Comparison/Contrast Essay
Sir Ken Robinson’s talk http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
Amy Tan's talk http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/amy_tan_on_creativity.html
Comparison/contrast essay: due Friday, April 1st. Please also post your paper to the blogspot by midnight on Friday, April 1st http://www.serendipitycindy.blogspot.com/
Requirements:
-compare and contrast the talks by Amy Tan and Ken Robinson
-include an argument for which is more effective and discuss the evaluative criteria that lead you to your conclusion. Consider criteria such as subject, presentation techniques, method of delivery (use of humor, analogies, anecdotes, etc.)
-750-1000 words
-MLA format
-must be typed
-late papers will not be accepted
Amy Tan and Ken Robinson on Creativity
ReplyDeleteThe ideas of Amy Tan and Ken Robinson are similar in their purpose and the thought that they are trying to get across to their audience. The idea that creativity is a key part of every person’s life is the main focal point of each of their lectures. Although their themes were alike, the content of the speech, and the way each speaker got their idea across, had many differences. Both speakers used the technique of humor and stories, but they both portrayed these techniques in different and unique ways. Robinson discussed more about creativity in children and how society was changing, while Tan posed more questions and talked more in a philosophical sense. Both speakers got their points across in many similar and different ways.
The focus of Robinson’s speech was how schools were killing creativity. Schools do not emphasize the arts such as drama, art, and music as much as they do core classes such as math and science. Robinson explained that every education system in America is the same and only prioritizes those core classes. He believes that schools should start emphasizing the arts and creativity because creativity is a key part of every human being. If someone were to compare a high school class to a kindergarten class, the difference would be almost astonishing. In the kindergarten class, when a teacher asks a question almost all of the students in the room are practically leaping out of their seats to answer it. In the high school environment, almost nobody will speak up because they are afraid of being wrong. In today’s world, being wrong is classified as one of the worst things you can be. Robinson explained how great things are made from being wrong. To discover something spectacular, an individual will most likely need to be wrong many times. “All children are born artists; the problem is they don’t remain artists as they grow up.” The outstanding painter Pablo Picasso said this and Robinson believes it makes a very valid point. Children need to be continually taught to explore and develop their creativity as they grow up so they can become great things and even make world-changing discoveries.
Amy Tan’s discussion on creativity was a bit different than Robinson’s. Tan discussed more about the creative process, and how the mind works. She talked about the mechanics of how the human brain works and how creativity comes to be. Tan also posed many questions that she grew up with such as “why do things happen?” Tan believed that ambiguity was a key aspect to creativity. Human beings should explore uncertainty and not be afraid of it. They should entertain the idea of ambiguity in their life. Tan discussed much about her life as a child and growing up with having an identity crisis. Often she would ask herself, “why am I not like everyone else? Why do certain things happen in life?” Having a mother who believed that there was a purpose for everything, she learned to explore her own creativity. Being a child with a Baptist minister as a father, Tan always had rules growing up. As she began to mature and become an older child, she began to explore moral ambiguity. The main focus of Tan’s speech was that children need to explore their own uncertainties in life and learn how to use them to become something astounding and to not lose the creative process that everyone is born with.
ReplyDeleteThe central idea for both Tan and Robinson’s speech was creativity. Although the idea was the same, the content and the style of their lectures were different. Robinson discussed more of how schools were destroying children’s creativity, while Tan discussed the creative process and how things work. Both of the speakers were very effective with using humor in their style, but Robinson was a bit more effective. He would actually laugh with the audience at his jokes while Tan remained serious in her facial expressions. Another difference in the two speeches was that Tan used visual aids while Robinson drew more mental images. Both of the speakers, however, used the idea of being wrong as the most important part of creativity. Robinson was the more effective speaker in this situation because he used more examples, such as the ADD child who grew to be a great dancer. These examples and stories helped the audience relate to the speech better than with Tan’s scientific view of creativity.
Both Tan and Robinson centralized the concept of creativity. Overall, Robinson was more effective with his style and delivery. He made the audience feel more comfortable and had several outstanding stories and examples. Even though Robinson was more effective, both speakers did an outstanding job of discussing how creativity is dying in the world’s society today. No matter how these speeches are looked at, they are sure to give the viewer something to think about.
Hartley Carter Carter 1
ReplyDeleteMrs. Lloyd
American Literature
April 7, 2011
How to Make a Light bulb
Albert Einstein once said, “Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.” By this Einstein meant we need creative intellectual minds in this world to help us out of tricky predicaments. When Edison invented the light bulb he stated he did not fail, but he found 10,000 ways not to make a light bulb. He wasn’t afraid of being wrong and by being wrong he finally found the solution to being right. We need people just like that in this world today, but these people are harder to find today than they were in 1879. In the course of two Ted Talks, Ken Robinson and Amy Tan share their thoughts, beliefs, and disbeliefs on the topic of creativity, as they are similar in some areas there are also differences between the two.
“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” said Ken Robinson during his lecture on creativity. Robinson believes creativity is as important as literacy in education and should be treated the same. Tan also believes strongly in creativity. They both centralize on the idea that as people grow older they become afraid of being wrong. Tan calls it ambiguity. Ambiguity is basically being doubtful and living a life of uncertainty or not feeling too highly about yourself. When you’re young you are never afraid to be wrong, then why do kids fear of being wrong as they age? Robinson argues that the way our kids are being educated today are making mistakes look like the worse things kids could make. Today children are set on one answer for everything. This is the area where Tan and Robison seem to agree the most on. They believe in creative answers. These are the answers that create a revolution that moves us into bigger and greater things. As they say the kids are our future.
As Robinson believes it’s the academic inflation killing creativity, Tan believes it’s all just moral ambiguity. Tan stated that artistic skill isn’t exactly creativity. She believes people become creative by depression, hard times, family genes, or childhood trauma, while Robison believes every child is born creative but it’s demolished through school. Tan expresses in her lecture that there are no absolute truths. She’s saying there are never complete answers and the truth is a process not an endpoint. How does this tie into creativity? Back to what was mentioned earlier; there is never one answer for everything. Creative different answers are going to help discover something new. How do we create something out of nothing well, it’s by questioning. She states that we today are busy taking other people’s assumptions and we are losing the inability to repress. This is why I find her lecture more effective.
