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glamazon's review against another edition
5.0
I really, really enjoyed this book. As a mom to a 10 year old and someone trying to find their Element I really appreciated all the tools and way to explore finding the Element for your children and yourself.
labyrinth_witch's review against another edition
This is a wonderful book. Very inspirational, especially if you're at a time in your life when you're searching for purpose and meaning in your every day life.
nrt43's review against another edition
3.0
Without a doubt Robinson is an exemplary communicator. In The Element he formulates the argument that if we find that thing which ignites both passion and talent (aka the element), we feel most ourselves, most inspired, learn how to "flow," and achieve our highest level of success. And he argues that if we can empower others to find their element, we will be access true human potential and empower humanity to overcome the difficulties ahead of us.
Throughout he floods the reader with countless stories of smash hit successes in a diversity of fields. Sometimes we cannot engage our element in our full time jobs but find in through serious hobbies/recreation, becoming amateurs, in the truest sense of the word.
Overall, it was a good book, and I plan on reading the follow-up book, Finding Your Element. In a sense, he is describing what feels like a similar idea as that in The Alchemist, who refers repeatedly to one's "Personal Legend." The author of The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho) is one of many examples of someone who found their element and Robinson references him. Coelho was forced into a mental hospital by his parent actually for wanting to be a writer, instead of a lawyer as they preferred.
My only pushback on the overall argument is that the many many examples he gave were of people who seemed extraordinary, and incredibly talented in their respective fields. I feel like this might build unrealistic expectations on some level. The vast majority of us cannot be extraordinary. We shouldn't even desire it, but learn contentment, joy, and diligence in where we find ourselves in life. Can someone love something profoundly and be just mediocre? Of course. Does everyone have the capacity to excel at any one thing? I don't know. What if someone is just barely above average at a few things, but they love them? Enjoying what you do seems more important to me than talent and wild success. To conclude, your element may or may not be extraordinary. But it will make life rich. I'm not sure if I have "one element" or a handful of things I love to do... I'll let you know after I finish the next one.
Throughout he floods the reader with countless stories of smash hit successes in a diversity of fields. Sometimes we cannot engage our element in our full time jobs but find in through serious hobbies/recreation, becoming amateurs, in the truest sense of the word.
Overall, it was a good book, and I plan on reading the follow-up book, Finding Your Element. In a sense, he is describing what feels like a similar idea as that in The Alchemist, who refers repeatedly to one's "Personal Legend." The author of The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho) is one of many examples of someone who found their element and Robinson references him. Coelho was forced into a mental hospital by his parent actually for wanting to be a writer, instead of a lawyer as they preferred.
My only pushback on the overall argument is that the many many examples he gave were of people who seemed extraordinary, and incredibly talented in their respective fields. I feel like this might build unrealistic expectations on some level. The vast majority of us cannot be extraordinary. We shouldn't even desire it, but learn contentment, joy, and diligence in where we find ourselves in life. Can someone love something profoundly and be just mediocre? Of course. Does everyone have the capacity to excel at any one thing? I don't know. What if someone is just barely above average at a few things, but they love them? Enjoying what you do seems more important to me than talent and wild success. To conclude, your element may or may not be extraordinary. But it will make life rich. I'm not sure if I have "one element" or a handful of things I love to do... I'll let you know after I finish the next one.
erikars's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, this was a good read but not a must read. If you watched Ken Robinson's TED talks, and it left you wanting more of the same, then you'll enjoy the book. If those talks were sufficient for you, this doesn't offer much new, just more depth.
In the book, the author describes the importance of finding your passion. He doesn't describe -- and doesn't try to describe -- how to find your own passion. Rather, he describes what it feels like and looks like to live a life activated by passion. He does this with a mix of personal stories, stories of others, and reference to psychological research.
To me, the primary value of this book was the way it conveyed the energy of living a life around your passion. Such a life is not just one where you feel happy -- at times, pursuing your passion may force you to make decisions that can make you deeply unhappy for a time -- but it is a life where you feel driven to do what you do.
At a wider level, the value brought by a vision like that in The Element is that everyone's element is different. It's not music in general; it may be a particular type of music or an instrument. It's not just programming, but perhaps it's handling complex interactions or giving users a delightful experience. Because of the varieties of talent we have, the author believes that schools need reform. Schools define intelligence narrowly and demand conformity. He spends the last chapter of the book discussing this.
