The Element - Sir Ken Robinson (2009)

Sir Ken Robinson is an internationally acclaimed expert on creativity and innovation.  Robinson contends that to be successful and fulfilled, one must find that activity that inspires passion within them.  Throughout the book he provides examples of people who have achieved remarkable successonly after finding and pursuing their passion.  Sometimes this took great courage.

Robinson notes that more often than not, people choose careers that do not align with their passion or "Element."  This often happens due to a host of personal, social and cultural constraints such as familial and societal expectations and values.

Robinson contends that education often poses the greatest barrier to young people developing and pursuing their passions.  This is due largely to a culture that values conformity, linear thinking and the regurgitation of facts.  This marginalizes many, if not most, children.  Robinson observes that the recent standards movement and No Child Left Behind have exacerbated the problem by narrowing the curriculum in such a way that the arts, music and other creative disciplines have been reduced or eliminated.  This, the author believes, serves as a great threat to the U.S. and other western nations as they try to compete in a global economy that demands creativity and innovation.

Robinson concludes his discussion stating, "The future of education is not in standardization but in customizing; not in promoting groupthink and 'deindividualization' but in cultivating the real depth and dynamism of human abilities of every sort."

I found Robinson's argument to be similar to that put forth by Daniel Pink in a "Whole New Mind" and several other authors whom I have read coming from the world of business.  Is there a way to help students to find and develop their Element in our public schools today?  Is it not our moral and ethical responsibility as educators to do so?