You can argue about the whole “there is no absolute truth” stating obvious facts like the sky is blue, but I agree with her whole lecture from personal experience. I don’t think kids need a new educating system where they go and dance every day during fourth period. When it comes to creativity you either got it or you don’t and the kids who don’t have it are going to hate dance class or art class. I am considered an art freak though. I come from a divorced family and things haven’t always been honky dory. Drawing and being creative has always gotten my mind off things where I can just be alone in my own little world. Like Tan, I also do believe people just lose self confidence and shy away from answering questions where there can be more than one answer. So, yes I believe Tan’s theory is more effective than Robinson’s because the kids who aren’t creative will hate school and school needs to be a place of learning and academics.
So when you make a light bulb, ask questions and maybe there is a second better way to make it.
In contrast, Amy Tan believes in the concept of natural selection. A person is born with the ability to be ingenious and with skills that are not necessarily needed to be creative. Tan states “principles of creativity is to have a little childhood trauma.” A child who has heard the phrase of “you have to be somebody in life”, has already been set reach for the “realistic”. Having silly dreams, sometimes help distinguishing goals; but consistent pressure leads to different routes. There are many expectations planned for an individual throughout its life that do not allow the individual to think for it. Tan thinks that creativity comes from self experience. The more life-experience, the work you do will become more original. She gave the example of her being surrounded of death,” When you’re faced with the prospect of death very soon, you begin to think very much about everything.” Is that not what happens when people are diagnosed with cancer? They begin pondering about the “what ifs” and “how life came to be”. Besides people beginning to appreciate the world better, they wonder about the insignificant details of their surroundings. Maybe death is something that sprouts creativity in people. The more original they create, the more memorable.
ReplyDeleteThe method Ken Robinson and Amy Tan elaborated their thoughts had a different touch to the topic of creativity. Tan’s power point allowed people to visualize her speech in an intellectual way. Robinson’s presentation was entertaining, informal but had various self-situations. His connection with the audience seemed stronger than Amy Tan’s. He had many points to support his ideas and seemed comfortable with them. Tan had humor as well, but her tone and anecdotes really had nothing to do with the topic. Tan thinks that “you become very creative, as a survival sense,” when it comes to death. Robinson considers that creativity has “unpredictability” to the future. In a way, these thoughts cross. The world is out there to make it your canvas; you have a life time to begin constructing it. The more you wait, the more you depend on trying to make it, or survive. But ideas always change. The ways of creating something also changes. The future shapes itself how one wants it to become, not by waiting on it to transform itself. These two ideas balance each other to explain the meaning of creating one’s future and coming out of the box instead of being kept in. Ken Robinson supports the idea of going out and keeping a mind wide open to the many opportunities life offers. Is that not what creativity is all about?
Kimberly Galvan
ReplyDeleteAmerican Lit. Honors 2nd Prd.
04-04-11
In Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson wrote, “Close your eyes, but keep your mind wide open.” Jesse, a character in Paterson’s book, was stuck in a molded box made by his father. Once Leslie became his neighbor, she showed him that everything is possible. The created a complete world of wonder with their creativity and imagination to escape the hardships of their lives. If these would have conformed to the “normal life”, they would have never experienced the beauty of believing and adventure. Paterson’s words support the idea that creativity is important just like Ken Robinson and Amy Tan discussed their views on the subject. They both have parallel thoughts but the differences are more comparable.
Ken Robinson’s opinion about the ability to be creative varies in the development of the human. If a child at age four, perhaps, is told that he or she is going to become a doctor and the parents of that child pressure the child all its life to “their” belief, the child is going to miss the ability to do something more than live up to the parent’s expectations. Robinson believes that schools “are educating people but out of their creativity.” When children start preschool, they start developing their sixth sense of creation. As they go up a level of education, that sixth sense is slowly disposed. Why? The children’s mind at age four are not afraid to say their thoughts, even if they are wrong. “If they don’t know, they’ll have a go. (Robinson)” But as they grow and begin to see the right and wrong ways of life, they are told that they are wrong. They are no longer the first ones to raise their hands or answer for anything. Is there even a way to figure out the “right answer” to everything? Robinson has an idea that the world is making “good workers instead of thinkers.” Is our society harvesting a communist-like community instead of allowing the people decide their place?
Sorry, blogspot is making me post my paper in sections becuase it doesn't want to go over a certain number of characters so please ignore where the breaks are in the posts.
ReplyDelete-Anna G.
Creative Ideas...Worth Spreading?
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design and seeks to bring together thoughts from all three industries into one place. It is a non-profit establishment that is dedicated to discussing and hearing from experts about ideas that they consider to be “ideas worth spreading.” Ken Robinson and Amy Tan and were invited to speak at TED conferences and are experts on the subject of creativity. Sir Ken Robinson, PhD, is an expert in the field of education as well as creativity and internationally advises governments in respect to the development of both elements. At the University of Warwick in the UK, he was a Professor of Education for twelve years and has since become Professor Emeritus. Robinson has also received honorary degrees and awards from several colleges and universities around the world. He was given knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his service to England and the world concerning creativity and the arts. He has been influential in, if not the leader of, creativity and human resource programs in governments across the globe. Along with the rest of his accomplishments, Robinson has managed to author and co-author many pieces of literature including two of his books, The Element and Out of Our Minds. Amy Tan is a best-selling author of many books including children’s stories, novels, and an autobiography. She earned her bachelors and masters degrees in English and linguistics and started working toward a doctorate degree which she did not complete. Tan later started a business writing firm but left it for a career in fictional writing, which she has continued to this day.
