in the future. As Paulo Friere adequately stated, “Liberating education consists in acts of cognition, not transferals of information.” Many teachers might make the argument that concrete subjects like math and science are more important than art, because they are used in the real world. It is true that these subjects are extremely important, but to say they are more so than art programs is to say that culture is irrelevant. Our culture is made up of song and prose and all forms of art, and if that was lost, that it is in danger of being lost, our culture would loose its identity.    

                Ken Robinson stated during his TED talk “At the bottom of every school system is art” and that "Intelligence is diverse and dynamic... and distinct." Intelligence is relative, but school systems tend to make students believe that a test score makes them competent or not. When students evaluate their own intelligence by grades, many feel lacking. The moment, however, that you allow children to begin expressing themselves through any form of art, many show a deep understanding of human emotion. This reveals that intelligence is ‘diverse’ and discouraging students to pursue free thinking is suppressing a large amount of people that could make a difference in the world, if given a chance. Creativity and critical thinking are inexplicably intertwined, and to reap the full benefits of one school systems must encourage the other. As Bell Hooks summarized in her paper, “In such a community of learning there is no failure. Everyone is participating and sharing whatever resource is needed at a given moment in time to ensure that we leave the classroom knowing that critical thinking empowers us.” (11) As a society we can continually be improving ourselves, and the greatest difference we can make is in the next generation, and the only way is to do this is to encourage each and every form of intelligence. Only then is when we can truly make a difference in our students, and the world.

Works Cited

                Hooks, bell. “Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom.” New York and London: Routledge (2009)

                Freire, Paulo. “The Banking Concept of Education.” Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum Books, 1993.               

Gilyard, Keith. “Children, Arts, and Du Bois.” National Council of Teachers of English, September 2012.

Robinson, Ken. “How School Kills Creativity.” TED Talk: February, 2006

Gatto, John. "Against School - John Taylor Gatto." Wes Jones, 2003.

Group Discussion about Chalk with Comparisons to Freire, Gatto, Rose, and Black

Group Discussion about Chalk with Comparisons to Freire, Gatto, Rose, and Black

In Gatto's "Against School", he speaks of students and teachers boredom and the structure that a public school environment enforces namely conformity and teacher/student dynamic. We see this in Chalk when Mr. Stroop the history teacher pulls two students aside and asks them to dumb themselves down so the teacher does not appear stupid in class. In effect he tells the young male student that they both know he knows more about history than he does, and to the young woman to stop using so many big words. He does this because he has a huge ego, but more importantly because the teacher/student dynamic was being disturbed. 

In Mike Rose's "Resolutions we should make for 2011", he mentions that one idea that has been stated is to get "rid of the bottom 10% of teachers (as determined by test scores) and replaced them with teachers at the top 10% we’d erase the achievement gap, or leap way up the list on international comparisons". He then mentions that this is flawed because a student’s achievement is often proportionate to their parent’s income. We can see this in "Stand and Deliver" because of how low income the students are and how it is a challenge for them to rise to occasion academically.

In the Daily Show rant, Lewis Black discusses a misplacement of funds or a lack of funds. He discusses a new school in California that is extremely lavish, and it was built for 570 million dollars. None of the money actually affects the educational quality "I’m pretty sure schools shouldn't be the nicest building you'll ever be inside, I went to school in an empty carton of Pall Malls!” In chalk there is a scene where one of the teachers is talking about how the volleyball team needs new uniforms, because they "can’t go out naked" but they cannot afford it. Also, a running gag throughout the movie is the broken copy machine that doesn't work the whole year, presumably because they cannot afford to fix it. 

Friere believes that students are forced to conform and that the teachers are oppressors that stifle creativity, the teachers teach and the students are taught in a rigid manner. "Education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor". Mr. Lowry was very strict and anxious in the beginning, demanding respect from his students when he really had not done anything to earn it, like yelling and sending students out of the class. Over the year he starts to loosen up, he wins the Spelling Hornet and starts letting the students teach him and they open up to his teachings.