Although the book did not focus on how to find your element, it is possible to extract some tips. Although I used the terms "passion" and "element" interchangeably above, your element is really where your passion and your talents intersect. So looking for those things that both energize you and which you are good at is a part of finding your element.
Another key part to building your element is finding your tribe -- the group of people who share your passion. Your tribe can help you develop your skills, provide inspiration, provide role models, and more.
Taking advantage of opportunities that arise is also key. Often times, these opportunities will require adding more work to an already busy life, but the energy you get from doing the thing you really love can help you push through that and shape your life to hit the right balance.
Sometimes, what you need is not a new idea, but an old idea described well. That is what The Element gives us.
In the book, the author describes the importance of finding your passion. He doesn't describe -- and doesn't try to describe -- how to find your own passion. Rather, he describes what it feels like and looks like to live a life activated by passion. He does this with a mix of personal stories, stories of others, and reference to psychological research.
To me, the primary value of this book was the way it conveyed the energy of living a life around your passion. Such a life is not just one where you feel happy -- at times, pursuing your passion may force you to make decisions that can make you deeply unhappy for a time -- but it is a life where you feel driven to do what you do.
At a wider level, the value brought by a vision like that in The Element is that everyone's element is different. It's not music in general; it may be a particular type of music or an instrument. It's not just programming, but perhaps it's handling complex interactions or giving users a delightful experience. Because of the varieties of talent we have, the author believes that schools need reform. Schools define intelligence narrowly and demand conformity. He spends the last chapter of the book discussing this.
Although the book did not focus on how to find your element, it is possible to extract some tips. Although I used the terms "passion" and "element" interchangeably above, your element is really where your passion and your talents intersect. So looking for those things that both energize you and which you are good at is a part of finding your element.
Another key part to building your element is finding your tribe -- the group of people who share your passion. Your tribe can help you develop your skills, provide inspiration, provide role models, and more.
Taking advantage of opportunities that arise is also key. Often times, these opportunities will require adding more work to an already busy life, but the energy you get from doing the thing you really love can help you push through that and shape your life to hit the right balance.
Sometimes, what you need is not a new idea, but an old idea described well. That is what The Element gives us.
alundeberg's review against another edition
4.0
If you have ever been to a major teaching conference, you have probably heard of Ken Robinson. He is usually a keynote speaker, or someone else who is the keynote speaker will play his TED Talk. Robinson's goal in life is to transform education by helping people find their passion-- or "element". The "element" is what drives you, gives you personal satisfaction, and meaning to your life. This book is partly self-help and an educational call to action by showing how you, yourself, can find and cultivate your element and how the educational system can do better to provide more opportunities for students to find their passions. He uses many anecdotes from famous people and from amateurs to show how they have found and developed their element.
His argument about education is how our move to more and more standardized testing, teaching to the test, cutting or limiting arts programs, and creating a hierarchy of subjects is disenfranchising many, many students, and school is the typically the last place where one is going to find their element. For many, school is incredibly boring and a waste of time. Robinson wrote this book over ten years ago, and from my stand point as a high school teacher, the problem has only gotten worse with the advent of on-line, test-driven curriculum. If you have seen the English curriculum, full of excerpts and random lessons that do not build on another, you know that it is not inspiring a love of English in students. In addition, districts and school boards are enforcing the use of chrome books and technology over research that shows that students' exposure to technology should be limited and using electronic devices does not improve learning outcomes. Students need engaging, passionate, and inspiring teachers; it's hard to be any of those when there is a chrome book screen creating a barrier between teachers and students. The "banking model" of education, as coined by Paulo Freire, is still very much in use.
I completely agree with Robinson that the educational system needs to be transformed. Many educational policies are designed to meet some random data point rather than meeting students' needs. School SHOULD be a place where students discover their passions, and for some it is. The problem with Robinson's argument about schools is that the paths to finding one's element are as diverse as there are people. Based on his many examples, finding the element occurs by happenstance; it is love at first sight. It's very random and it seems to require exposure to a great many things. One person had a teacher who showed him how to weld, and his element is welding; another walked into a pool hall and discovered a passion for billiards. There is no tried and true method to finding one's element-- it's very much the luck of the draw. School is one place where one can find it, some of us are born knowing what it is (I feel like I was born to be a teacher, a reader, and a writer), but some people need to have a wide variety of experiences or a willing mentor to help them find it. If they do not have the right people in their lives or the ability to have a lot of experiences, they may never find it.
