Shadowing Sir Ken Robinson

Summary

Ken Robinson argues that education should give creativity the same importance as literacy. He connects that argument with uncertainty about the future: schools are preparing children for a world adults cannot accurately predict. Through stories, humor and criticism of subject hierarchies, he questions a narrow model of academic achievement. His conclusion calls for recognizing the variety of human abilities and educating children in ways that allow more of those abilities to develop.

Key points, in order

1. Children's willingness to try things provides his starting point. Robinson distinguishes creativity from simply being wrong, but argues that fear of mistakes discourages the risk-taking needed for original work.
2. He criticizes the higher status commonly given to academic subjects over arts and movement. In his account, industrial needs and university admission shaped a system that can make talented people underestimate themselves.
3. Robinson describes intelligence as diverse, dynamic and distinctive to the individual. He emphasizes different ways of thinking and the interaction between disciplines rather than treating academic attainment as the whole measure of ability.
4. The story of choreographer Gillian Lynne illustrates a child finding an environment suited to her need to move. Robinson uses it to urge a broader understanding of talent and greater care for children's potential as they enter an uncertain future.

Five useful phrases to practise

Choose a caption line to open Repeat mode. Listen, then say it after the speaker.

1. 3:14 My contention is that creativity now is as important in education as literacy,
2. 5:38 If they don't know, they'll have a go.
3. 9:16 I think math is very important, but so is dance.
4. 13:07 We need to radically rethink our view of intelligence.
5. 18:22 We have to rethink the fundamental principles on which we're educating our children.

Based on the video’s captions. Original video: Do schools kill creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson | TED · TED.

Everyday phrases from this video

• good morning
• how are you
• in fact
• I used to
• at home
• why not

• Level: B2
• Accent: British
• Length: 20 min · 276 lines to practise
• Speed: about 165 words a minute (an average pace)
• Words: about 3,120; the talk asks 33 questions
• Timing: Sada measures how far behind the speaker you are on every line

What to focus on in this talk

Robinson’s humour lives in his timing: “I’ve been blown away by the whole thing. In fact, I’m leaving.” — copy the tiny pause before the punchline. “It’s been great, hasn’t it?” is a good line for the British question tag, which rises and falls in one breath.

What this talk trains

Sir Ken Robinson speaks for about 20 minutes: roughly 3,120 words in 276 caption lines. The pace picks up as the talk goes on, from about 157 words a minute in the first quarter to 178 in the last. Overall it is faster than 35 of the other 66 talks on Sada. Its sentences average 11.4 words, no longer than the middle of the library (14.3), and 12.7% of its words fall outside the 3,000 most common English words (library middle: 12.9%). It asks 33 questions, so there is plenty of question intonation to copy. Phrases that fast speech often shortens come up again and again: “out of” (7 times) and “want to” (6 times).

Lines from across the talk, and what each one trains

One line from each quarter of the talk. Press a line to open it in Sada, ready to record. “Linking” marks words that run together: a word ending in a consonant sound joins the vowel that starts the next one.

1. 5:02 We were sitting there, and I think they just went out of sequence,

   “out of”: fast speech often shortens it to “outta”. Listen for whether the speaker does here. Linking: say “and I”, “went out”, “out of” without a break between the words.

2. 6:55 You don't think of Shakespeare having a father, do you?

   A question: listen to where the voice rises or falls at the end, and copy it. Linking: say “think of”, “having a” without a break between the words.

3. 10:18 And I say this out of affection for them: there's something curious about professors.

   “out of”: fast speech often shortens it to “outta”. Listen for whether the speaker does here. Linking: say “And I”, “this out”, “out of” without a break between the words.

4. 18:34 within 50 years, all life on Earth would end.

   Linking: say “on Earth”, “would end” without a break between the words. A number (50): practise saying it at the speaker’s speed.

Words that keep coming up

Words outside the 3,000 most common English words that Sir Ken Robinson uses more than once. The number is how often each is said. Look up any you don’t know, then press it to practise the line where it first comes up.

• creativity ×5
• drawing ×5
• ballet ×5
• extraordinary ×4
• capacities ×4
• frankly ×3
• nobody ×3
• educating ×3

How the pace changes through the talk

The fastest minute starts at 16:15 (about 221 words a minute): practise that minute once the rest feels easy. The slowest starts at 6:58 (about 95): a good minute to warm up with.

Measured from the caption timing, so the numbers are close, not exact.

How the talk opens: press any line to practise it

1. 0:27 Good morning. How are you?
2. 0:29 Good.
3. 0:31 It's been great, hasn't it?
4. 0:33 I've been blown away by the whole thing.
5. 0:35 In fact, I'm leaving.
6. 0:43 There have been three themes running through the conference, which are relevant to what I want to talk about.

How to practise this talk

1. Warm up on the slowest minute (from 6:58) or on the opening lines above.
2. Then take the chosen lines above one at a time: a shortened phrase, linked words, a question, a number.
3. On each line, press Record and say it after Sir Ken Robinson (Repeat) or along with them (Shadow), then open Compare and go again until every word is green.
4. Save the fastest minute (from 16:15, about 221 words a minute) for last.
5. At one minute a day you finish the whole talk in about 20 days, and Sada shows your first try against your latest.

More talks to practise

• Sir Ken Robinson — Bring on the Learning Revolution! (B1 · 149 words a minute · same speaker)
• Sir Ken Robinson — How to Escape Education’s Death Valley (B1 · 144 words a minute · same speaker)
• Chris Bailey — How to Get Your Brain to Focus (B2 · 164 words a minute · same level)
• William McRaven — Make Your Bed — Speech Excerpt (B2 · 169 words a minute · same level)

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