The two speakers seem to have similar ways of communicating their opinions and even a couple of ideas that are really the same when they are stripped down to the basics. For instance, they both agree that the human race has a huge capacity for creativity and intelligence. In their presentations at TED, they use a couple of similar techniques to capture their audience’s attention. For instance, in each talk there is an element of humor. The types of humor are quite different, though. Robinson uses simple humor that any average person can understand simply by paying attention. He also delivers the punch-lines well and in a subtle way that is still obvious enough that the audience can understand. This is often the most effective way of connecting with an audience and causing them to feel like they can identify with the speaker. Tan, however, uses more of a dry humor based on knowledge only obtained by higher education. While it still holds the attention of those in the audience who know what she is talking about, it quickly leads the rest to lose interest in her presentation or be confused by it. Both Robinson and Tan also use anecdotes in their talks to illustrate the points about which they are speaking. Again, they are different in that Robinson’s are usually humorous, identifiable stories, while Tan’s usually come from her own life and tend to be about things that hardly anyone else has had a chance to experience. Their similar and yet separate techniques of presentation are useful to bring one synonymous point across as well as their respective, different ideas. The point on which they both agree is that if one focuses too much on facts, then he will lose the creative, imaginative side of life which is just as important as the down to earth reality. The ways in which they come to this conclusion in their presentations are quite different, though. Robinson speaks of how education and industry leads humans away from creativity and how modern education only looks for one type of talent, namely academic. Everything else seems to be thrown by the way-side or suppressed, sometimes even by medication.
Creativity is the expression of an individual on the world. Different people have different takes on it. They have their own ways of explaining or addressing the issue. Both Ken Robinson and Amy Tan spoke about the idea of creativity at the TED conference. Robinson is a creativity expert, and Tan is a novelist. In both of the presentations, there were similarities and differences that emerged between the two.
ReplyDeleteIn both of Ken Robinson's and Amy Tan's talks, there are some similarities between them. Both of their presentations use a method of humor to protray their main focus. It allows the talks to be more appealing and entertaining for the audience. Also, Robinson and Tan both used some information of their personal life to make their point more relatable. They talked about their family and their past. Another similarity between the two would be that in both of the two presentations, the focus centralizes on creativity. It was a key part of the two lectures. The two presentations were similar in some ways.
However, there are some differences in Ken Robinson's talk than in Tan's. In his talk, his theme or main idea was that public school systems were practically destroying creativity. Society was changing the ways children think and are becoming educated. He discusses about how the school systems' focus was mainly on intelligence and not creativity. Kids take chances when they're younger because they haven't fully gasp what's really going on in the world. Therefore, it allows them to explore their imagination and be original. The fact is that as people grow older, they develop a fear of being wrong. He said,“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” Robinson thinks that the arts should be consider as important as the core academic classes. He's emphasizing the importance of the arts on people's lives. He uses true stories and examples to get his point understood. This allows his whole idea to become more real to the audience and show the importance of it. The way he interacts with his audience is also different than Tan's. He talks to them as if he, in a way, knew them personally himself. He grabs their interest and keeps it. That's where using humor makes the presentation relatable and interesting.
Amy Tan's presentation was also different from Robinson's. One technique that she used was the slideshow. She provided the audience with a visual aid of what she was discussing. Essentially, her main focus was the creative process and how it evolves into the human mind. She talks about how bad things can come to be and that childhood trauma could open up that creative process in a person. As people get older, issues emerge such as an identity crisis. They want to fit into society and live up to the expectations of their peers. Tan uses a lot of her own life experiences to present her focus for her audience. She also uses a lot of Chinese sayings and culture. "Save a man from drowning. You are responsible to him for life." Using quotes makes her presentation a little wiser and relatable to life. Tan says that the notion of death opens up the mind to the world. It makes people realize the true things in life. She does uses humor in her talk, and it could also be consider dark too. Unlike Robinson's, she uses a type of vocabulary to get her point across. She discusses her view of the term "quantum of mechanics" which is like dark energy. She gets into discussing life and its principles: luck, fate, coincidences, and accidences. She even talks about her wonders of her role in life and on the planet. Tan drifts around as she talks and explain her subject. Her lecture took on a more philosophic sense of creativity.
ReplyDeleteOf the two talks by Ken Robinson and Amy Tan, the one that is the most effective would be Robinson's. His topic of school kills creativity was his main focus. He didn't drift off from it and kept it his central idea. He took a strong and straight forward way in delivering it. He discussed the importance of the idea and how it should be resolve. With his method of humor, it draws the interest of the audience in and made them want to listen. His presentation technique was a smart move. He got his point across better by actually interacting with the audience orally. Robinson was talking to them as if he was in a regular everyday conversation. Another thing that made his talk more effective would be when he told the story of Julian Lynn. It shows a real life example of his topic. If it wasn't for the arts, she wouldn't have been where she's at today. Ken Robinson's talk was the most effective of the two.
Tan’s discussion was also built around the topic of creativity. Tan’s talk, however, was based more on being creative and using that to make you become your own individual. She talks about the way everyone feels somewhat lost at some point or another. She discusses the uncertainty and discomfort that comes with being a human being and questioning one’s purpose in life. She believes that this very discomfort and ambiguity is the very core of creativity. Tan encourages people to look deeper into these questions and dig deep into their creativity to answer them. Many people have trouble identifying who they are and what makes them special or different from the next person wondering the same thing. Tan is asking
ReplyDeleteJenkins 3
those people to look into the hardships they have faced with an open mind and discover what it is that makes them unique and original.
Robinson’s discussion was more relatable and interesting because it was able to remain lighthearted while being serious and factual enough to get the point across in an educated manner. Robinson clearly enjoyed himself, laughing along with the audience and remaining spontaneous while still being organized. Tan’s topic was more controversial, leaving the opportunity to make many listeners uncomfortable. However, Tan may have used this to her benefit when she challenged her audience to accept that discomfort and use it to find their creativity. Both Robinson and Tan used personal examples as well as examples in the lives of other people. Their presentations were very different. Robinson used his anecdotes and descriptions to help the listener visualize his idea, making the reader think creatively to come up with their own visuals. Tan used a power point as a visual aid for her presentation. Tan’s power point included humorous photos of herself and others questioning themselves in different ways. Robinson’s presentation was more successful because it helped get the audience engaged in the topic.
Creativity is very important, and Ken Robinson and Amy Tan helped spread this idea in their individual ways. Although Robinson’s style of presentation and use of relatable stories made his talk the better of the two, Tan’s discussion of creativity was also incredible in her own original way. Even the two speakers themselves show individuality and help give their listeners something to dwell on as they go
Jenkins 4
about their business and hope someone can make a difference and bring creativity back.
