Sir Ken Robinson's new book:'Creative Schools - Revolutionizing Education from the Ground Up'.

Sir Ken Robinson's book is a must read if we want to bring education into the 21stC.

A must read for anyone who believes in an education system that aims at developing the gifts and talents of all students.

Read this article about Sir Ken's latest book

My plea is for creative teachers, particularly those in New Zealand, to share this with as many teachers and schools as they can because the message is so important. If we really believe in giving every student the opportunity to leave formal education with their love of learning intact  and with all their unique interests, gifts and talents identified and amplified then we really have no choice.

Excellent book.

And if you do pass this blog on also send the link to New Zealander David Hoods book  'The Rhetoric and the Reality'  which has the same message. It is time for change to start from the bottom up - that is  until we get a government that really understand about learning.

Sir Ken offers a real alternation to the current standardized, test orientated reform that  countries like New New Zealand have been implementing. The good thing is that New Zealand has not, as yet, gone as far down this standardized approach as Australia, the United Kingdom or the USA.

Sir Ken believes it is time to question the assumptions that underpin traditional education which he believes is now failing too many of our students. He writes that the current reforms, particularly  those that focus on introducing standards in literacy and numeracy based on

standardized testing  , are ironically limiting students with talents in other areas. As well many students currently  failing school often do well in real life - unfortunately not all .Many, sadly, blame themselves for their failure rather then the school system they were forced to comply with.

Current reforms are about standardization, competition and corporatism. (let alone the privatization of schools) - who supplies the tests determines the educations.

Instead of standardization, competition and corporatism, Sir Ken is calling for the personalisation of learning to uncover and amplify the talents of all students. 

So rather than having an 'achievement gap'  ( the 'one in five failing mantra')we need to see it as an 'opportunity gap' and provide educational experiences to motivate all students and not just the academic.

Sir Ken has worked with countries and states, as well as individual schools, to develop such a system. and he shares what he has found with readers.

He also makes the point that there are creative teachers in every school to make use of. He also encourages educators to visit and learn from the best of early education practitioners and then to ask what has happened to something that starts so well  and ends so badly for too many students..

His metaphor for education is not a industrial factory grading one, and sorting and grading students, but an organic living one - a system continually evolving and adapting to changing.
circumstances such as the transformational power of information technology.

He asks readers to consider how they would reinvent schooling and to challenge the taken for granted habits and organisation patterns and rituals that now currently limit students - the demeaning use of ability grouping and streaming is such areas.

 What are the dispositions future students will need? How best to organize schools to ensure all students leave with their love of learning intact and their talents developed? Perhaps it is this

thinking that underpins the 'modern learning environments' that are the latest idea - an idea that requires  personalized pedagogy if they are to be successful,

A personalized pedagogy demand that we value the questions, feelings and 'inner voice' of all students; something that creative teachers, past-and present, have always known. 'Profound things happen', writes Sir Ken, 'when students are given room to explore their own interests and capacities'. Children have a powerful innate ability to learn and Sir Ken outlines alternative schools that have 'recovered' students who, through formal education,  had lost the will to learn.

In New Zealand we at least have the 2007 New Zealand Curriculum to inspire us ( 'every student a seeker, user and creator of their own knowledge') and are also fortunate that we haven't gone so far down the standardized testing road as such countries as the UK, Australia and  the USA. But there is no time to waste.

Sir Ken sees teachers as artists assisting their students to develop the skills and talents required for their future success in contrast to currently demeaning compliance demands to 'deliver' the

curriculum.

Teachers need to create provocative learning environments to tap into their students curiosity; to engage, inspire and enthuse them. No exceptions.

 Stimulating learning means keeping students curiosity alive. It means helping students surprise themselves with the quality of what they didn't think they could achieve. It's about relationships and expectations. About students working with their teachers and their peers to complete exciting integrated learning projects -  at all all levels of schooling.

Sir Ken believes in students being helped to do their best in whatever areas of learning they are involved in - something anyone involved in any form of creative endeavor knows well.  He is also supportive of students being given time to complete work of real  depth and quality.

 I enjoyed his thoughts on 'slow education' which he says is  about individualizing the process, about allowing the space and time to discover students' passions and strengths. Slow learning is about 
doing fewer things well.


