Bring on the learning revolution! | Ken Robinson

Summary

In this TED Talk, the speaker reflects on the impact of his previous presentation, which has been widely shared online, and delves into the topic of human potential. He argues that there is a 'second climate crisis' related to the underutilization of human talents, emphasizing the need for a transformative, not just reformative, approach to education. The speaker critiques the linear and conformist models of education, advocating for a more personalized, organic process that nurtures diverse talents, likening it to agriculture rather than industry. He calls for a revolution in education, leveraging modern technologies and the unique skills of teachers to cultivate a flourishing educational environment.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker's TED Talk from four years ago was initially distributed on DVDs but later put online and downloaded four million times, indicating a significant interest in the content.
• 🌍 The speaker references a 'second climate crisis' related to human resources, suggesting that there is a crisis of underutilized talents among people.
• 🤔 Many individuals go through life without a clear understanding of their talents, which the speaker believes is a significant issue that needs to be addressed.
• 🏫 The speaker criticizes the current state of education for not effectively identifying and nurturing individuals' natural talents.
• 🛠️ The need for a 'revolution' in education is emphasized, rather than just reform, to fundamentally innovate and transform the educational system.
• 💡 The speaker highlights the importance of challenging common sense and preconceived notions in education to foster real change.
• 🕰️ The concept of life and education as non-linear is presented, suggesting that personal development is more organic and cannot be forced into a linear path.
• 🎓 The speaker argues against the societal obsession with college education, stating that it is not the only or immediate path for everyone.
• 👥 The diversity of human talent is celebrated, with the speaker emphasizing that different people have unique aptitudes and passions.
• 🌱 A shift from an industrial model to an agricultural model of education is proposed, where the focus is on creating conditions for individual growth rather than standardization.
• 🌟 The speaker calls for the involvement of individuals from various fields, including business and technology, to help revolutionize education and personalize learning experiences.

Q & A

How many times has the speaker's TED talk been downloaded since it was put online?

The speaker's TED talk has been downloaded four million times since it was put online.

What does the speaker suggest as a multiplier to estimate the number of people who have seen the talk?

The speaker suggests multiplying the download count by 20 to estimate the number of people who have seen the talk.

What does the speaker identify as the second climate crisis that is as severe as the environmental one?

The speaker identifies a crisis of human resources, where people are not utilizing their talents effectively, as the second climate crisis.

According to the speaker, what is one of the main reasons many people do not discover their talents?

One of the main reasons, according to the speaker, is the education system, which often dislocates people from their natural talents.

What does the speaker believe is necessary for a transformation in education?

The speaker believes that a revolution in education is necessary, moving away from the concept of reform and towards fundamentally innovating education.

What does the speaker suggest is the problem with the current model of education?

The speaker suggests that the current model of education is based on an industrial model that emphasizes linearity, conformity, and batching people, which is not conducive to nurturing diverse talents.

What does the speaker compare the current education system to in terms of quality assurance in catering?

The speaker compares the current education system to the fast-food model of quality assurance in catering, which is standardized and not customized to individual needs.

What does the speaker propose as a more suitable metaphor for education?

The speaker proposes the metaphor of agriculture as more suitable for education, emphasizing the organic process of human flourishing and the need to create conditions for it.

What does the speaker urge the audience, which includes people from business and multimedia, to do regarding education?

The speaker urges the audience to get involved in revolutionizing education by leveraging their resources and technologies, along with the talents of teachers, to create personalized education solutions.

What does the speaker imply about the importance of recognizing and nurturing children's dreams?

The speaker implies that children's dreams are precious and should be tread upon softly, suggesting that we should be careful and supportive in nurturing and recognizing their potential.

What poem does the speaker reference to convey the importance of dreams and how they should be treated?

The speaker references a poem by W. B. Yeats, where he talks about spreading his dreams under someone's feet and asking them to tread softly, symbolizing the fragility and importance of dreams.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 The Power of Online Sharing and the Human Resources Crisis

The speaker reflects on his previous TED talk, which was initially distributed on DVDs but later reached a much wider audience online, amassing millions of downloads. He humorously acknowledges the audience's interest in his talks and sets the stage for his new presentation. He then discusses the climate crisis and introduces a second, less recognized crisis: the underutilization of human talents. He argues that many people are unaware of their own talents and that education systems often fail to uncover and nurture them, calling for a transformative, not just reformative, approach to education.

