Analyzing Ken Robinson's Take on Education Reform

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Although the presentation, of information, might have been a bit fast paced for the likes of some, the arguments that Ken Robinson presents in his speech were effectively communicated, as they have both logical and emotional appeals. Ken’s portrayal of an outdated system, that is almost reliant on medication in order to be effective, was logically sound, as it is necessary to raise not only the standard of education, but the means through which our children are educated as well. Ken appealed to me emotionally in numerous areas, but the one that hit hardest, was when he mentioned that a college degree no longer guaranteed a job, it 's a scary thought that even though I have a college degree, there is still a chance that I may still end up working …show more content…

This is an attempt to appeal to the ethos of the audience, by stirring the fear of an unstable economy. Ken’s argument also describes a demand for reform of education, in a manner that helps the same unstable economy. He lumps this in with the necessity to educate while at the same time still maintaining who we are as a culture(Robinson). The second statement appeals to those who have strong cultural ties, that are also worried about their children receiving a good education. This statement is aimed at the minority groups, who have a strong sense of cultural heritage. This strategy seems well thought out in the sense that it speaks to those that have strong cultural ties, while at the same time speaking to those of higher economic status. He effectively draws upon a relatively large audience in this …show more content…

Ken informs us that of the fifteen-hundred children that were studied, ninety-eight percent had a capacity for divergent thinking. Five years later the same children were retested, of the original fifteen-hundred, this time only fifty percent had a capacity for divergent thinking(Robinson). This argument helps Ken to prove that instead of stimulating the creativity, somehow we create a sense of assimilation, as in there is only one way to think or there is only one solution to every problem. This becomes problematic, because it creates a sense of linear thinking, in a world that rarely only has one right solution, and sometimes the one solution that people can come up with isn’t always the best solution. In making this argument Ken tries to further his appeal to the logos of the speech, which he does very well, because it’s a logical thought that we should nourish the creativity of our youth, rather than squash

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