Todd Rose’s TedTalk, The Myth of Average, describes how the average person of a group of people does not exist in reality. He discusses the concept of designing things with this average person in mind, his primary example being the army designing the cockpit of fighter jets to fit the average dimensions of pilots. The issue he points out is that no pilot actually fits the average dimensions, that people all have varying profiles. He links this to education, that designing classes and the education system with the average student in mind does not benefit any student as no one learns every subject and processes information in alignment with the average.

I think that it is an interesting discussion about taking the average of any demographic in any setting, as every individual person is inherently unique and the concept of the average person can inhibit the needs of each individual. In education, I do question if the more traditional system is actually created in consideration of the average student, or if it is in consideration of what the average student is supposed to be. Regardless, the video highlights how students are complex people with varying experiences, backgrounds, identities, and personalities, and that students should be seen as the unique individual people they are in education.