Creative Schools

has proven to be the most watched talk in the history of TED. It has been viewed online more than thirty million times and has been seen by an estimated three hundred million people worldwide. I know that s not as many views as Miley Cyrus gets. But I don t twerk.

Since that talk was posted online, I ve heard from students all around the world who say they ve shown it to their teachers or parents, from parents who say they ve shown it to their children, from teachers who ve shown it to their principals, and from superintendents who ve shown it to everybody. I take this as evidence that I m not alone in thinking this way. And these are not recent concerns either.

I was speaking last year at a U.S. college in the Midwest. Over lunch, one of the faculty said to me, You ve been at this a long time now, haven t you? I said, At what? He said, Trying to change education. How long is it now? Eight years? I said, What do you mean, eight years? He said, You know, since that TED talk. I said, Yes, but I was alive before that. . . .

I ve now worked in education for more than forty years as a teacher, researcher, trainer, examiner, and adviser. I ve worked with all sorts of people, institutions, and systems in education and with businesses, governments, and cultural organizations. I ve directed practical initiatives with schools, districts, and governments; taught in universities; and helped to set up new institutions. In all of this, I ve been pushing for more balanced and individualized and creative approaches to education.

In the last ten years especially, I hear people everywhere saying how exasperated they are by the deadening effects of testing and standardization on them, their children, or their friends. Often they feel

creativity comes a comprehensive and compelling statement of why creativity matters for everyone, what it looks like in action, what kinds of curriculum and assessment systems are needed to support it, and how to get there. Inspiring and so readable you will feel Sir Ken is talking directly to you. ANDY HARGREAVES, author of Professional Capital and Thomas More Brennan Chair at Boston College s Lynch School of Education

Ken Robinson is the world s most potent advocate of global education transformation; his clarity, passion and insight have inspired millions, including me. This book is not only a catalyst, or call to action; it is a manifesto; a practical exploration and celebration of what is possible. Now it s up to us; we must read, react and accelerate the revolution. RICHARD GERVER, author of Creating Tomorrow s Schools Today

Sir Ken Robinson does it again with this compelling book. His explanations and examples are spot on.  As Creative Schools shows, there s no denying the change is occurring. ELLIOT WASHOR, Co-Founder of Big Picture Learning and author of Leaving to Learn 

Forget the chatter about disruptive technological and economic forces in education. Ken Robinson and Lou Aronica vividly describe the disruptions that are needed if we are to have quality education in our time. HOWARD GARDNER, author of Five Minds for the Future

This is the book we have been waiting for from Sir Ken Robinson laying out what is fundamentally wrong with our education systems, and correspondingly showing what and how it should and could be different. He makes creativity, and much more, come alive. Don t start reading this book unless you have three hours before you, as you will have difficulty putting it down. Then, think about what you might do and re-read the book with others to start making the changes. Creative schools indeed! The timing is perfect. MICHAEL FULLAN, OC. Professor Emeritus, OISE/University of Toronto and author of The Principal: Three Keys to Maximizing Impact

This book is a wake-up call to the emerging global human resources crisis. Increasing boredom, disengagement and dropouts among students have become chronic aspects of many school systems around the world. Creative Schools is a must-read for anyone who is interested in critique, vision, and theory of change for the new course of schooling.   PASI SAHLBERG, author of Finnish Lessons 2.0: What can the world learn from educational change in Finland