Schools are failing children because they only reward and recognize students who learn the way they teach. So says Sir Ken Robinson, and I agree with him.
He tells the story of a mother who was told that her daughter was having trouble in class. She could not sit still and was struggling to learn. The teacher suggested that the mother take her to her doctor to get some medication that would help her focus more.
The mother took some time explaining to the doctor why her child needed some medication. She told him all the things the teachers had said and that it was the teachers who had suggested that the girl needed medication.
During this lengthy chat the young girl, trying hard to be good, sat on her hands in an effort to stay still.
After hearing what the mother had to say the Doctor said that he needed to talk to the mother alone, and asked the girl to wait for a few minutes until they came back. As he left with the mother he switched on the radio that was on his desk.
When they were both out of the room he told the mother to look through the window in the door to see what her child was doing. She was dancing to the music!
He then said that her daughter did not need medication, she needed to go to dance class!
When the mother took her to dance class the girl said that, for the first time, she had met other children who were like her. children who needed to dance.
This girl went on to start her own dance school, create the choreography for Broadway musicals, and earn millions of dollars.
Would this have happened if she had been medicated as the teachers suggested? I doubt it.
It may not be your child that is failing to learn, it may be the school that is failing to teach your child in the way he learns.
