It seems like the author is making a similar mistake to "all extrinsic is bad" by thinking that school must be of the form: "study hard for your AP history exam".
I think a lot of the intrinsic stuff he talk about is more about getting rid of demotivational: exams, grades, etc. and focusing on finding something that the students really prefers to work on. I don't find this a pipe dream. If studying AP History isn't interesting, they're going to forget it in a year anyway. The valedictorian of my college class (of 8K people) was very good at taking tests, but had no critical thinking ability or interest in the world around her.
Why is it that 4 year olds ask "why?" questions about the world so frequently and by 8 most of them are reduced to: "Do this work, then play at recess". I think Ken Robinson's TED talk is completely correct in saying that we need to stop the standardized approach to education and let kids explore what they wish on their own terms. Sure - they'll probably need to be encouraged to do something at least productive (no playing games the whole day), but ALL KIDS are able to do this: whether its: language / computers / art / tech - whatever. They need to learn that learning is fun and rewarding.
If they want extrinsic motivation, have them think about their future life. Always remind them that this time is for finding out what being human is and preparing to live for their own happiness - not some societal groupthink.
I think a lot of the intrinsic stuff he talk about is more about getting rid of demotivational: exams, grades, etc. and focusing on finding something that the students really prefers to work on. I don't find this a pipe dream. If studying AP History isn't interesting, they're going to forget it in a year anyway. The valedictorian of my college class (of 8K people) was very good at taking tests, but had no critical thinking ability or interest in the world around her.
Why is it that 4 year olds ask "why?" questions about the world so frequently and by 8 most of them are reduced to: "Do this work, then play at recess". I think Ken Robinson's TED talk is completely correct in saying that we need to stop the standardized approach to education and let kids explore what they wish on their own terms. Sure - they'll probably need to be encouraged to do something at least productive (no playing games the whole day), but ALL KIDS are able to do this: whether its: language / computers / art / tech - whatever. They need to learn that learning is fun and rewarding.
If they want extrinsic motivation, have them think about their future life. Always remind them that this time is for finding out what being human is and preparing to live for their own happiness - not some societal groupthink.