The future is about creativity, imagination and innovation. 

Imagination is the root l..of innovation; creativity is putting imagination to work and innovation is putting new ideas into action.

 Creative learning is about enlightened trial and error - about learning through giving thing go. Creativity is being prepared to end up where you didn't mean to go - it is about refining, testing, making new connections and keeping what works. It requires discipline and control. All learning is 'driven by appetite for discovery'..... 'And if you don't trust kids to be natural learners, your not going to get there'.

And this means trusting school and in turn teachers.

 Success is to be judged by what the students can achieve as shown in their finished work, displays, exhibitions and learning( electronic) portfolios. The wrong sort of assessment ( as now seen in schools ) can kills such learning. Current testing measure little of what is important and has a negative effect on both learning and teaching.

Creative teaching requires principals and teachers to operate from a different sense of what education should  and could be, and a different interpretation of success.

Creative teaching is not easy. It means challenging conventions and ingrained habits but it is a task that is worth the effort. Sir Ken's book is full of inspiring examples  to learn from  but their is no one way to success.

'How quickly schools will change will depend, in large part, on the vision of the people who run them, especially the principals, on how they set expectations, and where they draw the lines of permission' . 

The first thing is to get clear on what you want for your children and then to create a positive learning environment for all.

The role of a creative leader', Sir Ken writes, ' is not to have all the ideas; it is to encourage a culture where everyone has them'.

We don't want your ( right wing) mind conyrol

Ideally such creativity ought to be  encouraged by the policy makers but we haven't time to wait for them. We need to start revolutionizing education 'from the ground up'. Class by class if necessary.

This is why it is important to share Sir Ken's book with other like minds.

My advice is to buy the book,get inspired and join the revolution and at the very least to search out the creative teachers in your own school

Pass on this information about Sir Ken's book now.

Further Reading:

Howard Gardner - creative schools

Popular article on Creativity in education by Wayne Morris

Book list for creative schools/teachers

New Zealand's pioneer creative teacher - Elwyn Richardson

Backgrounds of innovators and  those wounded by school

Educational Journey:A voice from the edge

Time for a new creative revolution.

Principals - time for action

A quote by ‘an 18^th century divine’ Sydney Smith in the Jan 2015 NZ Listener’s column by David Hill caught my attention. He wrote, ‘few men have the fortitude to endure being forgotten’.  Maybe this explains why I hang on writing blogs about education!

Richard Gerver

Another quote that also caught my attention comes from the latest NZPPF magazine (Nov 2014) came from a presentation by Englishman Richard Gerver who warned those present ‘not to be obsessed with data and statistics’ and instead education is ‘about human beings and about passion, strengths, beliefs purposes and achieving dreams’ and added ‘education should be a celebration of life, of living, learning and laughing.’ This reminded me of another quote ‘education is too important to be taken seriously’.

 Gerver's vision was to create a school ‘that they would cue up to experience the fun of learning…an environment which was relevant and empowering to them’. Sounds a bit like the 60s revisited!

In New Zealand we were heading in this direction until the neo-liberal ideology  ( Tomorrows Schools) hit our schools in the  mid 1980s.

Observation a key skill

It is now time for some moral courage from our educational leaders to escape from the current audit and surveillance culture and take Gerver's advice before it is too late.

Study booklets 1977

Assisting in this revolution is why I hang on. Now that I am increasingly  at the edge of the debate, limited to blogging , as all the school leaders I once worked with have all but retired. The only consolation is that all true revolutions begin at the edge.

I continue because I have worked for decades with teachers who would've been encouraged by Gervers’s comments and  because we have lost so much and gained so little.

At this quiet time of the year I have been thinking of my own educational journey so this blog, a small indulgence, fills in a gap until the year begins seriously.

Elwyn's well used book.

When at training college in the late 50s I was intrigued  by a book written by Susan Isaacs about the   of child centred activity based learning - it seemed a contrast to classrooms that were part of my training. I spent a third year  training as a Nature Study Specialist (later transformed into a Science Adviser) my task, when appointed to a position in Taranaki,. was to visit every class, three times a year, taking lessons for teachers. In those days specialist teachers were appointed in areas most teachers had little experience of – art, nature study and PE. My position, as it turned out, was a wonderful opportunity to visit classrooms of some very creative teachers – the freedom of the 60s was spreading to schools particularly encouraged by the art advisers and junior school developmentally oriented teachers. The art advisers were at this time  running integrated learning courses which I also attended and later replicated with other local advisers. At this time the most innovative teachers were to be found in small rural schools – again at the ‘edge’.

