Inspired by Sir Ken...

I went to see Sir Ken Robinson speak last night, courtesy of Education Leeds.

Inspirational, funny and with some content as well – truly a rare combination for any ‘motivational speaker’.

Whilst finding much of what he said valuable, I wrote down one quote that struck me as especially significant “Our assumptions influence our perceptions before they drive our conceptions”. In my work, both in and out of schools, I have found this principle hugely helpful when dealing with ‘stuck’ situations – the challenge is the one that Einstein highlighted, namely that the level of thinking that created a problem cannot solve it. In unearthing these assumptions, there is a key role for independent process facilitation by individuals who have no significant investment in the outcome of the challenge they make to their clients. Who is providing this challenge/facilitation as we move education into the 21st Century?

The jobs our children will do are still to be created, the technology they will use will be beyond our current comprehension (how many of us 50-odd year olds could have imagined an i-phone when we were 10 years old?!), the skills they will need an dhow they will use them remain to be understood. We need a 21st Century system that equips pupils for the technological/knowledge-based future not the industrial revolution.