Wired Magazine: Standardisation broke education. Here's how we can fix our schools

I was delighted to write this short piece for Wired UK, and hope you find it useful

 

Standardisation broke education. Here's how we can fix our schools

"The movement towards personalisation is already advancing in medicine. We must move quickly in that direction in education, too"

We are all born with fathomless capacities, but what we make of them has everything to do with education. One role of education is to help people develop their natural talents and abilities; the other is to help them make their way in the world around them. Too often, education falls short on both counts. As we face an increasingly febrile future, it’s vital to do better. For that to happen, education has to be urgently transformed. We have the resources and the expertise, but now we need the vision and commitment.

In my book, You, Your Child and School, I make a distinction between learning, education and school. Learning is acquiring new skills and understanding; education is an organised system of learning; a school is a community of learners. All children love to learn, but many have a hard time with education and some have big problems with school.

Usually, the problem is not the learners – it’s the inherent bias of education and the enforced culture of schools. For generations, formal education has been systematically biased towards narrow forms of academic ability. The result is that it largely disregards the marvellous diversity of human talents and interests.

For the past generation especially, politicians have been smothering schools in a depressing culture of standardisation. As a result, they have been marginalising the very capabilities our children need to create a more equitable and sustainable world – by which I mean creativity, compassion citizenship and collaboration...

 

Please continue to read the full article on the Wired UK website.


Podcast: Wisdom On The Intersection Of Education, Leadership, And The Environment

The two climate crises. I enjoyed this conversation with on Education, Leadership and the Environment. Hope you do.

Please listen to the interview here

 

"As a professor of leadership, host of this podcast, and constant student of acting by my environmental values, I live and work in the intersection of leadership, education, and the environment.

Ken Robinson does too, but with a big difference: he's been here for decades longer, actively practicing in each. This episode approaches each of education, leadership, and the environment from several perspectives.

I can't say anything better than his voice carries the wisdom and vitality of someone who has worked here for longer and with greater passion than maybe anyone I've met and I'm in this world.

I'll keep this writing brief. Let's listen to Ken Robinson.

One last caveat: our schedules meant recording by phone, meaning the audio quality isn't like being in a studio, but I believe you'll find Ken's message transcends the medium and hope you listen for what he says, not the equipment.

Show Notes :

Here is the Robert Ardrey quote from the 1961 book African Genesis that Ken said at the end:

But we were born of risen apes, not fallen angels, and the apes were armed killers besides. And so what shall we wonder at? Our murders and massacres and missiles, and our irreconcilable regiments? Or our treaties whatever they may be worth; our symphonies however seldom they may be played; our peaceful acres, however frequently they may be converted into battlefields; our dreams however rarely they may be accomplished. The miracle of man is not how far he has sunk but how magnificently he has risen. We are known among the stars by our poems, not our corpses."


Movie: In Search of Greatness

If you haven’t seen it yet - take a look at In Search of Greatness from . The unbeatable power of creativity and passion at the heart of sport.

"He realized the limitations of his own physique and developed a whole new style of boxing that suited him."

Unearth the secrets of greatness. Available for pre-order in iTunes:


The Principles of Creative Leadership

Fast Company Article:

Sir Ken Robinson Fast Company article - picture of George Washington Crossing the Delaware

I recently spoke to Fast Company, while I was in Cannes, France to speak at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. They asked for my thoughts on Creative Leadership. You can read the full article here: Ken Robinson On The Principles Of Creative Leadership

Chick-fil-A Leadercast Backstage Program:

And here is a behind-the-scene video from the Chick-fil-A Leadercast event that I spoke at this past May, regarding creativity in business and leadership.