Group Project inClass Top Teachers

At the top of the list we would have to give the suggestion of having many after school programs as suggested in "Children, Arts, and Du Bois" by Kieth Gilurd at the top of the list. At the beginning of the article it is explained how Kieth went to a school to observe the after school program, you learn the story of a child that gets interested in a poet that Kieth brings up. Then you learn that the program will be cut, and like Kieth suggests the children will loose their new interests and begin to fail. Think about all of the new ideas and learning opportunities  that will be given to children if they are able to find their interests in a after school program. The child mentioned in the article only finds out about De Bois only because of the after school program, and with the turn of a pen all of the potential knowledge that that child could have learned about poetry is taken away from them only to save some money. The more frightening thing is that after school programs all over the country are getting cut and more knowledge is being forcibly taken form children. Next on the list is from Bell hooks article "Teaching critical thinking". in this article it is explained how critical thinking is not being taught at schools to young children at a young age and the repercussions of this, those repercussions being that children loose their wanting to think for themselves and loose the ability to think critically which could solve the problems of  children. Being able to think is a great tool, it helps children to grow up to want to think and actually use their brains instead of being pack mules where knowledge is forcibly piled on them and they are expected to keep it forever. Through the processes of not teaching critical thinking children loose the wanting to think and those loose the potential to learn on their own.

Critiquing education Paper, outline and thoughts

Ken Robinson once said that, "people grow out of creativity." He believed that the K12 school system oppresses creativity and diverse ideas in children, and makes many singular thinkers believe that they are unintelligent. In our modern world, the K12 curriculum puts math and science as our top priority, and cuts financial aid to art programs the moment it is in need of funding. The few schools who claim to encourage creativity do it in a controlled manner, telling a child to be creative as long as they follow their rules. While concrete subjects suited to logical thinkers are crucial to progress and invention, so is more ambiguous and creative subjects. Creativity is not only self expression, but a way to define ourselves as humans, and the K12 school system needs to recognize the importance of this gift and encourage it as a core part of achieved a rounded education. Creativity is primarily usually associated only with the arts, but it is even broader than that. Every time you express an opinion, be it genius or misguided, people are being creative, and that defines us as a diverse group of people. School systems need to rethink the way they educate children, to stop looking for specific traits but embracing and encouraging a diversity of genius while allowing children to express themselves and their beliefs in the classroom.

http://www2.webster.edu/~corbetre/philosophy/education/freire/freire-2.html 

Freire, Paulo. “The Banking Concept of Education.” Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum Books, 1993. 

1. "The bottom of every school system is art." and "Intelligence is diverse and dynamic... and distinct" (How school kills creativity, TED talk, Ken Robinson)

In his paper The Banking Concept of Education, Paolo Friere states that in the classroom, "Narration leads the students to memorize mechanically the narrated content... turns them into 'receptacles' to be 'filled' by the teacher." Friere refers to lectures as just another way that students are conditioned to become great test takers, proving their intelligence on a Scantron sheet and ability to consume temporary information. Simply absorbing information without truly understanding it is not an effective way to learn, since students are not acquiring a deeper understanding of a subject to be able to apply it later in life. In her article ____ bell hooks affirms that "Schools shun independent thinking, and by the time the student reaches college, they come to dread it." She explains that children are predisposed to be critical thinkers, and begin life wanting to pursue knowledge. A stranger to the K12 school system might walk into a school, note the 'be yourself' and 'your opinion counts' posters on the walls of just about every classroom, and believe that our education system prizes free thinking above all else, but the opposite is true. Classrooms prize unique ideas, as long as the idea is correct in the opinion of the majority of society, or the one grading their work. Oral presenters such as Ken Robinson believe that children should be allowed to express their ideas, and if they are wrong, they should not be bashed for being incorrect, but encouraged to find the truth. This allows students to believe their ideas are worth hearing, which spark confidence, not only creativity.     