05:03

🚀 Challenging the Status Quo and the Need for Educational Revolution

The speaker emphasizes the difficulty of innovation, which requires challenging accepted norms and 'common sense.' He cites Abraham Lincoln to illustrate the need to break free from outdated ideas and adapt to new circumstances. The speaker highlights the persistence of linear educational models and the societal pressure to conform, suggesting that these models are outdated and do not cater to the diverse talents and passions of individuals. He criticizes the focus on college education as the ultimate goal, sharing a personal story to argue that early vocational choices can be just as fulfilling and valuable.

10:05

🌱 From Industrial to Agricultural: A Metaphorical Shift in Education

Continuing the critique of the current educational system, the speaker likens it to the fast-food model, which is standardized and lacks the customization of higher-quality culinary experiences. He advocates for an educational model based on agriculture, where growth and development are organic and unpredictable, requiring nurturing conditions rather than standardized processes. The speaker calls for a shift away from conformity and towards a recognition of diverse talents and passions, suggesting that education should be personalized and tailored to individual needs.

15:06

🌟 Cultivating Dreams and the Role of Personalized Education

In the final paragraph, the speaker discusses the importance of reforming education by personalizing it to the learners' unique circumstances and interests. He calls upon the audience, which includes influential figures from various sectors, to contribute to this educational revolution. The speaker concludes with a poignant reading of a poem by W. B. Yeats, symbolizing the fragility and importance of children's dreams, and urges the audience to tread softly on these dreams, emphasizing the responsibility we have to nurture the potential within every child.

Keywords

💡Climate Crisis

The term 'Climate Crisis' refers to the critical situation of global warming and environmental degradation. In the video, it is used metaphorically to introduce the concept of a second crisis related to human resources. The speaker suggests that just as there is an urgent need to address environmental issues, there is a similar urgency to deal with the underutilization of human talents.

💡Talents

Talents refer to the natural abilities or skills that individuals possess. The speaker argues that many people are unaware of their talents or fail to utilize them fully. This concept is central to the theme of the video, as the speaker discusses the importance of discovering and nurturing one's talents, much like the way natural resources are mined and used.

💡Education

Education is the process of acquiring knowledge, skills, and understanding through teaching and learning. The video criticizes the current state of education for dislocating people from their natural talents and calls for a revolution in educational practices to better align with the diverse talents and needs of individuals.

💡Revolution

In the context of the video, 'Revolution' signifies a fundamental change or complete replacement of the current educational system. The speaker asserts that mere reform is insufficient; what is needed is a radical shift to a new model of education that can better accommodate the diverse talents and aspirations of people.

💡Innovation

Innovation in the video is presented as the act of introducing new ideas or methods to improve the current state of affairs. The speaker emphasizes the difficulty of innovation in education due to the entrenched 'tyranny of common sense' and calls for a fundamental rethinking of educational practices.

💡Linearity

Linearity is the concept of a straight, one-dimensional progression from one point to another. The speaker criticizes the linear model of education, which assumes a direct path from kindergarten to college and then to a career, arguing that life and learning are more organic and diverse than this model allows.

💡Conformity

Conformity refers to the act of complying with established norms or standards. The video criticizes the education system for promoting conformity, which stifles individuality and the development of diverse talents. The speaker advocates for an education system that embraces diversity and customization.

💡Passion

Passion is a strong emotional excitement or enthusiasm for something. In the video, passion is highlighted as a crucial element in one's engagement with their talents and work. The speaker contrasts the experience of time when doing something with passion versus without it, emphasizing the importance of aligning one's work with their interests and abilities.

💡Diversity

Diversity in the video refers to the variety of human talents, skills, and interests. The speaker argues that recognizing and valuing this diversity is essential for a robust and fulfilling educational and professional landscape. The concept is used to challenge the uniformity of the current education system.

💡Personalization

Personalization is the act of tailoring something to an individual's needs or preferences. The video calls for a shift from a one-size-fits-all educational model to one that is personalized, where education is customized to the unique talents and aspirations of each student.

💡Agricultural Model

The 'Agricultural Model' is a metaphor used in the video to describe an alternative approach to education. It suggests that, like a farmer who creates conditions for growth, education should provide an environment where individual talents can flourish organically, rather than following a rigid, industrialized process.

Highlights

The speaker's previous TED talk was not initially online but was later made available and has been downloaded four million times.

