Take 15 minutes of your life to watch the video – A Future For Us All. Then reflect on how you can add to this all-important conversation in your sphere of influence.
Sir Ken Robinson’s work continues to shape and inspire my teaching practice as well as my personal journey to Finding My Element.
For a bit more about this giant whose shoulders we stand on, you can read my blog post from a couple of years ago at the sad time of his passing.
It is so great to see Sir Ken’s daughter, Kate, taking care of his legacy and continuing this great work.
I hope you find as much encouragement as I do from hearing Sir Ken articulate his inspired thinking around personal growth as well as his call for humanity to Unite and make the world a better place.
Continue to rest in peace, Sir Ken…. thank you for giving those left behind direction in this journey towards a future for All 🖤
Then there was the TED talk Do Schools Kill Creativity? Nothing more to say here. If you have not watched it yet, do.
I had the privilege of hearing him present as the keynote speaker at the Future Schools conference a few years ago. I have such a lasting impression of him not just presenting us with what was wrong in education but emphasising what we could all be doing to make it better. He was profoundly sincere in his advocacy for change at the same time as being incredibly witty – a killer combination!
His book Creative Schools completely transformed my teaching practice. The principles he lays out in this particular book continue to inform the dream projects I am working on in conservation and environmental education. Most particularly where he says that “education is deeply personal”.
His passing is a huge loss to the world. I am deeply grateful to have heard his message. My hope is that I can carry this message for bringing creativity forward and advocating for education reform with me on my journey. If others who were impacted as profoundly by his voice as I was do the same, what a legacy he leaves!
While it seems too soon to lose such a wonderful human being, I am glad he passed peacefully and surrounded by family. I hope they find peace in their grief.
Poster that used to hang in my classroom. Quote by Mother Jones. Illustration by the brilliantly talented zenpencils.com
Its been a few years now since I taught in a traditional classroom in a traditional school system. For awhile now I have turned my attention to the likes of Sir Ken Robinson. His book Creative Schools is a fascinating read and definitely, for me, the direction I think education should be moving.
Anyway, in this quiet start to my year it was time again to look through boxes of old teaching files and papers and decide what needs to go.
A special box put aside to place items that hold significance – valuable memories of that time in those classrooms and the young people who walked through my life then.
But other than that, stuff has to go. Another one of my all important rituals – taking stock, paring back and letting go.
Back to the poster. I had forgotten about this powerful message til I stumbled across it again in this tidy out. I used to look at this message on the wall everyday – strengthening and inspiring. Once again it resonates so deeply with me…. so I wanted to share it with you.