4. John Gatto "against school" "I taught for thirty years... and during that time I became an expert in boredom." and claims that schools are designed to make sure that no one ever really "grows up." Schools create people that follow trends mindlessly and don't have singular thoughts that allow them to ask questions and to improve themselves and they community. Some might think this behavior has nothing to do with oppressed creativity, but it is actually the core of the evil it does to children. When children are encouraged to be creative they are being encouraged to think for themselves, which not only is reveals through their artistic endevours but their ability to become free thinking citizens.

5. Keith Gilyard,"The common good. Creative arts programs are integral to this vision." (Children, arts, and du bois, keith gilyard)

(Children, arts, and du bois, keith gilyard) http://www2.webster.edu/~corbetre/philosophy/education/freire/freire-2.html

Freire, Paulo. “The Banking Concept of Education.” Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum Books, 1993.

1. "The bottom of every school system is art." and (How school kills creativity, TED talk, Ken Robinson)

Chalk Real Time Notes

• -Follows the story of multiple teachers and an assistant at a high school who approach teaching differently.
• -Inspired by the experiences of the directors of the documentary.
• -Takes on a more realistic approach to teaching and wants to outline some negative aspects of teaching that many students experience. 
• -In my essay, I'll probably mention that teachers should show more respect to their students, because teachers respond to high expectations.
• -Mr. Lowery, Mr. Stroop, and Coach Webb are the main teachers who teach at a TX high school. Mr. Lowery is starting his first year of teaching, and struggles to create a positive classroom environment. His students become frustrated with him and try his patience. He begins to doubt his abilities and cannot relate or relax around his colleagues. 
• -Mr. Stroop is an experienced teacher, and wants to be voted student of the year. He has his students help him achieve this goal by promoting his campaign, even though no one is impressed by his or his students academic achievements. 
• -Coach Webb is the gym coach and tries to find new and different methods of making her class more interesting. 
• Despite being of a boyish nature she insists she is heterosexual, and takes the school rules seriously over all else.
• -Meanwhile Mrs. Redel is the new vice presidents and experiences a lot of difficult situations and long and tiring work days during her first year, and ultimately regrets becoming a ap.
• -By the end of the year all the teachers learn lessons, and while some are ready for the next year some like Mr. Lowery is unsure of his abilities as a history teacher.  

Paulo Friere and John Gatto

Paulo Freire and John Gatto agreed that school is not a stimulating environment and that information is taught in a way that does not allow students to apply what they have learned. Friere says that students are part of a “banking concept of education”, and that all students do is soak up the “content of the teachers narration”.(Freire, 1) These children, or 'receptacles', are expected to use this information on tests and quizzes without truly understanding what the have been taught. Therefore, they graduate for school without developing skills they might need as adults, and are almost like 'robots' who can only process information without truly understanding it. Friere state that “The more students work at storing deposits entrusted to them, the less they develop the critical consciousness which would result from their intervention in the world as transformers of that world.” (Freire, 2). Gatto's agrees with this, stating that, "Boredom is the common condition of schoolteachers, and anyone who has spent time in a teachers' lounge can vouch for the low energy, the whining, the dispirited attitudes, to be found there." (Gatto 3)  and that "Could it be that our schools are designed to make sure not one of them ever really grows up?" (Gatto 4) Gatto's means to explain that schools do not allow children to think like adults, just like Friere. Gatto, however, takes a different turn when he talks about how the american school system came to be and its goal to create mindless and consumer citizens, saying "But what shocks is that we so eagerly have adopted one of the very worst aspects of Prussian culture: an educational system deliberately designed to produce mediocre intellects, to produce mediocre life, to deny students appreciable leadership skills, and to ensure docile and incomplete citizens in order to render the populace "manageable." (Gatto 11)