Trying to meet the future by doing what we did in the past

Today I stumbled onto an RSA animate of a speech given by Sir Ken Robinson last year on changing paradigms in education. In this speech Robinson believes that in education we're trying to meet the future by doing what we did in the past.


This is because it's in the gene pool of education.


Public education is a product of The Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution. The Enlightenment constructed a view of the mind, and as such the learner and also the curriculum. The Industrial Revolution provided an economic reason for public education. Our present model of schooling is modelled on the interest and the image of industrialism.


Robinson argues that models of learning (and therefore schooling) need to go in the opposite direction to standardisation; standardisation reflected in curriculum and testing. This doesn't imply a lowering of standards.


Below is the RSA animation to the talk (11mins 40 sec).

The full version of the original speech is below (55mins 20secs).

There are a number of questions that arise that perhaps require some divergent thinking!

• What are our new models of learning?
• How can education best meet the future?
• What leadership is needed?
• How can this change be brought about?
• What is needed to make this change last?

After all schools are remarkably resilient places in their present structure.