{"id":215,"date":"2011-01-13T08:10:15","date_gmt":"2011-01-13T16:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lexiconic.net\/wheatfromthechaff\/01-3\/wheat-from-the-chaff-contrary-to-sir-ken"},"modified":"2013-04-14T09:37:58","modified_gmt":"2013-04-14T16:37:58","slug":"wheat-from-the-chaff-contrary-to-sir-ken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/lexiconic.net\/wheatfromthechaff\/archives\/215","title":{"rendered":"Schools as Factories? Contrary to Sir Ken"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0;float:none;height:30px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"http:\/\/lexiconic.net\/wheatfromthechaff\/archives\/215\" send=\"false\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"recommend\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div id=\"content\">\n<div class=\"blog\"><!-- back and forward --><\/p>\n<div class=\"blogbody\">\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\">Sir Ken Robinson\u2019s RSA presentation on \u201cChanging Education Paradigms\u201d (see below) is a well-meaning critique of the &#8220;factory model&#8221; of education. Nevertheless, I think his alternative is much more flawed than the system he attacks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\">At the core of Robinson\u2019s argument is a familiar counter-Enlightenment, romantic critique of modern education. In a bid to standardize and routinize the process of learning, schools apparently suppress the authentic feelings and curiosity of children. Routinized learning (as well as its modern ally, Ritalin) anaesthetizes young people, blocking them from feeling \u201cfully alive\u201d. Furthermore, modern schools are a simulacrum of the factory model: a bell system, specialization and age cohorts. In the end, there\u2019s not much difference between Robinson\u2019s speech and Rousseau\u2019s <em>\u00c9mile, or On Education<\/em> (1762): society corrupts the natural self, a self that \u2013 given a natural state &#8211; would wander, wonder and feel without reference to common industrial standards. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\">So if Robinson\u2019s argument is not particularly novel, and refers to an enduring point of view, why then has it never been put into effect in a long-term, large-scale manner? Why have we never seen a romantic view of education implemented by a majority of school boards in the Western world? [Otherwise, the romantic worldview as\u00a0<em>critique<\/em> would not persist!] <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\">I would contend that romanticism is a noble but ultimately futile basis for mass education. I share its yearning for individual authenticity and respect for sentiment. However, I\u2019m suspicious of a worldview that has never established itself as a viable alternative to the perspective it attacks. Of course, there are some movements like the Montessori schools and small, elite academies that emphasize experiential or \u201crelevant\u201d education. But these are usually focused on narrow age groups and small education communities characterized by high costs and\/or disproportionately motivated participants. Like anarchism, romanticism does not appear practical for large and complex industrial, or post-industrial, consumer societies. In other words, after so many education reform movements inspired by the romantic call to action, it hasn\u2019t withstood the practical test of time. Across so many countries, so many communities and so much time, isn\u2019t it likely that the one constant \u2013 the romantic critique itself \u2013 has serious flaws? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\">\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n<p><object width=\"480\" height=\"289\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/zDZFcDGpL4U?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed width=\"480\" height=\"289\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/zDZFcDGpL4U?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US\" allowFullScreen=\"true\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" \/><\/object><\/p>\n<div class=\"posted\">Posted by <a href=\"mailto:cwelch@lexiconic.net\">Colin Welch<\/a> at 9:30 PM<br \/>\n<em>Edited on: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 5:17 PM<\/em><br \/>\nCategories: <a href=\"http:\/\/lexiconic.net\/wheatfromthechaff2\/archives\/cat_education.html\">Education<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/lexiconic.net\/wheatfromthechaff2\/archives\/cat_inaphilosophicalmood.html\">In a Philosophical Mood<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sir Ken Robinson\u2019s RSA presentation on \u201cChanging Education Paradigms\u201d (see below) is a well-meaning critique of the &#8220;factory model&#8221; of education. Nevertheless, I think his alternative is much more flawed than the system he attacks. At the core of Robinson\u2019s argument is a familiar counter-Enlightenment, romantic critique of modern education. In a bid to standardize [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,13,15],"tags":[22],"class_list":["post-215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","category-in-a-philosophical-mood","category-modern-culture","tag-education-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/lexiconic.net\/wheatfromthechaff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/lexiconic.net\/wheatfromthechaff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/lexiconic.net\/wheatfromthechaff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lexiconic.net\/wheatfromthechaff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lexiconic.net\/wheatfromthechaff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/lexiconic.net\/wheatfromthechaff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":669,"href":"http:\/\/lexiconic.net\/wheatfromthechaff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215\/revisions\/669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/lexiconic.net\/wheatfromthechaff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lexiconic.net\/wheatfromthechaff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lexiconic.net\/wheatfromthechaff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}