Inspirational in the 60s

In the 60s I became aware of the Nuffield Junior Scienceapproach (with links back to Susan Isaacs). The Nuffield approach was based on students following up their own interests and questions; an emergent curriculum. Often there were several studies occurring at any one time. It became a popular resource for teachers I worked with.

Determined to learn more  about the approach I arranged to teach in progressive English  school and through the creative teachers I worked alongside met  Leonard Marsh whose book, ‘Alongside the Child’, was later to become our ‘bible’ for  the teachers I worked with  back in NZ.
 Marsh wrote ‘there is only one starting point for the teacher – the individual experience and needs of the

UK teacher Marion Keeble

children’ and that teachers ‘are mediators, or midwives, acting with the child in the making approach by which the child seeks meaning for his world’.

Len Marsh's book

Back in NZ I worked with a small group of teachers  ( Robin Clegg, Bill Guild and John Cunningham ) to implement ideas in their classrooms. As well we met up with Elwyn Richardson and were inspired by his  inspirational idea of a classroom as a community of scientists and artists exploring their personal world.

 Elwyn Richardson, following his work in the 50s, had  published a book ‘In the Early World. Elwyn’s which was quoted in Marsh’s book as an excellent example of creative teaching. Elwyn's book has recently been reprinted by the NZCER.

As a result of ‘our’ own work in the 1970s I published a small booklet to share our ideas. Later we were invited to present our ideas the Auckland NZEI Centennial Conference.

Published for Auck NZEI Conf.

In 1976 to 1978 I spent three years in a classroom to implement the ideas myself; always a good experience for an adviser! During this time I was asked to share ideas at a National TV programme on education.

My  experience as ateacher

Later I was appointed District Art Adviser. During this time I had the opportunity to learn about and implement ideas about a process approach to art which was a movement away from the ‘non-interference’ approach of earlier days – but an approach that valued the individual creativity of the student in contrast to much of the formulaic art seen in school today.

During this time I assisted large number of teachers from other areas of NZ to visit local school to admire the teachers work and, also, the Palmerston North Teachers College Art Department brought their students for

Junior science Vogeltown 1980intensive studies of programmes.

 Taranaki schools by now had gained a reputation for achieving quality work centred on integrated studies, making use of the environment, art, language and impressive room environments.

Pub. when Teaching Fellow

From 1986 to 1993 I was appointed principal  of Vogeltown School and, along with a few other local schools , developed a whole school approach. During this time ‘Tomorrow’s Schools was introduced
and all schools made ‘self-managing’ and competitive. It was to be the beginning of the end of teacher creativity and school collaboration.

 In 1994 I was made a Teaching Fellowat the then Palmerston North Teachers College (now Massey School of Education) and shared ideas throughout NZ.. In 1994 I published ‘Towards a More Informed Vision’ based on the beliefs underpinning my time at Vogeltown School.

Based on TOD programmes

Up until 2011 I worked as an independent educational adviser throughout New Zealand focusing on helping school develop their own visions and guiding beliefs – and the teaching strategies that applied them in classrooms. During this time I published ‘Quality Learning and
Teaching’ book to share ideas with a wider audience. Also during this time I presented at a number of regional Primary Principal Conferences and ran numerous Teacher Only Days.

A highlight was working at the Bali International School and presenting at a Principal’s Conferences in Sydney, and International School Conferences in Indonesia, Bangkok, Korea and Japan.

In 2011 my last presentation was at the Inspired Teaching Conference held in Palmerston North – I agreed to this because one of the co- presenter was to be Sir Ken Robinson who I admire greatly. Unfortunately he was ill and presented via the internet.

Bill Guild's educational journey

Now I just write blogs just for fun to encourage NZ schools and teachers to  develop a creative approach to teaching and learning to once again make NZ schools world recognized for their creativity.  I believe it is important for such ideas not to be forgotten so it was great to read about Richard Gerver telling attendees to bring passion and fun back into our schools – but sad because we were once well on the way.