(Note: The site is breaking up my post. And Ms. Lloyd I know you didn’t like this idea when you talked about it but it’s how I feel so I guess I’m too lazy to come up with a lie for my essay)
ReplyDeleteMartha McKinnon
Ms. Lloyd
American Literature
March 25, 2011
An Essay Concerning Ken Robinson and Amy Tan Telling Me What Is Creative
Creativity is a broad, intangible topic which teachers, philosophers, writers, knighted men, and reluctant students talk about. The question “What makes someone creative?” is a question people love to ask, in hope that there is a magical algorithm that, if found, could make everyone a Van Gogh or Mozart! No more disappointed parents! Going about finding this algorithm are two well-respected people in their field, Sir Ken Robinson and Amy Tan.
Both Robinson and Tan place a dire importance on creativity. They also very obviously believe that great things can be accomplished through creativity. Also agreed upon was the fact that children’s creativity is very impressionable at a young age. Both presenters use large doses of humor and life stories in their presentations. This is an attempt at making them relatable to an audience. Both include multiple stories about their families, although Robinson talked about his wife and children while Tan talked about her parents and siblings. The main point of Robinson’s speech was the lack of creativity endorsed by educational systems and how instead of forcing the children into math, science, and other subjects all day, we should also force them into doing “creative” things such as dancing. Tan, who although having a speech which took a different direction concerning creativity, also showed a small contempt for teachers, parents, and the educational system when she made a B on a paper when she was eleven and was pushed to be a doctor when she was young. She received a doll, which promoted this belief of becoming a doctor. This part of her speech inadvertently supports Robinson’s, who argues parents, teachers, and other authority figures squander creative professions and instead support more “stable” ones.
However, the underlying ideas of these two speeches differ greatly. Tan’s speech was focused on how creativity is not in every child. Being able to draw does not make you creative, and creativity instead stems from life experiences specific only to that child.
Robinson argues differently, claiming every child is artistic at birth but does not achieve this potential because the creativity these children possess is annihilated by the adults who educate them. Tan also dives into topics which are far more philosophical than Robinson, talking about identity crises and moral ambiguity while presenting them in the even more confusing method of putting a scientific spin on them by including references to quantum mechanics and the string theory. The differences in the two speeches could not allow them to coexist harmoniously. Tan places an emphasis on luck and chance being factors in the creative process and how creativity is born, while Robinson’s goal is to completely factor out luck and chance by giving every child the same opportunity from the beginning of their lives, and destroying the possibility of luck or chance altogether.
(part two)
ReplyDeleteIn answering the question of which speech is more effective, I’m going to take a jump off a cliff here (concerning my grade on this paper at the very least) and say neither are effective because I disagree with both Robinson’s and Tan’s speeches. I could chalk it up like Robinson, and blame my English III Honors teacher for suffocating me by telling me what to write essays on, or I could take Tan’s approach and say it is because I do not think my mother loves me enough and I am unsure of my place in the universe and often deny my moral ambiguity. However, I believe I am creative because I make a conscious decision to be creative. I am responsible for what I do, and instead of blaming exterior forces, I will take credit for being who I am, regardless if it is good or bad thing. Robinson’s take on putting creativity in the schools would be a complete failure because making children be creative just promotes quantity, not quality. Is forced creativity truly creativity, just like is being free by force truly being free? I believe the answer to that is no, because if most students are forced into creativity, they will grow to resent it. Robinson also complains about the “inflation” of education, but instead of solving the problem, he is just adding to it. If every child is “creative”, it will only be harder for the truly talented children to stand out among the masses of students who are also deemed “creative”. This, in the end, only inflates creativity as well. I also disagree with Tan’s theory because I do not believe in luck or chance, which Tan attributes her creativity heavily upon. I personally believe that someone creates their own luck, and the idea of luck is just an easy answer to some of the greater questions people are afraid of. I also do not believe the method she presented her speech through was effective. I was often confused and thought some of her better ideas were lost in weird webcam shots and crowd-pleasing scientific references. In the end, I respect both Tan and Robinson for their opinions, but they differ from my own. In terms of defining creativity, I believe there is no magic algorithm to creativity, and no amount of karma can influence that differently.
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ReplyDeleteEnthusiasm is something that flows from creativity; something that helps people come up with inspirational ideas. Bo Bennett said, “Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity”. Thus, children need these characteristics to think beyond what is average. For example, schools across the nation should think of creative classroom assignments, leadership roles for students, as well as homework assignments as ways of helping students grow creatively. With these characteristics as a foundation, students will be encouraged to dare to dream and do that which seems impossible.
ReplyDeleteThe future is always entrusted to the younger generation. The responsibility to make sure that they are really capable of making creative contributions to the future rests with parents, community leaders, and creative and inspirational schools. If we want to see a positive change in student efforts, then teachers and schools must be willing to encourage creativity. For example, when it comes to reading, unfortunately too many students believe reading is boring and pointless. Therefore, they fail to find interest in what may inspire us through the words, ideas, and beliefs of others. Ken Robinson explained how creativity is vital in education, we must learn from this so that we may freely express ourselves in a poetic and enthusiastic way. Students must learn from the past knowledge and experiences of others to maintain a great world.
Every person wants to accomplish something in this world, and to enjoy a wonderful life as they grow up. Although it’s difficult to predict the future, using creativity, persistence, and genuine effort toward making positive contributions to life, school, and community gives one a better chance of being successful. At the end of every day, there is always something to strive for, or to create to ensure a better world.
(This is part 2)
Part 1
ReplyDeleteLaura Vinson
Cindy Lloyd
English III American Lit. Honors
April 9, 2011
Creativity: Is It Naturally Born or Achieved Over Time?
What is creativity? If looked up in a dictionary it suggests that it is a state of being creative. What does that even mean? How can that give an understanding of the meaning and therefore applied to thought. I like to believe that creativity has no boundaries or guidelines; it is different to every individual. It is the ability to take an idea and mold it into a new form or interpretation so that it is original to that person. How is this ability acquired within someone? Are we born with the talent of originality or is it something that is later realized depending on life’s challenges?