There is a 'second climate crisis' of human resources, where many people are not utilizing their talents effectively.

Education often dislocates people from their natural talents, which are like buried resources that need to be sought out.

The call for a revolution in education, not just reform, to transform the system into something that better supports the discovery and development of talents.

The challenge of innovation in education is to challenge the 'tyranny of common sense' and rethink what is taken for granted.

A quote from Abraham Lincoln is used to emphasize the need to think and act anew, disenthralling from old ideas.

The speaker humorously points out generational differences in time-telling habits, illustrating how we are often 'enthralled' to certain practices.

The critique of the linear educational model, which assumes a straightforward path from kindergarten to college and career.

The importance of recognizing and valuing diverse talents in human communities, rather than a singular conception of ability.

The story of a man who became a fireman despite discouragement, highlighting the value of following one's passion.

The comparison of education systems to fast food, suggesting they are standardized and lacking in customization.

The need for an agricultural model of education that recognizes the organic process of human flourishing and the importance of creating conditions for it.

The potential of technology and the talents of teachers to revolutionize education through personalized learning.

A call to action for those in business, multimedia, and the Internet to get involved in transforming education.

The reading of a poem by W. B. Yeats, used as a metaphor for the dreams of children that we should tread softly upon.

Transcripts

I was here four years ago,

and I remember, at the time,

that the talks weren't put online.

I think they were given to TEDsters in a box,

a box set of DVDs,

which they put on their shelves, where they are now.

(Laughter)

And actually, Chris called me a week after I'd given my talk, and said,

"We're going to start putting them online. Can we put yours online?"

And I said, "Sure."

And four years later,

it's been downloaded four million times.

So I suppose you could multiply that by 20 or something

to get the number of people who've seen it.

And, as Chris says, there is a hunger for videos of me.

(Laughter)

(Applause)

Don't you feel?

(Laughter)

So, this whole event has been an elaborate build-up

to me doing another one for you, so here it is.

(Laughter)

Al Gore spoke at the TED conference I spoke at four years ago

and talked about the climate crisis.

And I referenced that at the end of my last talk.

So I want to pick up from there

because I only had 18 minutes, frankly.

(Laughter)

So, as I was saying --

(Laughter)

You see, he's right.

I mean, there is a major climate crisis, obviously,

and I think if people don't believe it, they should get out more.

(Laughter)

But I believe there is a second climate crisis,

which is as severe,

which has the same origins,

and that we have to deal with with the same urgency.

And you may say, by the way,

"Look, I'm good.

I have one climate crisis, I don't really need the second one."

(Laughter)

But this is a crisis of, not natural resources --

though I believe that's true --

but a crisis of human resources.

I believe fundamentally,

as many speakers have said during the past few days,

that we make very poor use of our talents.

Very many people go through their whole lives

having no real sense of what their talents may be,

or if they have any to speak of.

I meet all kinds of people

who don't think they're really good at anything.

Actually, I kind of divide the world into two groups now.

Jeremy Bentham, the great utilitarian philosopher,

once spiked this argument.

He said, "There are two types of people in this world:

those who divide the world into two types

and those who do not."

(Laughter)

Well, I do.

(Laughter)

I meet all kinds of people who don't enjoy what they do.

They simply go through their lives getting on with it.

They get no great pleasure from what they do.

They endure it rather than enjoy it,

and wait for the weekend.

But I also meet people

who love what they do and couldn't imagine doing anything else.

If you said, "Don't do this anymore,"

they'd wonder what you're talking about.

It isn't what they do, it's who they are.

They say, "But this is me, you know.

It would be foolish to abandon this,

because it speaks to my most authentic self."

And it's not true of enough people.

In fact, on the contrary, I think it's still true of a minority of people.

And I think there are many possible explanations for it.

And high among them is education,

because education, in a way,

dislocates very many people from their natural talents.

And human resources are like natural resources;

they're often buried deep.

You have to go looking for them,

they're not just lying around on the surface.

You have to create the circumstances where they show themselves.

And you might imagine education would be the way that happens,

but too often, it's not.

Every education system in the world is being reformed at the moment

and it's not enough.

Reform is no use anymore,

because that's simply improving a broken model.

What we need --

and the word's been used many times in the past few days --

is not evolution,

but a revolution in education.

This has to be transformed into something else.

(Applause)

One of the real challenges is to innovate fundamentally in education.

Innovation is hard,

because it means doing something that people don't find very easy,

for the most part.