In 2007 the ‘revised’ NZ Curriculum was introduced but unhappily it has been all but side-lined.

Philip Harding

As Philip Harding, the past Present of the NZPPF wrote in the November NZPPF magazine, it is time to leave ‘the toxic legacy’ of past policies behind and that we ‘need now, as never before, ethical leaders with strong moral purpose, direction and courage…. It is only such wise people who can resist the reversion to the mean, to the National Standards, to the league tables and the test. These are the leaders who can ensure that what is best for children is what guides their every decision.’

I just want to do my bit. 

We need to work towards replacing compliance and conformity with creativity. I know there are still exciting ideas being created at the edge that have the power to change things for the best – ideas that will see the creativity of the 60s once again  but this time we need to do it properly.

Classroom Vogeltown 1988

I will call it a day once this ‘market forces ‘government is voted out. At this time I hope to have developed the ‘fortitude to be forgotten’.

Bill Guild's room environment 1980s

Educational Readings - student centred inquiry learning and the importance of making things

By Allan Alach

I welcome suggested articles, so if you come across a gem, email it to me at allan.alach@ihug.co.nz.

This week’s homework!

Jamie McKenzie

Just say no! Questioning the value of topical research

Jamie McKenzie is always worth reading.

“Schools should outlaw topical research as being mind-numbing and substandard.

Around the globe goals have been raised to focus on imagination, invention, synthesis and problem-solving. Topical research is an ancient, outmoded practice that should join many other unworthy rituals in the dustbin of history.”

http://bit.ly/1AjMjNe

The Need to Address Noncognitive Skills in the Education Policy Agenda

“This paper contends that noncognitive skills should be an explicit pillar of education policy. It contributes to the growing interest in these skills by reviewing what we know about noncognitive skills, including what they are, why they matter, and how they enter into the education process.”

http://bit.ly/15UrSgg

For some students art is everything

Arts Education Matters: We Know, We Measured It

"Arts experiences boost critical thinking, teaching students to take the time to be more careful and thorough in how they observe the world.”

http://bit.ly/1vyry0g

This Will Revolutionize Education

Set aside 7.22 minutes to watch this powerful video - is technology going to be the holy grail of education? Khan Academy?

“I think it is instructive that each new technology has appeared to be so transformative. You can imagine, for example, that motion pictures must have seemed like a revolutionary learning technology. After all they did revolutionize entertainment, yet failed to make significant inroads into the classroom. TV and video seem like a cheaper, scaled back film, but they too failed to live up to expectations. Now there is a glut of information and video on the internet so should we expect it to revolutionize education?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEmuEWjHr5c&feature=share

What Aristotle Knew

“The distinction between those who can solve a problem and work their way out of a situation is in the ability to ask the right, critical questions to identify the problem, and then ask what it takes to solve it.”

http://bit.ly/1wgaTka

Even in our digital age, early parental writing support is key to children's literacy

"We have found that scaffolding is a particularly beneficial activity, because the parent guides the child. And, if that parent guides the child and also demands precision in a sensitive and thoughtful way -- i.e. 'what did you mean to write here? Let me help you' -- this definitely develops the child's literary skill set.”

http://bit.ly/1Gcplel

This week’s contributions from Bruce Hammonds:

Tanith Carey: Tiger Parents - and Tiger Schools! Relax and have more fun!

Don't   push - find what your kids love

“It is obviously important, Tanith writes, that we must help children reach their potential but that this ought to be based on their individual strengths and not be set by 'the standards of schools intent on boosting their reputations on league tables - or the economic goals of governments’.”

http://bit.ly/1wfRRIF

Are we on the verge of an end to test-based accountability?

Learning how to take tests is not learning

Bruce’s comment: All this test based accountability is under attack but what is the alternative?

“In short, we’ve seen dissatisfaction with the status quo of education reform, and we’ve seen acknowledgement of that dissatisfaction. But what we’ve not seen is a widespread, deeper rethinking of school improvement or an embrace of an alternative – and there’s the rub. It’s highly unlikely that the nation will move away from the status quo until it has a different pathway forward.”

http://wapo.st/1qzdy5Y

Project-Based Learning Through a Maker's Lens

Bruce’s comment: The importance of ‘making’ in project based learning. This ought to be the emphasis in our schools not judging achievement on things many students are not interested in. It’s what the progressive teachers of the past believed in.

A 'maker' is true learner

“A Maker is an individual who communicates, collaborates, tinkers, fixes, breaks, rebuilds, and constructs projects for the world around him or her. A Maker, re-cast into a classroom, has a namethat we all love: a learner. A Maker, just like a true learner, values the process of making as much as the product. In the classroom, the act of Making is an avenue for a teacher to unlock the learning potential of her or his students in a way that represents many of the best practices of educational pedagogy. A Makerspace classroom has the potential to create life-long learners through exciting, real-world projects.”

http://bit.ly/1x4SkiO

Both process and product important

Makers in the Classroom: A How-To Guide

Following on …

“We all construct our own meaning of the world around us; Making just gives us a context to construct our understanding in. It engages students’ hands in the work of their minds in order to help them construct deep conceptual understandings.”

http://bit.ly/1zSTVWp

Design Thinking: A Lesson That Connects Classmates

Bruce’s comment: Teaching design thinking – and the dispositions encouraged in the process.

Pride of achievement

“Design thinking is a creative problem-solving process that calls for thoughtful solutions to real-world situations. Design thinking in the classroom provides a motivating and engaging learning experience for students. Within the design thinking model, individual learning styles can be validated through a project based learning experience.”

http://bit.ly/1DfePER

New Teachers: Creating a Shiny, Happy Classroom

Bruce’s comment: The ‘real oil’ on classroom management – well worth the read.

Engaged kids don't misbehave

“What I prefer instead is to develop a classroom that does not require a system to handle misbehavior because it so rarely occurs. No checkmarks on the board, no list of consequences, no rewards. Just engaged, productive, friendly students.”

http://bit.ly/1unRrKY

Five Fun Ways to Spark Self-Discovery in Youth

Art display of portraits

Bruce’s comment: The power of the teacher to spark learning – some practical ideas.

“A “spark” is the inner light that gives us energy, motivation, purpose and focus. It makes us feel alive when we’re doing what we love. Sparks are expressed as talents, qualities or passions. And when we operate from our sparks, we shine and offer something good, beautiful and useful to the world.”

http://bit.ly/1zSVcwM

Art 'sparks' many students!

From Bruce’s ‘oldies but goodies’ file:

Who am I ?

Do we focus enough on developing in every learner a positive sense of self?

From NZ film 'Boy'

“A positive sense of self provides a role in making future decisions, and positive memories allow us to imagine possible futures. The past and our memories are the making of who we are. Our classrooms ought to reflect such students' stories past and present. It helps students answer the question 'How do I know who I am?’”

http://bit.ly/1z9TKqd

Inquiry Learning; an educational agenda for a future era.

Prof Brian Cox

Inquiry learning – the default way students learn – except at school?

“Inquiry education has a long history going back to John Dewey (‘learning through experience’) and was, and still is, in conflict with traditional content transmission teaching which still underpins much of current practice. Until this dilemma is faced inquiry education will not be successful.”

http://bit.ly/1wj8hyY

Prof Brian Cox - 'science is being comfortable with the unknown' This is contrast to teachers who pre-determine students learning!

Driving into an exciting future!

Bruce’s comment: the future demands new organisations and this includes schools.

Set our schools free from the past!

“In a future that will demand collaborative teamwork, networking, individual initiative and creativity and to prove such qualities we need to urgently ‘re-imagine our schools. We will need a new 'educational vehicle, new driving skills' and a whole new sense of direction. The key will be for schools to see future discontinuity as opportunity and to develop new flexible educational organizations to thrive in such times.”

http://bit.ly/1GsBkTc

Edutopia - a great site( established by George Lucas) for creative teachers

A site that regularly supplies us with interesting ( and practical ) links is Edutopia. Edutopia is a site set up by George Lucas of Star Wars fame. I recommend you joining their  newsletter – add your e-mail on the Edutopia site.

I have copied some information from the Edutopia site and links to a few of their articles.

