Ken Robinson - an internationally recognized leader in the development of education, creativity and innovation - very influential person who

works with governments in Europe, Asia, the USA, with international agencies, and some of the world's leading cultural organizations - The videos of his famous 2006 and 2010 talks to the prestigious TED Conference have been seen by an estimated 200 million people in 150 countries. - In 2005 names as one of Time/Fortune/CNN's Principal Voices In 2003 received knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for his service to the arts. Speaks to audiences throughout the world on the creative challenges facing business and education in the new global economies. Life wasn't easy- after industrial accident his father became quadriplegic- he contracted polio at age 4 which prevented his from becoming a foodball player. Comes from England. Because of the polio he had to attend a school for children with special needs. However, there are two persons who affected his life. First, there is a school inspector Charles Strafford who recognized that he deserves more and can achieve more and his teacher Miss York who treated all children as completely normal and challenged them accordingly. Book about talent, passion and innovation - draws on the stories of a wide range of people. A book that made me believe that everything is possible -quote ELEMENT -If we can find our Element, we will all have the potential for much higher achievement and fulfillment. We all ahve distinctive talents and passions that can inspire us to achieve far more than we may imagine.
Page 1 of 7

-We are all born with extraordinary powers of imagination, intelligence, feeling, intuition, spirituality and physical and sensory awareness. We use only a fraction of these powers. -We also believe that our minds, our feelings and relationships with others operate indenpendent of each other, like separate systems. And we also believe that our lives are linear and that our capacities decline as we grow older, and that opportunities we have missed are gone forever. -Ken Robinson mostly blames education for restricting our opportunities to recognize these abilities. What is wrong with the entire system? Schools People who think visually might love a particular topic or subject, but won't realize it if their teachers present it in one, nonvisual way. (example of civil war) Our education systems increasingly encourage teachers to teach students in a uniform fashion- it drains creativity out of students. Why it's so important to find our inner strength? We live in the era of tremendous changes- technology is in rapid development- it seems that everything is different than it was 10 years ago. The only way to prepare for the future is to make the most of ourselves- that will make us flexible and productive. Those people who managed to find their element are truly happy for if the world were to turn upside down tomorrow, they'd figure out how to evolve their talents to accomodate these changes. We also need to work on our imagination and creativity, let it flow. We are taught to think in one way and restrict our minds. It is either right or wrong and there's nothing in between. We hardly challenge ourselves. Senses: 5: taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing- 6th- intuition.

Page 2 of 7

Well psychologists sy there are 4 more: temperature- the reason why we wear clothes Sense of painVestibular senseacceleration includes our sense of

sense

of

balance

and

Kinesthetic sense- how we control our limbs Common senseVideo djeak the enemy of creativity and innovation- !

We put constraints to everything and believe that intelligence is something that can be measured; rationalist forms of thinking are superior to feelings and emotions. Alfred Binet, one of the creators of the IQ test, intended the test to serve the opposite function. It was designed to identify children with special needs so that they could get appropriate forms of schooling. Howard Grdner- multiple intelligences. Were mathematical and verbal intelligence the only kinds that existed, ballet never would have been created. Creativity We also believe that intelligence and creativity are two different things- that one can be intelligent but not creative or creative and not very intelligent. Myths surrounding creativity: You can think of creativity as applied imagination We can be creative on our own, but also in a group and make good results. Traveling Wilburys- George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne. Medium- Finding the medium that excites your imagination , that you love to play with and work in, is an important step to freeing your creative energies.
Page 3 of 7

