Ken Robinson was on Saturday Live on Radio 4 this morning, talking about his new book.
Thankfully he keeps insisting we think about our undiscovered natural talents, and the sheer waste of millions of people who dislike the work they do because they've never been able to figure out what they're really good at doing, what they really enjoy doing, and the special talent that's hidden within.
Thankfully he keeps on pointing out that our education system is modelled on the industrial systems of the 19th Century, and is unfit for the 21st.
It's a system that's intended to produce conformity and uniformity. People can't find out what they're good at - only what they're not good at.
Sir Ken's new book is called "The Element - How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything."
http://sirkenrobinson.com/skr/the-element
He went on to say that our education system is preoccupied only with certain types of ability.
"Every country in the world is trying to figure out where to go with education."
There was also discussion about "the happiness question", which is being widely considered here and elsewhere. Is happiness our ultimate goal? What are the conditions under which people are likely to feel most fulfilled? Methinks Oxzen has been here many times before.
A guy called Mathew Rickard - a Tibetan Buddhist - is apparently the happiest person in the world - as measured by brainwaves that can indicate levels of peace and contentment.
According to Ken Robinson we need an education system that recognises talents by customising the system for the real needs of learners.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Element-Finding-Passion-Changes-Everything/dp/1846141966
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The really infuriating thing is that Sir Ken and his committee of enquiry pretty much said all of this more than 10 years ago, in "All Our Futures - Creativity, Culture and Education", and was totally ignored by politicians and bureaucrats, who simply continue to ignore anything that goes against their dull and counterproductive obsession with academic attainment.
http://www.cypni.org.uk/downloads/alloutfutures.pdf
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Happiness index to gauge Britain's national mood
Despite 'nervousness', David Cameron wants measure of wellbeing to steer government policy
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/nov/14/happiness-index-britain-national-mood
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What philosophy tells us about the happiness index
Thinkers from Bentham to Heidegger saw measuring happiness as more than just a box-ticking exercise
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/15/happiness-index-philosophy
Aristotle recognised that, unlike some other branches of philosophical enquiry, ethics is not an exact science.
In the 18th century, Immanuel Kant made this point even more strongly: of course we all desire happiness, said Kant, but we do not know what it is or how it will be achieved. Anyone who has pursued something in the hope that it will make her or him happy – whether this be a career path, a relationship, or a holiday – only to find it disappointing, and even a source of stress and anxiety, will know what Kant was talking about.
However, the government's plan to measure happiness raises a further and perhaps more profound philosophical question: regardless of whether this is possible in practice, is it the best way of thinking, even in principle, about what it is to live a good human life?
The essence of technology, argued Heidegger, lies in the idea that life is something to be controlled and mastered . . . Heidegger linked the accelerating domination of technology in the 20th century with the idea that modern humanity faces a spiritual crisis. According to this view, utilitarian approaches to ethics in general, and attempts to measure and regulate happiness in particular, are symptoms of this crisis rather than solutions to it.
Perhaps the wisest people are those who . . . recognise that happiness cannot be engineered, for it comes and goes, more like a gift that is given than a commodity that is produced.
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Can a happiness index really measure our wellbeing? See how we compare to the rest of Europe
Can you really create a happiness index? As the government gets set to give it a go, see how the national wellbeing accounts score each country
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/nov/15/happiness-index-wellbeing-nef
Denmark is top!
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Measuring happiness, the French way
French national statistics office produces guidelines on measuring well-being as precursor to national happiness index
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/17/france-happiness-index
Crucially, it was easier to measure unhappiness, so the French team focussed on assessing those who felt they were missing out.
"You can't measure happiness, it's impossible, people don't have the same preferences for what makes them happy," said Stéfan Lollivier, director of social studies at Insee. "But you can measure the fraction of people who are dissatisfied, who think they are unhappy, and the proportion of people who are missing out on happiness or feel excluded from it."
The figures showed single-parent families were the most likely to miss out on happiness. More than one French person in five had gone through a period of "poverty" in their lives - not just financial poverty but an overall lack of wellbeing.
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I've managed to find an almost-interesting article by Peter Mortimore. Dull writing style, but important subject matter.
The Nordic countries could teach us about teamwork in education
English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish policy researchers could learn a lot from each other if we followed the example of the Nordic countries
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/oct/05/education-policy-nordic-countries
The Unicef survey of children's national conditions, like the "happiness" scale drawn up by researchers at York University, firmly places the Nordics among the best and the UK among the worst. And an OECD analysis of "earnings mobility" and "income inequality" show that Nordic countries are high on the former and low on the latter – in direct contrast to UK figures.
Our politicians, of all parties, appear fascinated by Nordic education although, up to now, it has been Sweden's policy of school choice rather than the impressive success of Finnish comprehensives on which they have focused. If only they could free themselves from their ideologies and switch their interests, they would learn a great deal about how to improve the academic success of all pupils in all schools.
In comparison with the UK, the Nordic countries generally have more land, but far fewer people. They are a little richer, but more equal. They traditionally also spend more on education than the UK. In terms of values, they are committed to the idea of bildung – a difficult-to-translate German word often taken to mean the formation of a child within an education milieu that aspires to liberty and human dignity as well as academic prowess.
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What on earth is Gove up to now?
Teachers need emotional as well as academic intelligence, says Gove
• Minister insists recruits should be from 'top tier'
• Education white paper promises training change
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/nov/19/teachers-emotional-intelligence-michael-gove
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Gore Vidal tells this apparently true story about happiness:
Harold MacMillan was dining with the De Gaulles. He asked Madame what she was hoping for in her retirement years.
"A penis", she replied.
Seeing the perplexed look on Harold's face, Charles leans over and says, "What Madame means is, 'appiness."
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