Sir Ken Robinson

There are many parallels between the society in Brave New World and Sir Ken Robinsons video "Changing Education Paradigms".  I thought that the video was very interesting and agree that our education system is becoming outdated and needs to be changed. Robinson believes that "we are getting our children through education by anaesthetising them" he says this because there is an epidemic of ADHD in the country. More and more kids are given drugs to help them focus better in school. This relates to what goes on in Brave New World, the citizens are encouraged to take soma whenever they are unhappy. This causes them to never truly deal with their emotions because the drugs make them feel happy at all times. John, who is seen as a savage in the story, realizes that the drugs are unnatural and throws the soma while shouting "free, free!" Another similarity is that "schools are still organised on factory lines" Robinson believes that because of the ringing bells, separate facilities, separate subjects, and that children are educated by batches. He believes that the model of education should not come from a production line mentality. This is similar to the society in the book. Their whole world is based on the production line. They worship Ford who is responsible for the creation of an assembly line. In our society we are put in "batches" by our age, but in Brave New World they are grouped by Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. There are many similarities between the views of education and Brave New World.