Dance is a physical, kinesthetic process. Music is a sound-based art form. But many dancers and musicians use mathematics as an integral part of their performances. Scientists and matematicians often think in visual ways to picture and test their ideas. Video- Pina Bausch To be successful you need to work hard, and develop ur talents. When your deep in ur element u're in the Zone. However doing the thing you love is no guarantee that you'll be in the zone every time. Some of the greatest stories are born out of the failure, or were result of circumpstances. Dr. Mihail Csiksezentmihalyi (chick- sent-me HIGH-ee) in his book The Psychology of Optimal Experience talks about the flow happens when skills match the opportunities for action We get energy, intrinsically motivated! That's what being in the zone means. Video on failures We're all unique- to make the Element available to everyone, we need to acknowledge that each person's intelligence is distinct from the intelligence of every person on the planet. Find people who share ur opinion- for further developmentfinding your tribe When tribes gather in the same place, the opportunities for mutual inspiration can become intense. The opposite of that- lost in the crowd- sports fans- fandom deindividuation- we lose our identity in the crowd. We strongly connect to others- in the same way we're dependant on the society- What will they think? Sometimes the obstacle comes from within, a lack of confidence or fear of failure; sometimes the closest people can be the obstacle with their expectations.

Page 4 of 7

Chuck Close: slacker

teachers and classmates considered him a

He had physical problems- tested poorly and rarely finished his exams; he was dyslexic; most of them though he wouldn't amount to much. His father uprooted the family and died, mother died of breast cancer- they lost their home because they couldn't pay medical bills. His grandmother was also terribly ill. He had a passion for art and that's what save him . He created puppet shows to get other children spend time with him. His signature style involved a grid system he devised to create huge photo realistic images of faces alive with texture and expression. Later on he became a vistim of blood clot in his spinequadriplegic- couldn't grasp a paintbrush -discovered he could hold it with his teeth- started by creating tiny images- started making small images to fit bigger mosaic. New art form. Nothing stopped him! Paolo Coelho- his parents thought that he was wasting his time-dissapproved his choices They had him committed repeatedly to a psychiatric institution and subjected to electroshock therapy because they loved him- simply because he wanted to become a writer They put him in asylum 3 times in order to put him on a right track. His novel The Alchemist- a major international bestseller- with a more than 40 million copies around the world- translated into more than 60 languages; best selling Portuguese-language writer

Page 5 of 7

He could have been an excellent lawyer as well but his dream was to write. How often u hear: Don't take a dance program, you can't make living as a dancer or You're good at math, you should become an accountant- believe that they're doing it 4 ur own good. Culture influence: an experiment- on people from the West and from the East Asia- the cultures we grow up affect our way of thinking- Shown pictures and asked to describe what they see. Westerners: I see a tiger- Asian observers: It's a jungle with a tiger in it. In Asian culture the emphasis is on collective, while Western philosophy is all about puting things into categories and isloation of ideas. Sometimes we need guidance from others- we need mentorsRay Charles- Wiley Pitt- whom he admired 4 piano expertise Role of mentor: 1- sometimes test cannot detect our talents, cause talent is far more complex than any existing test can detect. James Earl Jones- Donald Croutch- he stuttered and founf it hard to speak in front of the people. Crouch was his English professor- encouraged his poetry writing and self-esteem. Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self- Reliance. Paul Potts- a mobile telephone sailsman- became famous on Britain's Got Talent; in 1007 first album One Chance Agatha Christie published the Mousetrap when she was 62 Vladimir Horowitz gave his last series of sold-out piano recitals when he was 84. Jessica Tandy- Oscar for Best Actress at age 80
Page 6 of 7

Susan Jeffers- Feal the Fear and Do It Anyway- Lady Di could be bicycling nude down the street giving this book away, and no one would read it!Sold millions of copies- translated into more than 35 languages. Sometimes we feel that the opportunity has passed, that we missed the opportunity to pursue our heart's desire.

Change the Curriculum: Video Ken Robinson 1. with hierarchy most talents are ignored and marginalized 2. . Math isn't just a set of information to be learned but a complex pattern of ideas, practical skills and concepts. It's a set of DISCIPLINES 3. The Curriculum should be personalized- take into account individual learning styles and talents.

Page 7 of 7