Book Report: Creative Schools by Ken Robinson and Lou Aronica



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Ken Robinson has a TED talk, given in 2006, that has 35 million views on TED and another 14 million on several YouTube channels.

Robinson with Lou Aronica has compiled a list of procedures used in Creative Schools.





See a list of procedures from Creative Schools


Here are some key quotes to inspire you (and to guide the work of XYD Foundation):

The various approaches to personalized learning are often grouped togethjer under the general banner of "progressive education," which some critics seem to imagine is the polar opposite of "traditional education."  ... Effective education is always a balance between rigor and freedom, tradition and innovation, the individual and the group, theory and practice, the inner world and the outer world."

...The task is to help schools and students find equilibrium.  There is no utopia for education, just a constant striving to create the best conditions for real people in real communities in a constantly changing world. 








Robinson calls for

Revolutions are defined not only by the ideas that drive them but they the scale of their impact. ... Many of the principles and practice that I'm advocating have been practices successfully, though in limited ways throughout the history of education.  What is new?
First, it is urgent to apply these practices on a mass scale.

Second,  we now have technologies that make it possible to personalize education in new ways.

Third, there is a growing feeling in many parts of the world that a tectonic shift in how we think about and practice education is essential.

Clearly, supporters of XYD Foundation will see that the mission of XYD (to foster creativity in schools) supports the revolution that Dr. Robinson is describing. 

We need to apply these practices on across many more schools.
We can now use more technologies to personalize programs.
We need to make education relevant  (so that students feel that they are part of the  school and that school is a place to grow and discover their capacities and build those capacities).