Creative Schools

Ken Robinson 2015
Read: 2016

Like most educators, I am a huge fan of Ken Robinson. His famous TED Talk has inspired so many of us in education. At the core of it is his belief that we have to do everything we can to keep our students creative. That means that student-centered education should be what we focus on primarily, and perhaps the only thing we focus on. In this book, he talks about ways we can inspire that creativity.

One of his big themes in this book is knowing and caring for students. This hit home with me as this is one of our huge topics we are pursuing, particularly at our high school. When he says, “Organic education creates optimum conditions for students’ development, based on compassion, experience, and practical wisdom,” it makes me realize that the important part of education is letting students learn for themselves along the way, and with each other, as much as possible. Let the teachers see where students are going, and adjust accordingly. At the end of the book, he reiterates that “the heart of education is the relationship between the student and the teacher.” I could not agree more.