shift happens

One of my next assignments for Working Mom is an article on the value of art in education. Boy did I practically jump on it! Like any topic that's close to my heart, it got my head spinning in so many directions.... why I love the progressive program in my children's school, the ideas of Sir Ken Robinson, and this video you should definitely watch - just in case you're not among the millions who already have.

It's called Did You Know 3.0. I had already posted this 2 years ago on my multiply page, when it was still version 2.0. I just had to revisit it to get the juices flowing for my latest assignment.

A little background: It started as a Powerpoint presentation for a Colorado high school faculty meeting, to serve as a take-off point for teachers to discuss how to make education relevant for kids today. Compelling stuff....

The video's creators want us to know that: There are students in China, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh and the USA who remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create, communicate and collaborate on... projects.

They want us to ask our kids: Are you doing this in school? Ask your principal: How are you helping my child become literate in the 21st century? Memorizing facts from textbooks is obviously not the answer.

Now I'm grateful - and not just amused - that my kids will get to program a robot in school and do actual scientific problem solving. That math means thinking critically and not just memorizing steps to solve an equation. That they won't be chastised for asking too many questions. That art and creativity are valued.

Decades ago, Albert Einstein already had something to say about this: Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.

Right on Einstein. It rings true today, more than ever.