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amandan981's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
rosemary_lane's review against another edition
1.0
Very little actual information or guidance. Full of vague advice and descriptions of teachers who work evenings and weekends. This attitude is part of the problem, not the solution.
mfumarolo's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 but I'm rounding up :) A fantastic read for students, teachers, administrators, and parents on the nature of the modern public school, and while assessing students' skills and knowledge is necessary, we are in need of a creative revolution so the whole child is being educated in a way that will allow for success in the real world, not just on standardized tests. Robinson offers up some fantastic examples mostly from the US and UK - the systems with which he is most familiar - and reminds readers why people are often so vocal and passionate about their views on education: because we all care, and because education is a deeply personal thing as it affects it all. In light of that, therefore, shouldn't our education system be more personalized than industrialized? Great read - my personal copy is completely covered in post-its for future reference.
jrobles76's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of those books that is really important and should be read by everyone. I don't see that happening, but it really should. College courses on education and administration should require this as part of the curriculum. You may have seen Sir Ken Robinson's TED Talk where he discusses the industrial system of education and how it is failing students. This book outlines several ways we can better serve students, with real world examples of schools that are succeeding. This is also a great book for business leaders on how to think about change and doing what works, even within a system that has strict guidelines. If I took away nothing else, the three steps for change would leave me better off: critique, vision, and theory. To change things for the better, you need an honest Critique of how things are, a Vision of how they should be, and a Theory of change to move from one to the other. I've been doing this at my job for a while, but now I have a better way of explaining it.
Sir Robinson never suggests that change will be easy, but he makes a strong case for why it is necessary. One idea that stuck out to me was how educators would respond negatively, or hopelessly, about the ability to change things. "We have these regulations we must adhere to," or, "My principal won't go for that." We need to shift our focus on the things we can change and the things we do control. As a teacher are you really required to give a test every week? Is handing out a worksheet with fill-in-the-blanks an accurate means of assessment? Is lecturing and then testing your students on how much they can regurgitate really the best way? These are things a teacher can control. You can seek to engage students or you can set yourself up as their adversary. That is something you control.
The book touches on many subjects across the education spectrum, from student to teacher to administration to politicians. Sir Ken Robinson has been doing this for decades and has experience in many different areas, but what comes across most is that he doesn't believe there is only one solution, there are many. He gives you the tools to start asking questions and shows you where to find some answers. It is always a good book that gets you shopping for other books to read.
I don't have any children in school, but the education of future generations is important to me, because those are my fellow citizens. They will have to make decisions that impact my life, they will work or create the companies I will patronize. We need them to be prepared to tackle any challenge, not just specific ones. This book along with Fareed Zakaria's In Defense of a Liberal Education and Alfie Kohn's The Homework Myth provide an outline of what we need from education and what needs to change.
Sir Robinson never suggests that change will be easy, but he makes a strong case for why it is necessary. One idea that stuck out to me was how educators would respond negatively, or hopelessly, about the ability to change things. "We have these regulations we must adhere to," or, "My principal won't go for that." We need to shift our focus on the things we can change and the things we do control. As a teacher are you really required to give a test every week? Is handing out a worksheet with fill-in-the-blanks an accurate means of assessment? Is lecturing and then testing your students on how much they can regurgitate really the best way? These are things a teacher can control. You can seek to engage students or you can set yourself up as their adversary. That is something you control.
The book touches on many subjects across the education spectrum, from student to teacher to administration to politicians. Sir Ken Robinson has been doing this for decades and has experience in many different areas, but what comes across most is that he doesn't believe there is only one solution, there are many. He gives you the tools to start asking questions and shows you where to find some answers. It is always a good book that gets you shopping for other books to read.
I don't have any children in school, but the education of future generations is important to me, because those are my fellow citizens. They will have to make decisions that impact my life, they will work or create the companies I will patronize. We need them to be prepared to tackle any challenge, not just specific ones. This book along with Fareed Zakaria's In Defense of a Liberal Education and Alfie Kohn's The Homework Myth provide an outline of what we need from education and what needs to change.
maureen_fox's review against another edition
5.0
*Steps onto soapbox.*
Everyone should read this book. Everyone. Whether you are in education; have school-age children; have school-age grandchildren, nieces or nephews; have neighbors with children; or live in a state or country that has children going to school READ THIS BOOK. Or listen to it, like I did. Either way. READ THIS.
Robinson lays out the challenges with our current standardized, standards-based system, and offers a clear way forward for policy makers, educators, districts, and families IN PLAIN ENGLISH. Anyone can follow along and understand.
Thank you.
*Steps off soapbox.*
Everyone should read this book. Everyone. Whether you are in education; have school-age children; have school-age grandchildren, nieces or nephews; have neighbors with children; or live in a state or country that has children going to school READ THIS BOOK. Or listen to it, like I did. Either way. READ THIS.
Robinson lays out the challenges with our current standardized, standards-based system, and offers a clear way forward for policy makers, educators, districts, and families IN PLAIN ENGLISH. Anyone can follow along and understand.
Thank you.
