As standardized tests become more important, the number of ADHD diagnoses rises, says the creativity expert.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U
Sir Ken Robinson is a favorite around these parts for his plainspoken assaults on our public education system. He's noted that the lack of focus on the arts in schools has created an army of people trained to be workers—many of whom won't be satisfied by whatever vocation they land in.
In this video, a Robinson lecture sleekly animated UPS-style by the folks at RSA, he assails the so-called "ADHD epidemic," which he finds grossly overstated. "These kids are being medicated as routinely as we had our tonsils taken out," he says about the preponderance of the diagnosis in recent years.
In actuality, he says, we're expecting children to pay attention to subjects that don't seem relevant to them, while they live in an era that's chock full of stimulation, from technological gadgets to copious advertising and marketing campaigns.
The problem: Our education system is designed on the intellectual values of the Enlightenment and driven by the economic backdrop of the Industrial Revolution. In other words, the model is both antiquated and inappropriate.
Via The Daily Dish.
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