Sir Ken Robinson explores the world of creativity and how it is often suppressed in children within our modern society. His belief is that all children are born with the ability to be creative. He uses humorous stories to help the audience relate and understand his relevance, proving that children are not afraid to take risks and express themselves. At a young age kids are encouraged to draw, dance, sing, act, and become whoever and whatever they want to be. Robinson makes a relatively accurate metaphor when he says, “As children grow up we start to educate them progressively from the waist up, and then we focus on their heads, and slightly to one side.” This adheres with Pablo Picasso’s quote stating that, “All children are born artists; the problem is to remain an artist as we grow up.” This interprets that the education system grows children out of creativity and therefore choking out originality and innovativeness. We become afraid of making mistakes and appearing to be wrong and this forms complacency in not being creative. We believe we have no need for it any longer because of what has been force-fed to us all our lives. I have always found dance to be my creative output and I am thankful for being encouraged to continue with it when I was young, but now I am faced with the decision of whether to consider it as a career. I have been told numerous times that it is a difficult business to make a living in and I most likely would not be successful. However, I know that I would suffer from financial difficulty but the thought of not dancing again after a year from now completely shatters who I am and what I’ve spent 15 years becoming. If more children were told that they could be a musician or an artist, their creativity would grow dramatically along with their success rate. The worst thing a person could do is demolish someone else’s dreams.
Katie Schmid
ReplyDeleteMrs. Lloyd
Honors English III
31 March 2011
Compare and Contrast Essay
Ken Robinson and Amy Tan both have interesting points about the education process and how one’s experiences shape their life. While they do not talk about the same subject, specifically, their styles of speaking have some striking similarities. Robinson’s argument is more cohesive and Tan’s speech is scattered. They both use humor as a way to get their point across. Tan and Robinson also use specific examples from their lives in order to make their speeches relatable.
Robinson incorporates the humor element of his speech into his words. He makes jokes. This is effective for him because of the audience he is addressing. If he were speaking to a group of children, the comedy of some of his speech would not be fully received, but he is speaking to adults, so it works out nicely. He keeps the audience entertained without having to make any obscene or profane jokes. His technique was to point out funny things that had happened in his life. Robinson is a good story teller. He does not waste time with useless details, but rather gives just the needed facts so as to keep the listener interested. His argument of schools killing creativity demands a speaker that does exactly what he did by including real life events. The people listening could not buy the argument if it was simply based off hypothetical scenarios. Including real events makes the argument relevant because many of his stories include school aged children. Some members of the audience probably have children of their own, thus creating an even more relaxed environment. Robinson does not come off as being pushy in his beliefs, but he does seem firm in them. He is adamant about the school system being corrupt and suppressing humans’ natural creativity. He says, “We are educating people out of their creativity." (Robinson) Robinson maintains this view on the issue throughout the entire speech. His speech does not contain things that could cause his argument to be invalidated. It is smart that he did not include such information. That would have taken away from the personable nature that he gave off. Talking about the pros and cons can be good in some cases, but when speaking to an audience that one wants to keep entertained, it is best to steer clear of things that just confuse the argument more. Robinson does not suggest ways to reform the education system, but instead simply points out that it is flawed. The issue with his speech is that while it confronts the problems, it does not solve them. This problem is not fixable as it is a lose-lose situation. If he had suggested reforms to the education system, people would have found the topic more controversial than it already was and there would have been flaws in his solution that critics would be quick to point out. On the other hand, because he did not mention ways to remedy the dilemma, it makes his idea seem unrealistic.
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ReplyDeletePart 3
ReplyDeleteAfter analyzing both Robinson’s and Tan’s view on creativity, I find that I comprehend and agree more with Robinson. However, I do believe parts of Tan’s assumptions also. Everyone has the capability of being creative, and just like any other talent it must be exercised in order to become better. Some people may be more creative than others but that does not mean they should give up. Most everyone has the ability to sing and there will always be those that are better than others but they should not quit if that is what makes them happy. A person may say that they are not creative but that is only because they are afraid to try. Children are not afraid to express themselves and they should be encouraged to continue this as they grow. This could make for a more innovative future. They should follow their dreams so that happiness will remain to be a feeling and not a state of being. Happiness is now categorized by what job you have, house you live in, and money you make. Children are set up for disappointment when they realize that being a musician or dancer is not what is viewed as an accomplishment. Let them thrive in who they want to be. Tan makes a valid point by inferring that creativity is influenced by what happens around us because it very well can be. Death, divorce, marriage, and birth are all factors that may influence ones creativity. An artist may portray one of those subjects or a theme in a painting. A dancer may choreograph a dance to describe something or someone in their life, however I do not believe it to be from serendipitous circumstances. Something cannot come out of nothing. There is always something there, it is whether they use it to make it their own or not that determines creativity.
Taking things and making them original is the key to being creative, and the ability to make things original is within every person who is capable of having a childlike mind. They must seek inspiration in even the most miniscule phenomena, not be afraid to let emotion take over, and, above all, never let a dream die without a fight.
I have been trying for almost an hour to get the 2nd part up. I don't know what's wrong. It shut down my entire account because I tried to post it so many times
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ReplyDeleteMs. Lloyd, the site is making me post my essay in two parts and everytime i try to post the second part it deletes the first one. I have tried at least 7 times.
ReplyDeleteAmy Tan's talk is extremely tough to analyze. It seems to be more of a personal ramble and less of concrete ideas being presented in an easy way. She begins by explaining what she believes it takes to be creative. She says that the easiest way is to have large amounts of childhood trauma. Her father and brother died six months apart. She isn't the best speaker, but I'm sure her books are very good because of how articulate she is, and how in depth all of her ideas are. It would be impossible to analyze everything she talked about and be able to contrast her idea with Sir Ken Robinson in such a short essay. One of the most interesting ideas she talked about was her mention of quantum mechanics. When comparing her ideas to quantum mechanics, you can see stark similarities between things that happened to her, and things that quantum mechanics tries to explain. She talks about accidents and randomness often, and how her mother didn't believe in it. Quantum Mechanic's "Law of Attraction" explains a lot of the things that has happened to her, and a lot of the things that she is trying to explain. For instance, she talks about writing her book and talking about stones stacked up on top of each other and then, almost magically, she comes across a Chinese man balancing stones. Her talk was a long drawn out explanation of how she found her creative process, and it is almost all explained by different quantum mechanical laws, such as the Law of Attraction.
