For a Friday post, I wanted to mix humor with some fantastic “forward-thinking.” You will continue to see me refer to TED as a vehicle to challenge your conventional wisdom about our education system. A friend reminded me of a TED Talk given by Sir Ken Robinson in 2006 about the need to bring creativity back into how we education our children.
When I listen to a talk, go to a conference, or even interview someone for a job, I will write down something in the event they offer a topic or a piece of critical thinking that I think is interesting or can have a profound effect on my career development or that of others. Sir Ken said something very prophetic in this talk: “If we are not prepared to be wrong, we won’t come up with anything original.” He also cited a very, very accurate quote by Picasso about children and the disconnect between children and education: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist.”
On a Friday before the weekend, when thinking about the education stimulus bill and how we need to fundamentally alter our system and reorient it toward a 21st century society, I hope that the new Secretary of Education and other policy makers here and around the world would at least take 19 minutes and watch this talk. Our children’s future may depend on it.
