Mr. Jalopy

Here’s a video from CNN that shows a man named Mr. Jalopy (in Hindi it would be Mr. Jugaad). He spends his time engaged in taking old worn-out objects and turning them into new creations. Not only does it make good ecological sense (to reuse/recycle/renew), it also makes good economic sense. Let’s inspire our kids to get more involved with hands-on stuff like this to inspire their creativity–and especially their understanding of science.

Are schools killing our creativity?

Please watch this incredible video of Sir Ken Robinson, which was delivered at TED in 2006. It is one of the funniest, most poignant talks about the need for change in education that I’ve ever seen.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

He explains how the existing system strips children of their capacity for innovation, which is in fact an essential quality given the unpredictability of our future. He explains that the world over, maths and language are at the top of the curriculum, followed by sciences and humanities…with the arts at the bottom. And that too, with drama and dance below art and music. He tells the fascinating story of Gillian Lynne, the British dancer and choreographer known for her work with Cats and Phantom of the Opera, explaining how when Lynne was 7 years old, she was identified as having some kind of learning issue. However, a psychologist who was counseling her mother spotted the girl dancing incredibly to his radio when he and the woman had momentarily left the office. He promptly told the mother that there was nothing wrong with her daughter–but rather, that she was a dancer and should be enrolled in dance school. When she was, Lynne expressed how it was the first time in her life that there were so many people “like her”, who had to “move” to think…

Sir Ken jokes how such children today would have been diagnosed with ADD, given drugs, and told to “pay attention”.