The George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF) documents and disseminates the most exciting classrooms where these innovations are taking place. By shining the spotlight on these inspiring teachers and students, we hope others will consider how their work can promote change in their own schools

Message from George Lucas:

'Education is the foundation of our democracy -- the stepping-stones for our youth to reach their full potential. My own experience in public school was quite frustrating. I was often bored. Occasionally, I had a teacher who engaged my curiosity and motivated me to learn. Those were the teachers I really loved. I wondered, "Why can't school be engaging all of the time?" As a father, I've felt the imperative to transform schooling even more urgently.

Traditional education can be extremely isolating -- the curriculum is often abstract and not relevant to real life, teachers and students don't usually connect with resources and experts outside of the classroom, and many schools operate as if they were separate from their communities.

Project-based learning, student teams working cooperatively, children connecting with passionate experts, and broader forms of assessment can dramatically improve student learning. New digital multimedia and telecommunications can support these practices and engage our students. And well-prepared educators are critical'.

Edutopia Mission:

We are dedicated to improving the K-12 learning process through innovative, replicable, and evidence-based strategies that prepare students to thrive in their studies, careers, and adult lives.

Edutopia Vision:

Our vision is of a new world of learning, a place where students and parents, teachers and administrators, policy makers and the people they serve are all empowered to change education for the better; a place where schools provide rigorous project-based learning, social-emotional learning, and access to new technology; a place where innovation is the rule, not the exception; a place where students become lifelong learners and develop 21st-century skills, especially three fundamental skills:

•how to find information;

•how to assess the quality of information;

•how to creatively and effectively use information to accomplish a goal.


( The New Zealand Curriculum asks teachers to ensure students are able to 'seek, use and create their own knowledge')

What Edutopia Does

It’s a place of inspiration and aspiration based on the urgent belief that improving education is the key to the survival of the human race. We call this place Edutopia, and we provide not just the vision for this new world of learning but the real-world information and community connections to make it a reality.

We pursue our mission through three primary sets of activities:

•identifying, describing, and promoting effective models and innovations in K-12 education by producing video and other digital media;

•funding and developing research to identify and evaluate rigorous practices for learners, educators and schools; and

•developing advanced software, technology and material for educational purposes.

 Message from George Lucas

 May 8, 2012

'I was bored in school.

It's true. I didn't feel like the school system was designed for my

learning style. It wasn't until college where I could pursue my passion, making films, that I found my way.

Recently on Edutopia.org, we published observations from 8th graders about what they believe creates an engaging learning experience. Their answers were straight-forward and definitive: project-based learning, technology, and an enthusiastic teacher. I couldn't agree more.

Today, with the power of the Internet, we are experiencing a force that is revolutionizing education and offering opportunities to reach and engage diverse learners like me. When technology is deployed effectively, it can free up teachers from standing in front of the class and presenting information. We can "flip" the classroom with lectures occurring at home via

the Internet and rigorous project-based learning taking place in cooperative groups at school. In this environment, teachers can be guides and coaches to the students. What is more powerful in education than a student who is guided by an adult who truly cares -- someone who knows your name, who encourages you, and is committed to your success in life?

By learning about and replicating strategies that work in education, we have the potential to transform our schools. By creating strong cultures of creativity and curiosity, we can

engage students as active participants in their own education, rather than passive recipients of facts and formulas. In a world where information is at our fingertips, our greatest challenge is help students learn how to find information, assess its accuracy and apply it to solve problems. All around our country and the world, there are teachers and schools succeeding at the task, many featured on Edutopia.'

Some Edutopia links to explore

The Maker movement is a unique combination of artistry, circuitry, and old-fashioned craftsmanship. Certainly, learning by doing or "making" has been happening since our ancestors refined the wheel

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/maker-movement-moving-into-classrooms-vicki-davis

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/the-student-side-of-making-gayle-allen

The power of the joy of learning.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/neuroscience-behind-stress-and-learning-judy-willis

These eight ideas by Carol Tomlinson  synthesize what four decades in classrooms have taught her are the most important principles for teachers to understand

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/mastering-the-teaching-game-carol-tomlinson

Great range of u-tube videos ( staff meetings)

http://www.youtube.com/user/edutopia