Last Saturday, the world lost a giant of the educational world, when Sir Ken Robinson died at the age of 70 in his native England.

 

Educators all around the globe know Robinson primarily through his many books and his two hugely successful TED Talks. His 2006 speech called, “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” is still the most-viewed TED Talk of all time. Last Saturday the TED blog noted that Robinson’s performance was a “masterclass in public speaking—19 minutes sparked with wit, deep thinking and a fierce confidence in human potential.” Indeed, this talk, along with its sequel, “Bring on the Learning Revolution” (2010), are remarkable in their ability to persuade through a combination of common sense, wry humor, poignant examples, and effective visuals. Most teachers have watched both of these multiple times and find each viewing to be as informative and entertaining as the last.

 

No one did more to promote the value of creativity in life in general, and specifically, how to keep creativity alive in schools. A fierce advocate for the arts, Sir Ken’s main concern in both his talks and in his books was that education, in its drive for conformity and student comparison, forced out the natural creativity kids show in their primary years. He lamented that standardized testing, rote memorization, and other “assembly-line” methods of education not only stymied critical and creative thinking, but also allowed systemic inequities to flourish.

 

Robinson believed people achieved personal success when their natural talents combined with their personal passions into something he called the “element.” Like others in positive psychology who have written about people being “in the zone” or achieving “flow,” Robinson sought to help others find their element rather than languish in meaningless endeavors. He was an inspiration to many!