Assignment #2: Argumentative Essay: Education and Creativity

For your second assignment, I'd like you to respond to Sir Ken Robinson's opinions in the following videos, and in an argumentative essay adopt a clear stance.  Since you are students yourselves, and are part of the generations he speaks of, you should be able to offer both your own personal experience and opinion quite easily.  Like he says about education, "it's one of those things that goes deep with people....Like religion, and money and other things."

At first I presented this assignment to you as a "mini assignment," but considering the response in class I'd like it to upgrade it to a formal assignment which you should take more seriously than the first.  My apologies to class B1 who I may have misled following my initial plan.  Many of you are finished already, and if that's the case you can consider it a "first draft" which you can expand on.  Most of you have written far more than what I first quoted, so I think this won't be a problem for you.  Keep in mind I've also given you plenty of more time.

Criteria

Tone: Argumentative
Word Count: At least 500 words (more is great).
Due for for ALL classes: Friday, September 23rd  


To get an A you can be proud of:

Do: 

•   Post the video you reference most in your blog (or all of them).  
•   Use 5 paragraph structure (or six or seven etc., but definitely not 3 or 4).
•   Choose a title for your post, and make your post look good.  Formatting is important.
•   Read and edit and clean things up.
•   Try to quote Robinson or someone a little.
•   Balance your view with an opposing view.
•   Bookend your essay with a satisfying hook and conclusion.
•   Appeal to a bit of ethos, pathos, and logos (I think Mr. Yoon covered that with you).

Don't:

•  Copy and paste links into your work without hyper-linking. 
•  Forget to address the source material.
•  Be afraid to be personal and narrative
•  Write a single word less than 500.  

Here are the videos.  The first one we watched in class.  I think it's his most entertaining speech, but the RSA Animate below is more informative.   

In the speech below,  we see Sir Ken Robinson returning to TED a few years later.  Has anything changed since his first speech?  Remember you can activate subtitles, and even read the entire transcript in just about any language. You can cut and paste from it to use in your essay if you want to quote something he says directly.

 Questions you may want to consider addressing:

As Korean students, do you feel your creativity has been suitably enhanced and encouraged since you were young? Does KMLA meet your creative needs? Is creativity overrated? Underrated? Suitably treated in Korea's progressing education system? Is it progressing?

You are welcome to tie in some outside sources if they help your points and synthesize an argument.  In fact, I encourage it to get more than just an A.

Here are some videos that I think provide some contrast: