For the past two weeks I have been writing an essay and reading extensively around the topic of different relationships through life affecting social development. During this reading, I have come across an very interesting book called ‘The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem’ by Nathaniel Branden.
I fully intend to read the whole book, regardless of my assignment.
Branden speaks of nurturing children’s self-esteem in a school environment and how uncaring teachers can lead to uninspired pupils. Branden succinctly describes the threat of punishment and ridicule, either by the teacher or by peers, as “They [teachers] do not light fires in minds, they extinguish them.”
This got me thinking about a Ted Talk I once listened to, about how with their academic focus and push towards universities, schools are extinguishing fires of creativity in children’s minds. The talk is by Sir Ken Robinson, and I thought I would share it with you.
For those of you who are unaware of Ted Talks, it is an annual, non-profit conference based on ‘ideas worth spreading’, which invites people from all walks of life to give inspiring and thought provoking short talks.
Cheers!
Warsaurus 