It means challenging what we take for granted,

things that we think are obvious.

The great problem for reform or transformation

is the tyranny of common sense.

Things that people think,

"It can't be done differently, that's how it's done."

I came across a great quote recently from Abraham Lincoln,

who I thought you'd be pleased to have quoted at this point.

(Laughter)

He said this in December 1862 to the second annual meeting of Congress.

I ought to explain that I have no idea what was happening at the time.

We don't teach American history in Britain.

(Laughter)

We suppress it. You know, this is our policy.

(Laughter)

No doubt, something fascinating was happening then,

which the Americans among us will be aware of.

But he said this:

"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present.

The occasion is piled high with difficulty,

and we must rise with the occasion."

I love that.

Not rise to it, rise with it.

"As our case is new,

so we must think anew and act anew.

We must disenthrall ourselves,

and then we shall save our country."

I love that word, "disenthrall."

You know what it means?

That there are ideas that all of us are enthralled to,

which we simply take for granted as the natural order of things,

the way things are.

And many of our ideas have been formed,

not to meet the circumstances of this century,

but to cope with the circumstances of previous centuries.

But our minds are still hypnotized by them,

and we have to disenthrall ourselves of some of them.

Now, doing this is easier said than done.

It's very hard to know, by the way, what it is you take for granted.

And the reason is that you take it for granted.

(Laughter)

Let me ask you something you may take for granted.

How many of you here are over the age of 25?

That's not what you take for granted, I'm sure you're familiar with that.

Are there any people here under the age of 25?

Great. Now, those over 25,

could you put your hands up if you're wearing your wristwatch?

Now that's a great deal of us, isn't it?

Ask a room full of teenagers the same thing.

Teenagers do not wear wristwatches.

I don't mean they can't,

they just often choose not to.

And the reason is we were brought up in a pre-digital culture,

those of us over 25.

And so for us, if you want to know the time,

you have to wear something to tell it.

Kids now live in a world which is digitized,

and the time, for them, is everywhere.

They see no reason to do this.

And by the way, you don't need either;

it's just that you've always done it and you carry on doing it.

My daughter never wears a watch, my daughter Kate, who's 20.

She doesn't see the point.

As she says,

"It's a single-function device."

(Laughter)

"Like, how lame is that?"

And I say, "No, no, it tells the date as well."

(Laughter)

"It has multiple functions."

(Laughter)

But, you see, there are things we're enthralled to in education.

A couple of examples.

One of them is the idea of linearity:

that it starts here and you go through a track

and if you do everything right,

you will end up set for the rest of your life.

Everybody who's spoken at TED has told us implicitly,

or sometimes explicitly, a different story:

that life is not linear; it's organic.

We create our lives symbiotically

as we explore our talents

in relation to the circumstances they help to create for us.

But, you know, we have become obsessed with this linear narrative.

And probably the pinnacle for education is getting you to college.

I think we are obsessed with getting people to college.

Certain sorts of college.

I don't mean you shouldn't go, but not everybody needs to go,

or go now.

Maybe they go later, not right away.

And I was up in San Francisco a while ago doing a book signing.

There was this guy buying a book, he was in his 30s.

I said, "What do you do?"

And he said, "I'm a fireman."

I asked, "How long have you been a fireman?"

"Always. I've always been a fireman."

"Well, when did you decide?" He said, "As a kid.

Actually, it was a problem for me at school,

because at school, everybody wanted to be a fireman."

(Laughter)

He said, "But I wanted to be a fireman."

And he said, "When I got to the senior year of school,

my teachers didn't take it seriously.

This one teacher didn't take it seriously.

He said I was throwing my life away

if that's all I chose to do with it;

that I should go to college, I should become a professional person,

that I had great potential

and I was wasting my talent to do that."

He said, "It was humiliating.

It was in front of the whole class and I felt dreadful.

But it's what I wanted, and as soon as I left school,

I applied to the fire service and I was accepted.

You know, I was thinking about that guy recently,

just a few minutes ago when you were speaking, about this teacher,

because six months ago, I saved his life."

(Laughter)

He said, "He was in a car wreck, and I pulled him out, gave him CPR,

and I saved his wife's life as well."

He said, "I think he thinks better of me now."

(Laughter)

(Applause)

You know, to me,

human communities depend upon a diversity of talent,

not a singular conception of ability.

