Must-Watch Video of 2010
Below
The geographic ADHD map is a hoot, while the over-arching message and smug thinking in certain academic/thought-leader/politico circles is not . . .
Sir Ken Robinson hits another home run with his most recent presentation of the "academic model" of education taking on standardized testing, standardization of curriculum, ADHD, the decrease of importance in arts education, and a few other myth/reality comparisons:
"Deep in the gene pool of public education: There are two types of people in education: academic and non-academic, smart people and dumb people.
This model has created chaos for many people and has worked very well for some . . ."
At 3:45, he takes on the "fictitious epidemic" of ADHD: check it out.
"ADHD has grown with the increase in standardized testing. . ."
"Sir Ken Pokes the System: A Very Viral TED Video"
The Creativity Crisis in Our Schools"
"Mike Huckabee with Sir Ken: Kids Leave School Because They Are Not Dumb, But Bored"
"Are We Preparing Students for Our Age or Theirs?"
"The Chinese Curse: Is America Next?"
"Best Selling Author Seth Godin Slams the System"
Apparently if all non-educators can be experts in education then education reformers can be experts in neurology. There is a convincing amount (and quality) of research to show ADHD is real. There is no "epidemic" fake or otherwise. I found this portion of the talk flawed in a number of important respects at best and irrelevant and intellectually dishonest at worst.
ADHD meds don't anesthetize or make students do anything against their will. They do allow one to focus attention as one intends. Being in control of attention is a critical learning tool whether a student is listening to a teacher drone on or following his bliss at the Summerhill School. The implication that ADHD is somehow good for or related to divergent thinking is also deeply questionable. What saved Apollo 13 was divergent thinking and focus. What sorted the Challenger disaster was divergent thinking and focus on the simplest facts of the case (ok well maybe Feynman had ADHD...)
I've never been diagnosed with ADHD but I have always had trouble paying attention. When my basketball coach would explain a play in the huddle, I would continually tell myself to pay attention. Then the time-out would be over and I would realize that I was trying to pay attention so hard that I didn't pay attention. In college, it takes everything I've got to stay awake in class and even though I love physics and math, I haven't been able to learn in lectures for three years because I am always thinking about other things. I refused to see a doctor when I was younger because I am very competitive and thought that taking drugs would be cheating. Now, as an executive manager for an entrepreneurial development company, my abilities to work in a chaotic environment and multi-task sales, marketing and management are my greatest skills.
In my opinion, it is the people like me that ADHD meds would have ruined.
Where did he get the ADHD map?