A Rhetorical Analysis Of TED Talk By Sir Ken Robinson

Sir Ken Robinson begins his TED Talk with the cultural myth that Americans do not get irony. He uses this statement to lead to the “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) Act in that the NCLB is ironic because millions of students do get left behind. Robinson describes how Americans can escape having their education system parallel Death Valley by acknowledging three basic principles: humans are naturally different and diverse, children are naturally curious, and human life is inherently creative. The first point Robinson makes is that humans differ from each other. As an example of humans being different Robinson bet the audience that those who had two children would not get them confused because they were different. It is the same with students. NCLB is based on conformity, especially toward subjects like STEM unlike the humanities that give way to better diversity. If students do not conform, they are branded with disorders like ADHD. The second point Robinson makes is that children are naturally curious. Children when interested can learn very naturally. When children are engaged in something, they want to learn more about it and achieve it. “Teaching is supposed to be about mentoring, stimulating, provoking, and engaging the students to learn more.” Unlike contemporary education that seems to only deliver information that the students need for

Education is supposed to awaken creativity but instead we downplay it to help everyone conform to the group. American education is behind countries who realize that standardized testing is not everything. Instead the schools should focus on students’ individuality and creativity by keeping them engaged. They do this by having active teachers in the classroom. Also having the schools control what is going on in their schools rather than having the governments control everything is essential. A school knows its students’ needs best and how to meet