At THNK, we truly believe in the need for personalized learning in order for individuals to be able to reach their full potential and be of real value to business and society. Flexibility and customization are at the heart of our vision on the education of the future. Sir Ken Robinson makes precisely this argument regarding children's education in a compelling TEDTalk that is very much worthwhile to watch.
Sir Ken Robinson makes a compelling argument in favor of a radical shift from standardized schools to personalized learning in order to create the conditions under which children's natural talents can flourish. In addition to the crisis of natural resources, Robinson argues, we are faced with a second severe crisis, namely one of human resources. We make very poor use of our talents: very many people go through their whole lives with very little idea of what they are good at. All kinds of people do not enjoy what they do, but they endure it and wait for the weekend. One of the important explanations for this phenomenon is the way in which education is organized and structured, Robinson states.
Education actually dislocates very many people from their natural talents, Robinson says. Human resources are often buried deep, because we are not adequately creating the circumstances in which they are exposed. This is due to the fact that our education systems are based on the concept of linearity and conformity. But life is not linear; rather, it is organic.
"We create our lives symbiotically as we explore our talents in relation to the circumstances that they help to create for us."