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BIO:

Sir Ken Robinson, PhD is an internationally recognized leader in the development of creativity, innovation and human resources. He has worked with governments in Europe, Asia and the USA, with international agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and some of the world’s leading cultural organizations. In 1998, he led a national commission on creativity, education and the economy for the UK Government. ‘All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education’ (The Robinson Report) was published to wide acclaim in 1999. He was the central figure in developing a strategy for creative and economic development as part of the Peace Process in Northern Ireland, working with the ministers for training, education enterprise and culture.

For twelve years, he was Professor of Education at the University of Warwick in the UK and is now Professor Emeritus. In 2003, he received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for his services to the arts. He speaks to audiences throughout the world on the creative challenges facing business and education in the new global economies. His 2006 TED Talk (below) is the most emailed TED Talk in history.

His new book, a New York Times Best Seller, ‘The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything’ has been translated into twenty languages.

Sir Ken’s two TED Talks videos are posted at the bottom of this page. Worth listening to prior to the podcast, as he references much of it in our interview.

SHOW NOTES:

1. •We begin with the heart of the problem: education, as currently constructed, inhibits creativity.
   

2. •Creativity is not the medium, it’s what you do with the medium.
   

3. •Sir Ken explains why educational institutions are so slow to adapt to an ever-changing world.
   

4. •He believes teachers have more freedom than they think.
   

5. •We talk about what parents can do to compensate for the rigidness of education.
   

6. •We talk a lot about Sir Ken’s new book, “The Element: How Finding  Your Passion Changes Everything,” and how important it is to find, and then be in, your element.
   

7. •He explains the difference between asking, “How intelligent are you?” and “How are you intelligent?” The latter being the much more important question to ask.
   

8. •Very interesting section about spirituality and the “spirit’s” role in helping discover who you really are.
   

9. •We discuss the importance of imagination in both creativity and innovation.
   

Sir Ken asked that we all check out a site he’s working on called www.thepeacefulplanet.com.

You can learn more about what Sir Ken is up to (including his follow up to “The Element” here at his official site: http://sirkenrobinson.com/skr/ .

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And here are Sir Ken’s now-famous TED Talks videos: