“Education is the system that’s supposed to develop our natural abilities and enable us to make our way in the world. Instead, it is stifling the individual talents and abilities of too many students and killing their motivation to learn. … Learning happens in the minds and souls, not in the databases of multiple-choice tests.”
These are the words of Sir Ken Robinson, as reported in a February interview in The Guardian, a United Kingdom publication. Although he was speaking specifically to the UK’s educational system, Robinson has been known to have equally strong thoughts about educational systems throughout the world. Check out his 20-minute video on YouTube asking, “Do schools kill creativity?” that has garnered more than 570,000 hits. It can be accessed at www.youtube.com.
Robinson is a world-renowned expert in the field of creativity and innovation in education and business. His consultant skills have been widely sought internationally by governments, major corporations and cultural organizations. And now he comes to ACSA.
Robinson is the opening keynote speaker at ACSA’s Leadership Summit, the association’s essential annual conference, in November. It should be noted that although he has some sharply critical things to say about educational systems, Robinson does it in a humorous style that takes the sting out. And his thoughts on fostering creative thinking are deeply insightful.
At Leadership Summit, Robinson will be talking about “Leading a Culture of Innovation.” He believes that in this ever-changing world, keeping up and staying ahead of the game depends entirely on continuous and sustained innovation. In this presentation, Robinson will identify the three myths about innovation that hold many organizations back, and the basic practices that drive the most innovative organizations ahead of the pack. He’ll present a three-tier strategy to generate “systemic innovation” across the whole organization, and then identify the three core roles of creative leaders to make this happen. Keynote attendees will learn about:
• The need for systemic innovation.
• The relationships between imagination, creativity and innovation.
• The three levels of systemic innovation.
• The basic roles of creative leaders.
Robinson pushes leaders to think differently about their talent, showing them how to recognize and develop each person’s unique talents so that the whole organization can innovate and thrive in postindustrial economies.
Robinson holds a Ph.D. from the University of London for research into drama and theatre in education. He was the principal author of “The Arts in Schools: Principles, Practice and Provision,” a standard text in the UK and around the world.
From 1985-89 he was director of The Arts in Schools Project, a major UK initiative to improve the teaching of the arts, and in 1998 was appointed by the British government to chair the National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education, the largest ever inquiry into the importance of creativity in education and the economy.
Until 2001, Robinson was professor of education at Warwick University in the UK and is now professor emeritus. He has served as advisor to many high-profile public and private organizations – including the governments of Hong Kong and Singapore, the European Commission, and Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
Among other roles, he is currently senior advisor to the J. Paul Getty Trust in Los Angeles.
In June 2003 Robinson was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his outstanding achievements as a writer, speaker and leader in creativity, the arts and education.
The Leadership Summit is ACSA’s premier professional development event. This annual gathering of educators at all levels of administration is a celebration of the profession. The Leadership Summit provides opportunities for invaluable networking and offers professional development on current critical leadership and educational issues.
In 2009, the goal is to inspire school leaders to look ahead to big picture ideas and challenges faced by educators in this new century and to plan proactively for them.
• EXPLORE: Learn how our schools are buffeted by new economic realities, increasing energy costs, changing school-age demographics, and a flatter, smaller world.
• INNOVATE: Lead the way to demographic, environmental, programmatic, global, and financial sustainability by combining your insights with those of breakthrough-thinking speakers and innovative workshop leaders.
• CREATE: Build schools that will remain relevant in a world where our leaders will be competing and collaborating on a global stage.
Early registration is available now through July 15. Register and save $100 off the regular rate and get a $40 rebate to use in the ACSA Store or Administrator’s Bookshelf.
Whether you’re new to the profession or a seasoned veteran of education, the 2009 Leadership Summit, Nov. 5-7 in Sacramento, will sharpen your focus on our changing world. Click here for registration materials and more information.