Inspiring Video on the Importance of Arts Education

I thought this video was interesting because many faculty and students in the Art Ed. department have similar beliefs about our current system of education. In their view (and in my view as well), it stifles certain ways of thinking because conformity and standardization are valued.  For example the speaker, Sir Ken Robinson, questions the advent of standardized testing, the separation between academic and vocational pursuits, and the set-up of the traditional public school in which classes are separated by age.

Sir Ken Robinson relates the current unpopularity of arts education somewhat obviously to the rise of standardized testing. More interestingly, he believes there is simultaneously a connection between these two phenomenon and the number of prescriptions for ADHD given to children and the ever increasing amount of "distractions" like computers, iphones, and advertising.

While this video raises many questions, it does not offer concrete solutions. I know it is the belief of the Art Ed. department to treat visual arts education as a transformative medium that can directly effect the lives of students. For example, it can used to coach students in a variety of life skills (such as those in Lois' Eight Studio Habits of Mind)  and inspire curiosity, discovery, creativity, spontaneity, and joy (through crazy and fun lesson plans).