More Creative (HOOP) Movement in Education~
This is a video of an excellent Ted Talk about how our education system as it is today, around the world, is basically killing creativity. In this lecture made by Sir Ken Robinson, he champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligences. I think it’s perfect for hoopdancers, hooping instructors, folks who are curious about hooping, and anyone who feels at all put off by the rather sad state of our industrial-revolution-inspired education system. He asserts that there is a world-wide hierarchy of school subjects, with mathematics and languages at the top, followed by humanities, and at the bottom are the arts. He further advances that within the arts, there’s a hierarchy too, with [fine] arts and music given a higher status than drama and dance…and that there isn’t a system on the planet that that teaches dance everyday to children the way we teach them mathematics. He asks, “Why not? We all have bodies, don’t we? Did I miss a meeting? Truthfully what happens is 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.” How dreamy it would be if every classroom across the globe started their days off with a hoopstretch & mini-jam, or took hoop-breaks throughout the day to get bodies and brains’ right-hemispheres extra-activated and feeling great! What a difference it could make for the confidence & skill-growth of kinesthetic learners. Thanks, Michael, for sending me the link to this! A real gem and positive affirmation for a movement arts educator like myself, and for all of us who think a little less linearly (or at least more circularly) than the current powers that be~
Hey Noelle- I couldn’t agree more with the Robinson talk (by the way, you should also check out Elizabeth Gilbert’s TED talk, for a great artistic antidote to sour face days). One thing I did notice while I was traveling and visiting educational alternatives around the US (particularly free schools) is the tremendous amount of physical PLAY in these environments, and how happy the students seemed ALL THE TIME. It is ridiculous to think we have a childhood obesity epidemic on our hands- LET THEM RUN AND PLAY! A recent NPR education article (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101149470) describes the potential uses of incorporating movement in traditional classrooms:
“Ten minutes of moving around the classroom at moderate intensity seems to agree with a lot of the kids. And there’s some evidence that the physical exercise improves mental sharpness.
“What’s happening in the body is their heart rate’s increasing and blood flow is changing, and they’re actually activating the brain differently than when they’re sitting down,” says John Ratey, a psychiatrist at Harvard University who has taken an interest in the movement to overhaul physical education in schools.
Ratey doesn’t claim that exercise makes kids smarter. But, he says, it can make them more ready to learn.
He says that after moderate exercise, the brain seems to work a little more efficiently.
“[With exercise] you’re seeing an increase in neurotransmitters … dopamine and serotonin, norepinephrine. These are hormones related to mood regulation, to attention. And, in general, help the brain be in a better state of equilibrium,” Ratey says.”
HOORAY FOR OUR BRAINS!
Let’s DANCE!