Not Much About Ed, but....

I read lots of tech articles.  Today, one of my favorite blogazines has an article that hints at something many have mentioned before (Read Me).  The article is about movies, and how getting older and learning more make the movies less enjoyable.  Move over Sir Ken Robinson, this guy has said exactly what you have said but in a different way:  being educated kills your creativity.  OK, not quite the same and not really what the article is about, but it is interestingly true that becoming more educated almost enhances your "skeptical button" to where it's pressed continuously during stupid sections of movie, tv, blogs (like this one), etc.*


I generally agree with the sentiment that the older I get the less I appreciate the ridiculous, especially since I continuously point out the severe lack of understanding of basic physics in every sci-fi film or show (not out loud, but in my head).  And I fancy myself a very creative guy...I mean, I once wrote a song and have at least 2-3 clever posts on Facebook this week alone (I know they're clever because they earned a few likes and a "Haha" reply).  What happened along the way that disabled my enjoyment of the ridiculous?  Was my creativity truly taught out of me, Sir Ken?

Where does this post meet the road with education?  Well, we teachers hear our students talk about their social lives and it all seems ludicrous.  They see every movie, music is the controlling aspect of their life, they played video games all weekend, etc, and we don't get it.  We claim we can't connect with our students because they are distracted or just don't care.  While these are valid complaints, but I think half of the problem is that we are judging them based on our past experiences.  As their educators, it is our job to teach them to be a part of TODAY'S world, not the world from whence we came.

To truly earn their ear, maybe we educators need to put down the sarcastic rolling of eyes, the trained skeptics critical review of the science, and our Henry Higgins perfectionism for the English language.**  Next time, watch the movie, hear the song, listen to the lyrics and let the creativity hit you.  Talk about it with a student, a group of students or the whole class.  Find out why they like/love it.  Then use that new information when you create your lesson plan and see if those students don't give you 'major props' for trying.


*  OK, you've outtakes before for movies.  Well, here's a sentence I wrote but it just didn't fit.  But, it was good enough to share on it's own.  Enjoy!   "Yes, my 'silly threshold' and 'stupid meter' are far too low and far to sensitive for today's entertainment."

** Yes, this is a horrid reference to "My Fair Lady"...or "Pygmalion" for you purests :)