 |
| Sir Kenneth Robinson |
Editor’s Note: The next steps
in laying the foundations for building competencies in creativity and
innovation is to tackle the power of imagination, critical thinking and
creative thinking. The power of the imagination is crucial; unfortunately it is
only recently that scholars and teachers have begun to discover this vitality.
One of the most educative material I have used to
share the lesson on power of the imaginative mind was a 2-part presentation by Sir
Professor Kenneth Robinson how we can educate ourselves and our children to
have many good ideas. He spoke on The Power of the Imaginative Mind.
Sir Kenneth Robinson's remarks were recorded on
April 10, 2008, at the Apple Education Leadership Summit, a gathering in San
Francisco, USA of more than 100 school superintendents from around the world.
Robinson is the author of Out of Our Minds: Learning to
Be Creative.
I do not need to endorse Sir Robinson, listen
to him and it would be an enlightening time for you.
Just as an aside, find the comments about the
presentation Professor Howard Esbin made after listening:
Thank you for sharing Sir
Ken Robinson's erudite and engaging presentation.
The faculty of
imagination is largely associated with artistic expression. As a result, its
cultivation is left primarily to arts education, which problematically is
unavailable in most schools. Despite all constraints, students continue to ply
their imaginations in myriad ways - directly and artistically through media
such as poems, stories, graphic comics, music, painting, photography and video,
and indirectly through activities like volunteering, special science or
enterprise projects, and sports. A US study from the National School Boards
Association shows that 96% of adolescents with online access create new content
online, primarily outside school.
As recently as 2004,
Harvard University's Project Zero noted: "There should be room in
assessment to reward imagination and creativity and care taken not to inhibit
it." Part of the challenge is that cultivating and assessing imagination
requires a different frame of reference, language, and tools than those used
for reason. As yet, there are no widely used protocols in place to include or
value imagination in assessments, consequently, the rich student effort,
described above, goes largely unrecognized.
This failure is
exacerbated further because school conditions students to think in terms of
'right' answers and 'wrong' ones. However, to be imaginative is to ask 'what
if?' and 'why not?' It is to picture and express what doesn't fully exist.
Students, afraid of being wrong or sounding foolish, become stifled. Most,
therefore, graduate with a diminished faith in their own capacity and little
understanding of its true worth. These attitudes reflect the West's historical
bias against imagination, in favour of reason.
The zeitgeist is
shifting. Imagination is seen increasingly as intrinsic to all endeavors. In
1964, the philosopher Henri Corbin wrote, "The most astounding information
of modern science regarding the physical universe remains inferior to [the
imagination]." It appears that the more we learn, the subtler the line
becomes between what is real and what is imaginary. For example, the founder of
Second Life, which has 1.7 million players, observes that the creation of an
avatar is a 'gateway' experience between the "real" world and the
world of imagination.
Because the creative
process is so intense, the players' online characters are strongly identified
with. Not surprisingly, virtual economies are now generating significant
financial profit in what gamers call the First World. The ability to imagine
alternative selves in simulated virtual worlds, no matter how fantastical,
ultimately helps stretch understanding of who we are and what reality is.
There's also a growing interdisciplinary body of research and practice
regarding the use of such imaginative activity in health science, sports
psychology, social psychology, organizational management, community
development, and the military. --- Howard B. Esbin, PhD
Sir Ken Robinson On The Power Of
The Imaginative Mind (Part One)
Editor’s Note: The next steps
in laying the foundations for building competencies in creativity and
innovation is to tackle the power of imagination, critical thinking and
creative thinking. The power of the imagination is crucial; unfortunately it is
only recently that scholars and teachers have begun to discover this vitality.
One of the most educative material I have used to
share the lesson on power of the imaginative mind was a 2-part presentation by Sir
Professor Kenneth Robinson how we can educate ourselves and our children to
have many good ideas. He spoke on The Power of the Imaginative Mind.
Sir Kenneth Robinson's remarks were recorded on
April 10, 2008, at the Apple Education Leadership Summit, a gathering in San
Francisco, USA of more than 100 school superintendents from around the world.
Robinson is the author of Out of Our Minds: Learning to
Be Creative.
I do not need to endorse Sir Robinson, listen
to him and it would be an enlightening time for you.
Just as an aside, find the comments about the
presentation Professor Howard Esbin made after listening:
Thank you for sharing Sir
Ken Robinson's erudite and engaging presentation.
The faculty of
imagination is largely associated with artistic expression. As a result, its
cultivation is left primarily to arts education, which problematically is
unavailable in most schools. Despite all constraints, students continue to ply
their imaginations in myriad ways - directly and artistically through media
such as poems, stories, graphic comics, music, painting, photography and video,
and indirectly through activities like volunteering, special science or
enterprise projects, and sports. A US study from the National School Boards
Association shows that 96% of adolescents with online access create new content
online, primarily outside school.
As recently as 2004,
Harvard University's Project Zero noted: "There should be room in
assessment to reward imagination and creativity and care taken not to inhibit
it." Part of the challenge is that cultivating and assessing imagination
requires a different frame of reference, language, and tools than those used
for reason. As yet, there are no widely used protocols in place to include or
value imagination in assessments, consequently, the rich student effort,
described above, goes largely unrecognized.
This failure is
exacerbated further because school conditions students to think in terms of
'right' answers and 'wrong' ones. However, to be imaginative is to ask 'what
if?' and 'why not?' It is to picture and express what doesn't fully exist.
Students, afraid of being wrong or sounding foolish, become stifled. Most,
therefore, graduate with a diminished faith in their own capacity and little
understanding of its true worth. These attitudes reflect the West's historical
bias against imagination, in favour of reason.
The zeitgeist is
shifting. Imagination is seen increasingly as intrinsic to all endeavors. In
1964, the philosopher Henri Corbin wrote, "The most astounding information
of modern science regarding the physical universe remains inferior to [the
imagination]." It appears that the more we learn, the subtler the line
becomes between what is real and what is imaginary. For example, the founder of
Second Life, which has 1.7 million players, observes that the creation of an
avatar is a 'gateway' experience between the "real" world and the
world of imagination.
Because the creative
process is so intense, the players' online characters are strongly identified
with. Not surprisingly, virtual economies are now generating significant
financial profit in what gamers call the First World. The ability to imagine
alternative selves in simulated virtual worlds, no matter how fantastical,
ultimately helps stretch understanding of who we are and what reality is.
There's also a growing interdisciplinary body of research and practice
regarding the use of such imaginative activity in health science, sports
psychology, social psychology, organizational management, community
development, and the military. --- Howard B. Esbin, PhD
Sir Ken Robinson On The Power Of
The Imaginative Mind (Part One)
The
internationally renowned innovation consultant calls for transformation, not
just reformation, of public education.
TO PLAY PART ONE, CLICK HERE Sir Ken Robinson On The Power Of The Imaginative Mind (Part Two)
The creativity
guru shares his vision for a new way of educating children.
TO PLAY PART TWO, CLICK HERE
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