*Steps off soapbox.*
eiliux's review against another edition
4.0
Me gusto este libro porque a pesar de ser "académico", no es aburrido, tedioso ni está lleno de palabras rimbombantes y sin sentido. Como dice Ken Robinson, es un libro para toda persona que busque o quiera generar un cambio en el modelo educativo, desde dondequiera que se encuentre en el sistema. Habla de escuelas, alumnos, profesores, padres, directores y políticos, quienes influyen en el sistema educativo y cada quien le da forma a su modo y como puede.
Para quienes hayan visto su Ted Talk (quienes no, pueden verla aquí: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z78aaeJR8no) sabrán muy bien de qué va el libro, yo comulgo con muchas de sus ideas y tuve que leer el libro con una libreta en la mano, para anotar todos los conceptos que me gustaron o las ideas que se me ocurrían al leerlo.
Estos son algunos de los puntos que más me gustaron:
- "Mantener viva la sed de aprendizaje es la clave para cambiar la educación"
- "Los viejos sistemas educativos no se crearon con este mundo en mente"
- "El desafío inmediato es fomentar modelos educativos que animen a los jóvenes a implicarse en cuestiones económicas mundiales relacionadas con sostenibilidad y bienestar"
- "La base de la educación es la relación entre profesor y alumno"
- "Crear las condiciones para que los alumnos quieran y puedan aprender"
- "El exilio del juego es una de las grandes tragedias de la educación normalizada"
- "La compasión debe practicarse, no predicarse"
- "El motor de la creatividad es el afán de descubrimiento y la pasión"
- "Ya no ganamos por lo que sabemos, ganamos por lo que podemos hacer con lo que sabemos"
- "Hay que generar el contexto y el espacio que la comunidad necesita para no sentirse amenazada por nuevas ideas"
- "Que las ideas promuevan revoluciones o no, dependerá de las circunstancias".
Definitivamente es un libro que recomiendo para cualquiera que esté involucrado o interesado en temas relacionados con la educación, el aprendizaje y el conocimiento.
Para quienes hayan visto su Ted Talk (quienes no, pueden verla aquí: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z78aaeJR8no) sabrán muy bien de qué va el libro, yo comulgo con muchas de sus ideas y tuve que leer el libro con una libreta en la mano, para anotar todos los conceptos que me gustaron o las ideas que se me ocurrían al leerlo.
Estos son algunos de los puntos que más me gustaron:
- "Mantener viva la sed de aprendizaje es la clave para cambiar la educación"
- "Los viejos sistemas educativos no se crearon con este mundo en mente"
- "El desafío inmediato es fomentar modelos educativos que animen a los jóvenes a implicarse en cuestiones económicas mundiales relacionadas con sostenibilidad y bienestar"
- "La base de la educación es la relación entre profesor y alumno"
- "Crear las condiciones para que los alumnos quieran y puedan aprender"
- "El exilio del juego es una de las grandes tragedias de la educación normalizada"
- "La compasión debe practicarse, no predicarse"
- "El motor de la creatividad es el afán de descubrimiento y la pasión"
- "Ya no ganamos por lo que sabemos, ganamos por lo que podemos hacer con lo que sabemos"
- "Hay que generar el contexto y el espacio que la comunidad necesita para no sentirse amenazada por nuevas ideas"
- "Que las ideas promuevan revoluciones o no, dependerá de las circunstancias".
Definitivamente es un libro que recomiendo para cualquiera que esté involucrado o interesado en temas relacionados con la educación, el aprendizaje y el conocimiento.
lauragrows's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars…this book is full of good ideas and anecdotes about inspiring schools. But it’s just that - vague calls to action and anecdotes. Maybe I am not the target audience? I am a teacher and I wonder if the target audience might be school administrators or politicians, with the intention of encouraging them to throw their support behind alternative schools and schools trying new things. As a teacher, most of the anecdotes in this book deal with very alternative schools, which is interesting, but I would have loved to hear more about how these ideas could be implemented within a more typical school. In both types of schools he described (the alternative schools and the few examples of typical public schools), he gave little to no information about HOW these changes were made. There was lots of info about how the ideas were developed, and then about how it worked out, but not a lot about what that transition looked like.
I feel bad giving this book such a low rating because I do think it’s a very important subject and Ken Robinson is a significant voice in pushing for school reform but this…just felt repetitive and lacking depth.
I feel bad giving this book such a low rating because I do think it’s a very important subject and Ken Robinson is a significant voice in pushing for school reform but this…just felt repetitive and lacking depth.
msmurph's review against another edition
3.0
The first two-thirds were awesome. He is clearly very experienced in the edu world and writes clearly. I underlined a ton.
The final part was a bit contradictory to me. Most of the book is praise for individualized learning and how the system is difficult to innovate inside, and how it was built for a completely different context of society that is no longer relevant, and yet he spends several pages on lackluster federal policy for the system.
A great quote:
“No amount of debate on strategy will result in consensus if the purposes we have in mind are opposed.”
The final part was a bit contradictory to me. Most of the book is praise for individualized learning and how the system is difficult to innovate inside, and how it was built for a completely different context of society that is no longer relevant, and yet he spends several pages on lackluster federal policy for the system.
A great quote:
“No amount of debate on strategy will result in consensus if the purposes we have in mind are opposed.”