ReplyDeleteWhen comparing these two speakers, one must realize how different their styles are. Robinson used an up front approach where he told you exactly what he wanted you to know, then told of many examples displaying his idea. Tan chose to display her idea by giving long stories and hoping that the listener will make the connection to the idea that she is trying to show. Although Robinson's idea has a more listener friendly feel to it, if you listened to Tan's and realized what she was talking about and could make the connection she was trying to get you to make, hers was much more inspirational. Robinson's speech was very simple. He stated a problem, the cause of the problem, and then a useful solution. The simplicity in his presentation made it much easier to listen to, and probably gave it an over all more acceptance level. Tan's speech was very complex and articulate and took huge amounts of focus and connection skills to be able to understand how extreme her creative process was. This is why the class had such an uproar at the end of Tan's speech and not at the end of Robinson's. When it comes down to it, Robinson is obviously the better speech maker. However, if there was ever a comparison of the power of ideas, Tan's ideas would blow Robinson's out of the water. It is obvious that Robinson is the better speech maker, he is a college professor, speech making is his job. Tan is an author, creating ideas and in depth thinking is her job, and it is always hard for authors who write philosophical books, or books about life to make speeches because their brains are always on the brim with ideas that they are trying to convey.
In conclusion, Robinson made a great speech with a powerful idea. However, the idea that Robinson is proposing is so obvious. Everyone knows that creativity is squandered in the school system. People have been trying to fight the ending of arts programs in schools for over ten years. Tan's ideas were extremely beautiful and book worthy, but the organization of her speech needed work, and so did her speech itself. It is tough to compare someone who makes speeches for a living to someone who writes books for a living.
Amy had a good talk even though it was not as effective as Ken’s. She still had some pretty interesting examples. Even though someone may suffer from depression, or have a childhood trauma, you can use those challenges as outlets to great creativity. Even though she said some interesting things she said it in a way that was harder to follow and you had to watch it a few times to fully understand the meaning. Some similarities between Ken and Amy were they both talked about creativity.
ReplyDeleteThey both did a good job talking about creativity but Ken did a better job. In conclusion that’s why Ken’s talk was more effective, because he was more interesting, gave more examples of stories, and delivered them with more humor. Also in conclusion, the reasons why Amy’s talk was not as effective as Ken’s was the stories she told were harder to follow and she did not have that good of humor.
Amy tan's speech unlike Ken Robinson's was based more towards how the brain works technically and how that effects one's creativity. Also she talks about what goes on as soon as creativity leaves the brain instead of the end result. Tan stated that artistic skill isn’t exactly creativity. She believes people become creative by depression, hard times, family genes, or childhood trauma. She does not believe that everyone is born creatively. Tan expresses in her lecture that there are no absolute truths. She’s saying there are never complete answers and the truth is a process not an endpoint. The truth is a difficult thing to take in at any point in your life especially if it is not what you want it to be. But, there
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is never always one right answer. There are many different ways to solve one problem and that is the main theme that Amy Tan is trying to portray in her speech.
As you can see both of the speeches were told completely differently about the same topic but there are some similarities you might have over looked. They both use humor to grasp the audiences attention. Also they both use life experiences or stories to relate to the audience. They also both agree that anyone can be creative. In my opinion the more effective speech was Ken Robinson's. He used more examples, humor and related to the audience much better than Amy Tan. The way he used such detail in telling the stories really helped me relate to what he was saying. The way Robinson presented his argument was much clearer than Tan's . The way he grasped my attention was very creative, I also agree with his views that everyone is able to be creative and that you are born that way.
Creativity is something that we will never be able to explain. What is creativity? How do you know if something is creative or not? What can I do to be creative? All these question have tried to be answered by multiple people multiple times. Ken Robinson and Amy Tan both tried to answer this never ending cycle of questions. Creativity grows from the soul , everyone's soul. Not just yours or mine everyone can be creative, It is just if they chose to be or not.
ms llyod my first comment keeps getting deleted
ReplyDeleteit did the same thing with my post sorry
ReplyDeleteCreativity is a unique and necessary element in the evolution of the human mind. Creativity teaches people about the art of humanity, and about finding inspiration in all of their surroundings. It teaches one to use these gifts to do great wonders. It is an important requirement for a person to really be able to grasp the meaning of life. Creativity allows one to put to good use the talents they’ve been given. Every parent wants their children to excel at everything they try in life, but some unknowingly stifle their children’s creativity and other artistic motives. It makes one wonder what really brings creativity out in a person? What inspires a person to show the world what he or she can do?
ReplyDeleteDuring his presentation, Ken Robinson’s explanation of how schools tamper with creativity in children was astounding. In reality, parents, friends, and the whole world refuse to accept failure. People look at failure as something disgusting. However, it’s not an extremely bad thing to fail at something when a person can actually learn from their past mistakes. Schools always emphasize that failure is bad, but without failure a person can’t really learn. It appears that in school students are eager to know the correct answer to questions, but as they progress to middle school and high school, they become more hesitant to voice their opinions for fear of being wrong, which leaves them afraid to fail.
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In her presentation, Amy Tan talked about how people are equipped and born with talent, or how people may get their talents from past lives. One of the principles for creativity is influence. For example, in her slide show, Amy Tan questioned why things happened, for what reasons, and what are the effects or outcomes? Amy Tan describes her views on creativity by using her own past, including where she has been. She shares this is how she gets her thoughts whenever she is writing one of her many books.
ReplyDeleteThe world needs people who are different from others and are gifted with different talents and views. The world now has such things as clothes, cars, electricity, and technology because of different inventions. We have many inventions because of the creative minds of men and women willing to make some sort of difference in the world. What we are given as creative gifts, we should use to help all. As with all things that come from humanity, creativity can have both its positive contributions as well as its negative contributions. Some people use their creativity to bring good to the world, such as laser surgery, organ transplants, or cancer research. On the other hand, some use their creativity to bring harm to the world. For example, some people would rather use technology to make nuclear bombs to destroy others in the world.
(This is part 2, the first post is part 3, got messed with all the post being taken away)
American lit
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Reed Tipton
Essay
In these two videos I have learned a bunch! They are very influential on the topics these two persons chose. Ken, and Amy both knew what they were talking about. I think they will be very helpful for whoever is going to watch the videos that they have presented for the internet world. But the videos are similar in some ways, and in other ways they are very different from each other. Both of the videos are very outstanding because they present the topic so well. I think they are great videos, and hopefully they will be as influential and inspiring to the viewers as they were to me!