And at the heart of our challenges --

(Applause)

At the heart of the challenge

is to reconstitute our sense of ability and of intelligence.

This linearity thing is a problem.

When I arrived in L.A. about nine years ago,

I came across a policy statement --

very well-intentioned --

which said, "College begins in kindergarten."

No, it doesn't.

(Laughter)

It doesn't.

If we had time, I could go into this, but we don't.

(Laughter)

Kindergarten begins in kindergarten.

(Laughter)

A friend of mine once said,

"A three year-old is not half a six year-old."

(Laughter)

(Applause)

They're three.

But as we just heard in this last session,

there's such competition now to get into kindergarten --

to get to the right kindergarten --

that people are being interviewed for it at three.

Kids sitting in front of unimpressed panels,

you know, with their resumes --

(Laughter)

Flicking through and saying, "What, this is it?"

(Laughter)

(Applause)

"You've been around for 36 months, and this is it?"

(Laughter)

"You've achieved nothing -- commit.

(Laughter)

Spent the first six months breastfeeding, I can see."

(Laughter)

See, it's outrageous as a conception.

The other big issue is conformity.

We have built our education systems on the model of fast food.

This is something Jamie Oliver talked about the other day.

There are two models of quality assurance in catering.

One is fast food, where everything is standardized.

The other is like Zagat and Michelin restaurants,

where everything is not standardized,

they're customized to local circumstances.

And we have sold ourselves into a fast-food model of education,

and it's impoverishing our spirit and our energies

as much as fast food is depleting our physical bodies.

(Applause)

We have to recognize a couple of things here.

One is that human talent is tremendously diverse.

People have very different aptitudes.

I worked out recently that I was given a guitar as a kid

at about the same time that Eric Clapton got his first guitar.

(Laughter)

It worked out for Eric, that's all I'm saying.

(Laughter)

In a way --

it did not for me.

I could not get this thing to work

no matter how often or how hard I blew into it.

It just wouldn't work.

(Laughter)

But it's not only about that.

It's about passion.

Often, people are good at things they don't really care for.

It's about passion,

and what excites our spirit and our energy.

And if you're doing the thing that you love to do, that you're good at,

time takes a different course entirely.

My wife's just finished writing a novel,

and I think it's a great book,

but she disappears for hours on end.

You know this, if you're doing something you love,

an hour feels like five minutes.

If you're doing something that doesn't resonate with your spirit,

five minutes feels like an hour.

And the reason so many people are opting out of education

is because it doesn't feed their spirit,

it doesn't feed their energy or their passion.

So I think we have to change metaphors.

We have to go from what is essentially an industrial model of education,

a manufacturing model,

which is based on linearity and conformity and batching people.

We have to move to a model

that is based more on principles of agriculture.

We have to recognize

that human flourishing is not a mechanical process;

it's an organic process.

And you cannot predict the outcome of human development.

All you can do, like a farmer, is create the conditions

under which they will begin to flourish.

So when we look at reforming education and transforming it,

it isn't like cloning a system.

There are great ones, like KIPP's; it's a great system.

There are many great models.

It's about customizing to your circumstances

and personalizing education to the people you're actually teaching.

And doing that, I think, is the answer to the future

because it's not about scaling a new solution;

it's about creating a movement in education

in which people develop their own solutions,

but with external support based on a personalized curriculum.

Now in this room,

there are people who represent extraordinary resources in business,

in multimedia, in the Internet.

These technologies,

combined with the extraordinary talents of teachers,

provide an opportunity to revolutionize education.

And I urge you to get involved in it

because it's vital, not just to ourselves, but to the future of our children.

But we have to change from the industrial model

to an agricultural model,

where each school can be flourishing tomorrow.

That's where children experience life.

Or at home, if that's what they choose,

to be educated with their families or friends.

There's been a lot of talk about dreams over the course of these few days.

And I wanted to just very quickly --

I was very struck by Natalie Merchant's songs last night,

recovering old poems.

I wanted to read you a quick, very short poem

from W. B. Yeats, who some of you may know.

He wrote this to his love, Maud Gonne,

and he was bewailing the fact

that he couldn't really give her what he thought she wanted from him.

And he says, "I've got something else, but it may not be for you."

He says this:

"Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,

Enwrought with gold 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."

And every day, everywhere,

our children spread their dreams beneath our feet.

And we should tread softly.

Thank you.

(Applause)

Thank you very much.

(Applause)

Thank you.

(Applause)