Comments on: Creativity & Innovation Linked

By: Jason

Jason — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 10:37:04 +0000

Thanks David – great to hear from you.

The linked Ken Robinson audio file is also called “Out of our Minds” since the book was 2001? and ther Principals conference was 2 months ago I’m guessing it might be an updated version. See the audio link above.

BTW – The theme is Freshy – http://www.jide.fr/english/downloads/template-freshy-wordpress/ I think it is quite widely used but easy to modify so most people do.

By: David Terrar

David Terrar — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 07:07:33 +0000

By the way, I’m looking to give my blog a facelift – I like your theme. Who designed it? Is it available anywhere?

By: David Terrar

David Terrar — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 07:05:32 +0000

Hi Jason,
I’m a huge fan of Sir Ken’s ideas. I’m 2/3 through his book Out Of Our Minds, which you should seek out. It expands on the TED 2006 talk, where he also used the little girl story, and highlights how our education system is broken. We need to do things dramatically differently for the 21st century Information age – his argument is the structures of the education system across most of the world are still based on an approach developed for the 19th century industrial age.

I found your post because I’m watching for creativity references. I’m in the process of writing a book with two friends on capturing creativity, and helping organisations make the creative process part of what they do every day, rather than something that happens as an occasional one off event at a brainstorming session with flip charts. I’m going to have to find that Da Vinci programme too.

By the way, I’ve indoctrinated my kids from an early age like you have. They’re 12 and 14 now, and going to museums and galleries is something they enjoy doing by choice.

By: Jason

Jason — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 01:13:01 +0000

Thanks Raf & Ben, Seems like its time for education to change and you are right that employers have a huge influence in how this should be done.

Creativity is increasingly important as we look for more ways to add value to what we do.

By: raf

raf — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 23:03:58 +0000

Interesting post. I had a conversation last night with a group of dads discussing schools, education and hiring people. We came to the following conclusions: people are the most important part of a business; qualifications are great but ability to get along with people and communicate well are just as important; fitting into the culture of a business is key; university is not for everyone and education as we see it now is just a filtering process.

My personal view is that we are missing some of that blue sky thinking in many of our schools that you write about. It’s all about ticking boxes and being prescriptive about what people learn. It’s heartening to see new schools opening up outside the current system focusing on a more whole systems approach.

Maybe our universal approach to schooling is outdated and a one size fits all structure needs to change. More choice and more variety may be the answer.

Any thoughts?

By: Ben Kepes

Ben Kepes — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 20:37:49 +0000

Ahhh Jason – you’re playing right into my wife’s hands. A foundation pupil of the Wellington Rudolf Steiner School and now a Steiner teacher herself – this is exactly where the Steiner/Waldorf philosophy kicks in. It recognises that creativity is the one developmental aspect that starts out high but is “unlearnt”. The answer? Concentrate on the holistic creative aspects of a childs being while they are still young. Find methods through creativity to teach them the things that are usually learnt through rote (reading, maths etc) and broaden their horizons by teaching them about different cultures, countries, ways of thinking and living.

Teach their heads. hearts and hands in unity