In comparison to these videos, Ken Robinson and Amy Tan used humor in both of their videos to make the audience they were speaking in front of pay attention to the message they were trying to build up. They were both talking about creativity. I think they are wanting people to be more creative, or be more outgoing like expressing what they really feel. Creativity is a powerful trait to a human being! Not many people realize that they have a great amount of creativity, but they don’t know how do use it. So I think that’s the point that Ken and Amy are trying to make. Also, they used powerpoints and images to use so they audience and the viewers of the videos could get a visual picture of what they are talking about.
(part 1)
Some differences of Ken and Amy’s video’s are they both talking about the same subject but they use it in different ways. Ken Robinson was talking about creativity, but he was talking about brining it in to all school systems. He wants to have more fine arts classes in all schools so students now can express their creativity in their school, rather than get involved in some other activity outside of school. Some examples of fine arts are art classes, music, chorus, band, theater, etc. Most schools have all of those available classes, but they need to expand it a little. People need becoming more serious about it instead of settling for mediocrity. The school boards everywhere need to come up with classes so that students can be more creative, express their minds to where there is no limit. That’s what I think Ken Robinson wants in schools. He just wants students to exceed in school, rather than a percentage of them drop out and wind up on the streets, or have them flipping burgers somewhere.
ReplyDeleteAmy Tan is talking about creativity but what the whole meaning of what creativity means. Amy uses questions and finishes them with an answer. She sort-of breaks down in simple terms of what creativity means, which makes it a lot easier to understand for most people. She thinks or uses an example about a creative person is multi-dimensional, and there are 11 levels of anxiety. She also uses a question which is, how do we create? To me I think that’s the point she is trying to point out in this whole performance she is presenting. And throughout her video she uses examples. That’s why hers is different than Ken Robinson. Ken just uses one example which was brining creativity in schools. Amy Tan presents the whole meaning of creativity she uses examples, pictures, and at the very end of the presentation she uses one real example of a dog. She thinks it sums up with the example of the dog.
part 2
Towards the end of the video she as two very interesting questions that are extremely hard to answer. They were, “how can I create something out of nothing?” and “how do I create my own life?”. She answers that by questioning and saying to herself that there is absolutely no truths. Those are just examples of what she was trying to say.
ReplyDeleteBoth Ken Robinson and Amy Tan are very good speakers and they are very good influences on viewers and audiences. She both present their topic with passion, loyalty, and is very committed to the subject they were talking about. They expressed it with meaning. And I’m sure it inspired people, and made a lot of people realize the meaning of creativity. It’s a very powerful word and the sky is the limit for creativity. There are countless and countless opportunities, things, that you can do to be creative. And I think that’s what Ken and Amy want is for people to realize that they can explore so many things.
part 3
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ReplyDeletewanted and you had a whole imagination of creative ideas, Robinson discusses how much the schools changes students view and want of being creative throughout their public schooling.
On another note Amy Tan however discussed a different side of the creativity argument. Stating and discussing how creativity comes from experience that you are not just born with it and that the better you will get with the more experience you have. She used death as a personal experience in her life, and about how the closer she is getting to death the more she knows about it. Tan uses a power point as an aid to the audience throughout her speech, and it helps get her point across, with pictures from her personal life and experience. She said how problems in a kid’s childhood could lead to a different creative process in the future. Tan kind of went around the creative topic and explored a much more philosophical view of it with questions like “what if?” and she used Chinese sayings and philosophies like about the power of the individual.
Both speeches used similar ways to discuss things as audience pleasers; however I found Ken Robinson a bit more enjoyable and relatable in the fact the he used a good bit more of humor and seemed to strongly believe in his point. Today’s public schools do mainly focus on academics and I strongly agree with Robinson when he says that they are shooting down creativity because they are. Yes, they may offer some art classes here and there but they’re categorized as “exploratories” basically meaning they don’t count as much and you shouldn’t bother with them, but that’s just how I see it. Amy Tan had a good idea of using a power point as a visual aid, because it made her argument easier to follow. Her point that humans are not just born with creativity was well made. I mean as an example Katy Perry was not just born a singer, she had to strive and work hard to get where she is today and through classes and experience she got better, just like artists like Picasso and such. Creativity is just such a broad and wide range of things that no matter how you argue it, society will never completely
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accept and pursue it as what it really is. These two TED videos however help argue the point of creativity and leave you, the viewer to really think about what is creativity and about how schools can affect one’s view on it.
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Ms. Lloyd
American Literature
April 8th, 2011
Power of speech and creativity
The power of speech in today’s society is great, people really listen to what people have to say, and it can really impact some people’s view of things, TED videos are made to basically show a point, and discuss an argument. They make you really think about what is being said. The two videos that we watched, Ken Robinson and Amy Tan, were similar but different in ways discussing creativity. They both focused on the central idea of today’s creativity however Robinson discussed the way school didn’t allow students to really express their creativity and how much it was pushed down, and Tan just discussed more the way creativity comes to be. Their arguments were both expressed through humor, life stories, and they both got their main points across to the audience.
The first video Ken Robinson argued how today’s schooling is basically killing kid’s creativity. It’s true that most schools aren’t specializing in creativity but that is why there are certain specific schools just for that. He states how most schools are mainly focusing on key academics nowadays which doesn’t allow the more artistically inclined kids to succeed as much. Since the high schools are all about succeeding in Math and Sciences, all the art focused students are not doing as well, and it’s killing their creativity. If society and schooling would promote the arts more, such as music, drama, dance and art, more kids would feel free to explore their creativity which would open up more opportunity like they did when kids were in kindergarten and lower school. When you were younger you would do what you
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ReplyDeleteJake D. McCardel
ReplyDeleteMs. Lloyd
American Literature
4 April 2011
Education Creativity?
There is a lot is to be said about the subject of creativity. The TED conference is a very good example of how society will come to listen to speakers who are supposed to know a lot of what there is to know about creativity. Both speakers Sir Ken Robinson and Amy Tan know a whole lot about the human mind and what it means to truly become or even be ‘creative’.
