Farewell
by David Thomas
The first time I saw Ken Robinson speak was at an academic tech conference–probably an eCollege gathering.
Like the rest of the attendess, I wandered into the keynote to hear a speech by an affiable Brit that I had never heard of. Robinson took that stage and in his gentle, humorous and quite emphatic way told us how broken education was, how we squeezed out the talent and creativity in an assembly line of conformity.
Perhaps it was the ironic combination of someone who commanded so much authority on stage with such a revolutionary message. But whatever it was, I left a changed person. What Robinson said connected to everything I always thought about education but didn’t feel qualified or brave enough to articulate.
There was more to teaching than textbooks and standardized tests. A lot more.
If you’ve seen Robinson talk or read one of his books, I am sure you know what I mean. He was a professor at play before most of us were even willing to test a game out in our classes.
If you are not familiar with Sir Ken, check out any of the ample videos of his talks. Here’s a particularly good one:
Bring on the Learning Revolution @ TED
Robinson passed away this week. And while the world will miss his wit and charm and tireless focus on his mission, we can all carry on a bit of his playful spirit and ensure the revolution isn’t over.