The part that resonated with me the human being, and not me the teacher, is his focus on being an amateur. Many of us equate amateurs as not good enough to do the "real" thing, but he shows how amateurs can often be as good as or better than those who do whatever it is they do professionally. The difference between amateurs and professionals is that they choose to not be professionals. This made me feel a lot better. Many people tell me I should be a writer, but here I am writing this review. I imagine that to many "being a writer" equals publishing, but that sounds like a lot of work and no fun. Others tell me I should write about my travels or teaching experiences, but again, that takes some of the fun out of it. I want to write when I have something to say, not write "The Ten Best Things To Do In Marrakesh". If I am an amateur, I can write about whatever I want, beholden to nobody.
This book is definitely worth a read or listen (he narrates it and he has a delightful British accent), because whether or not we find our element, he helps us to understand how we might foster it in others. And that is at least as important as us finding our own.
His argument about education is how our move to more and more standardized testing, teaching to the test, cutting or limiting arts programs, and creating a hierarchy of subjects is disenfranchising many, many students, and school is the typically the last place where one is going to find their element. For many, school is incredibly boring and a waste of time. Robinson wrote this book over ten years ago, and from my stand point as a high school teacher, the problem has only gotten worse with the advent of on-line, test-driven curriculum. If you have seen the English curriculum, full of excerpts and random lessons that do not build on another, you know that it is not inspiring a love of English in students. In addition, districts and school boards are enforcing the use of chrome books and technology over research that shows that students' exposure to technology should be limited and using electronic devices does not improve learning outcomes. Students need engaging, passionate, and inspiring teachers; it's hard to be any of those when there is a chrome book screen creating a barrier between teachers and students. The "banking model" of education, as coined by Paulo Freire, is still very much in use.
I completely agree with Robinson that the educational system needs to be transformed. Many educational policies are designed to meet some random data point rather than meeting students' needs. School SHOULD be a place where students discover their passions, and for some it is. The problem with Robinson's argument about schools is that the paths to finding one's element are as diverse as there are people. Based on his many examples, finding the element occurs by happenstance; it is love at first sight. It's very random and it seems to require exposure to a great many things. One person had a teacher who showed him how to weld, and his element is welding; another walked into a pool hall and discovered a passion for billiards. There is no tried and true method to finding one's element-- it's very much the luck of the draw. School is one place where one can find it, some of us are born knowing what it is (I feel like I was born to be a teacher, a reader, and a writer), but some people need to have a wide variety of experiences or a willing mentor to help them find it. If they do not have the right people in their lives or the ability to have a lot of experiences, they may never find it.
The part that resonated with me the human being, and not me the teacher, is his focus on being an amateur. Many of us equate amateurs as not good enough to do the "real" thing, but he shows how amateurs can often be as good as or better than those who do whatever it is they do professionally. The difference between amateurs and professionals is that they choose to not be professionals. This made me feel a lot better. Many people tell me I should be a writer, but here I am writing this review. I imagine that to many "being a writer" equals publishing, but that sounds like a lot of work and no fun. Others tell me I should write about my travels or teaching experiences, but again, that takes some of the fun out of it. I want to write when I have something to say, not write "The Ten Best Things To Do In Marrakesh". If I am an amateur, I can write about whatever I want, beholden to nobody.
This book is definitely worth a read or listen (he narrates it and he has a delightful British accent), because whether or not we find our element, he helps us to understand how we might foster it in others. And that is at least as important as us finding our own.
sve100's review against another edition
3.0
Според мен това е книга, която си струва всеки родител, мениджър, учител да прочете. Ще напиша по-подробна рецензия в http://azcheta.com/
andyreadsfantasy's review against another edition
4.0
This book is full of great stuff! And the underlying idea - that we need to think outside the box about education and teaching - makes this book well-worth the read. The only problem I have with it is that the examples given do seem to rely a lot on circumstance - not just the factors of The Element. Naming a few select individuals that succeeded using your method is not substantial evidence that said method actually works.
Worth the read, but (in my opinion) The Element probably downplays outside/uncontrollable factors involved in achieving success.
Worth the read, but (in my opinion) The Element probably downplays outside/uncontrollable factors involved in achieving success.