While each speaker had his and her own approach in expressing their ideas on creativity I have to say that I agree more with Sir Ken Robinson’s ideas. He went into great detail about our system of education today, and how it plays a huge role in the growth of the human mind. The main focus of his talk-that I am in complete agreement with-is that the educational authority smothers the creative talents of the growing minds that we are working so hard to develop. The analogy that Robinson used in his presentation, of the girl who was not seen as academically inclined by her teachers, but was a dancing phenomenon helped to get another point of his across. The point being that, the education system of today has shut its eyes to the variety of talents one can possess. Robinson also outlined the lack of attention that different fields of study receive in schools today. Subject fields such as music and specifically in his talk, dance are not considered to be as important as, say, mathematics. That is not to belittle mathematics, but to point out the importance of both.
The growth of creativity takes place in the human mind. Amy Tan spoke mainly on the subject of how creativity is formed or comes about. Many of the points that Tan made were relevant in her own life, and added to her own quest of creativity. She made the point in her talk about how when she was younger, that it might have been hard to guess that she would one day be a best-selling author. This really illustrates how many talents are not seen, because they have yet to flourish. Going back to what Robinson said about the smothering of creativity in education today; the growing mind needs a chance to venture out and try new things. To go and see what the creative mind likes and dislikes. Amy Tan illustrated many good points her talk mainly having to do with her own experiences and struggles throughout her own life.
As Robinson went on through his various points in his talk, he illustrated many of the points with humorous real-life situations. These situations being real in Sir Ken’s own life, or even on a personal level for him. The use of humor made his talk seem more understandable, whereas Amy Tan used humor as well but spoke more about the human mind and her own growth of creativity. Tan’s talk seemed a little more about her own creativeness and how different things have affected her life. Her style of presentation seemed uninteresting to me and I found it hard to pay attention. Tan also used a power point to help to illustrate her points in her talk. The use of the power point definitely added to the humor, and was beneficial to me in understanding what she was saying. In Robinson’s presentation he kind of just walked out to the middle of the stage and cracked a joke in order to grab the attention of his audience, and it worked. He presented without a power point or any notes. I found myself marveling at the ability to communicate in this way. If I were to present something that I knew a lot about, even so I would still want to have something to refer to. This style of presentation as opposed to Tan’s style-power point plus humor-was very useful in grabbing my attention and then keeping it.
ReplyDeleteBoth of the accomplished speakers who presented passed down a lot of knowledge about creativity. Each one used separate styles, and different kinds of humor. The major part of drawing and holding onto the attention and interest of the audience was the humor. Humor played a big role in each of the talks. The approach that was most effective for me was Sir Ken Robinson’s. I could relate easier to what he presented and I was entertained throughout the talk. Keeping his audience entertained was huge in his style of presentation.
Catherine Chambers
ReplyDeleteMrs.Lloyd
Honors English III
April 10, 2011
Compare and Contrast Essay
The thoughts that are given by Amy Tan and Ken Robinson in both of the Ted Talks have similar ideas that they are trying to get across to their audience. With the main point being that creativity is a main part in a person’s life Amy and Ken both have similar and different ways to get their points across. While both told stories, Ken came about his speech by telling stories about children, schools, and how things were changing. Amy did tell a few stories but mainly asked a lot of questions. Both speakers did use a sense of humor and tried relating it to their own experiences.
Ken Robinson looked at creativity through the schools. He focuses on how schools are killing creativity. While looking at education, Robinson points out how classes like math and science are stressed to be very important. He believes that art, dance, and music should also be emphasized. In today society being wrong is what most people are scared of. In many high school classrooms when asked a simple question, many of the students will not answer. On the other hand, in kindergarten and younger classrooms almost every child is somewhat excited and willing to answer every question. Robinson thinks that this has somewhat something to do with creativity. Being wrong should be a good thing and you should learn from your mistakes so you know what to say or do next time. You can always learn from your bad decisions and your wrong answers. Ken Robinson goes about his speech by telling stories that relate to him, he shows pictures of art to show creativity and he keeps a good sense of humor.
Amy Tan had the same idea of Ken Robinson’s speech but Amy came at a different angle to get her point across. “Why do things happen?” was a main point that Tan brought up in her discussion. She thought of how the mind works and the process of being creative. She believes that children need to explore and get out of their comfort area. Tan also talks about how at some point in life many people feel lost or like they should have been born someone else. Amy goes on through her talk by showing many slides and talking about her own life experiences. She points out that for most people a lot of their creativity is effected by the actions of others or outcomes. She states that death, marriages, births, and divorces can only have an impact on a person. Tan believes that everyone is born with creativity but they need to explore their creativeness and learn how to use them.
ReplyDeleteBoth Amy’s and Ken’s speeches centered on the idea of being creative. They both touched on being creative as a child and being able to losing that gift if you don’t keep an open mind. They also both talked about how people should expand their activities and not be scared to be wrong with what they try and do, but instead learn from their actions. Although some of the content and the ideas were the same, Amy and Ken both used different techniques to get their key points across. Robinson kept more on the subject of creativity in schools while Tan spoke more about the process of being creative and why things happen. Robinson stayed in a mental state by telling many stories while Tan decided to go more into a visual by showing many slide shows. Both speakers did keep their listeners’ attention by having a sense of humor. While Amy Tan did not laugh or show a lot of emotion at many things, Ken Robinson reacted with his audience by laughing with them. When comparing the two, Robinson seemed to keep more of the attention. He told many good stories like he ADHD dancer, and many stories that his audience could relate to, like his son missing his girlfriend when they were moving or how he says that his wife cannot cook. Both speakers stay on the concept of creativity but when listening one seems to keep your attention more than the other. Overall Robinson seemed to be more effective because he could keep the listener’s attention by making them laugh and telling stories they could relate to. In both of the Ted Talks Amy and Ken both did their best to get their point across about how creativity is dyeing within people. Any one of these arguments could help a person grasp a better understanding of creativity.
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ReplyDeleteive been sitting here trying to post the 2nd part over and over again. if this doesnt work in about 20 min im giving up....
ReplyDeletewhat the hell.
ReplyDeleteAlex the same crap is happening to me too
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