View source for Ken Robinson (educationalist)

{{Short description|British author, speaker, and education reformer (1950–2020)}}
{{For|other persons named Kenneth, Ken or Kenny Robinson|Ken Robinson (disambiguation)}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox academic
| honorific_prefix =
| name               = Sir Ken Robinson
| image              = Sir Ken Robinson (cropped).jpg
| alt                =
| caption            = Ken Robinson speaking in 2009
| birth_name         = Kenneth Robinson
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1950|03|04|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Liverpool]], England
| death_date         = {{death date and age|2020|08|21|1950|03|04|df=y}}
| death_place        = [[London]], England
| website            = {{URL|http://SirKenRobinson.com/}}
| thesis_title       = A revaluation of the role and functions of drama teaching in secondary education, with reference to a survey of curricular drama in 259 secondary schools
| education          = [[Liverpool Collegiate School]]<br>[[Wade Deacon High School|Wade Deacon Grammar School]]
| alma_mater         = [[Bretton Hall College of Education]] (BEd)<br>[[University of London]] (PhD)<ref name=PhDken/>
| thesis_url         = https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.257812
| thesis_year        = 1981
| other_names        =
| known_for          =
| occupation         = Author, speaker, expert on education, education reformer, creativity and innovation
| spouse             = {{marriage|Marie-Therese "Terry" Watts|1982}}
| children           = 2
}}
'''Sir Kenneth Robinson''' (4 March 1950 &ndash; 21 August 2020)<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rampen|first=Julia|date=2020-08-22|title=Liverpool born education superstar Sir Ken Robinson dies aged 70|url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/tributes-ken-robinson-liverpool-born-18814459|access-date=2020-08-23|website=Liverpool Echo}}</ref> was a British author, speaker and international advisor on education in the arts to government, non-profits, education and arts bodies. He was director of the Arts in Schools Project (1985–1989) and Professor of Arts Education at the [[University of Warwick]] (1989–2001), and professor emeritus after leaving the university.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sirkenrobinson.com/about/ |title=Bio |publisher=Sir Ken Robinson |access-date=2016-09-04}}</ref> In 2003, he was knighted for services to the arts.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=56963 |date=14 June 2003 |page=2 |supp=y}}</ref>
Originally from a working-class Liverpool family,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Creative Schools|last=Robinson|first=Ken|publisher=Penguin Books|year=2015|isbn=9780698142848|location=New York, NY|pages=34}}</ref> around September 2001<ref>{{Citation|last=Robinson|first=Sir Ken|title=Bring on the learning revolution!|date=24 May 2010 |url=https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_learning_revolution|language=en|access-date=2020-10-15}}</ref><ref name="getty.edu">{{Cite web|title=Ken Robinson Appt. (Getty Press Release)|url=https://www.getty.edu/news/press/leaders/robinson.html#:~:text=Robinson%20and%20his%20family%20have,author%20and%20acclaimed%20international%20speaker.&text=in%201981%20from%20the%20University,drama%20and%20theater%20in%20education.|access-date=2020-10-15|website=www.getty.edu}}</ref> Robinson moved to Los Angeles with his wife and children<ref>{{Citation|last=Better Together: California Teachers Summit|title=Sir Ken Robinson Keynote Speaker at the 2018 Better Together: California Teachers Summit|date=2018-08-13|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMOf6FJEATY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/IMOf6FJEATY |archive-date=2021-12-19 |url-status=live|access-date=2019-04-25}}{{cbignore}}</ref> to serve as Senior Advisor to the president of the J. Paul Getty Trust.<ref name="getty.edu"/>
==Early life and education==
Born in [[Liverpool]], to James and Ethel Robinson, he was one of seven children from a working-class background. One of his brothers, [[Neil Robinson (footballer, born 1957)|Neil]], became a professional footballer for [[Everton F.C.|Everton]], [[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City]] and [[Grimsby Town F.C.|Grimsby Town]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/outside-the-box-eat-leaves-and-shoot-rather-than-hoofing-it-up-the-field-8518025.html |title=Outside the Box: Eat leaves and shoot rather than hoofing it up the field |last1=Tongue |first1=Steve |date=3 March 2013 |website=[[independent.co.uk]] |access-date=9 August 2015}}</ref> After an industrial accident, his father became [[quadriplegic]]. Robinson contracted [[polio]] at age four and spent 8 months in hospital. He attended Margaret Beavan Special School due to the physical effects of polio, then [[Liverpool Collegiate School]] (1961–1963) and [[Wade Deacon High School#History|Wade Deacon Grammar School]], Cheshire (1963–1968). He then studied English and drama (Bachelor of Education – [[BEd]]) at [[Bretton Hall College of Education]] (1968–1972) and completed a PhD in 1981 at the [[University of London]], researching drama and theatre in education.<ref name=PhDken>{{cite thesis|degree=PhD|publisher=University of London|url=http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10019049/|title=A revaluation of the role and functions of drama teaching in secondary education, with reference to a survey of curricular drama in 259 secondary schools|first= Kenneth|last=Robinson|date=1981|id={{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.257812}}|website=ucl.ac.uk|oclc=1000625866}} {{free access}}</ref>
==Career and research==
From 1985 to 1988, Robinson was director of the Arts in Schools Project, an initiative to develop the arts education throughout England and Wales.<ref name=strauss /> The project worked with over 2,000 teachers, artists and administrators in a network of over 300 initiatives and influenced the formulation of the [[National Curriculum for England]]. During this period, Robinson chaired Artswork, the UK's national youth arts development agency, and worked as advisor to the [[Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts]].{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
For twelve years, he was professor of education at the [[University of Warwick]], and became professor emeritus. He has received honorary degrees from the [[Rhode Island School of Design]], [[Ringling College of Art and Design]], the [[Open University]] and the [[Central School of Speech and Drama]], [[Birmingham City University]] and the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. He received the Athena Award of the Rhode Island School of Design for services to the arts and education, the [[George Peabody Medal|Peabody Medal]] for contributions to the arts and culture in the United States, the LEGO Prize for international achievement in education, and the [[Benjamin Franklin Medal (Royal Society of Arts)|Benjamin Franklin Medal]] of the [[Royal Society of Arts]] for contributions to cultural relations between the United Kingdom and the United States. In 2005, he was named as one of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''/''[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]''/[[CNN]]'s "Principal Voices".<ref name="Principle" /> In 2003, he was made a [[Knight Bachelor]] for his services to the arts.<ref name="Principle">{{cite web |url=http://www.principalvoices.com/voices/ken-robinson-bio.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104141654/http://www.principalvoices.com/voices/ken-robinson-bio.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 January 2013 |title=Ken Robinson ~ Biography |work=Principal Voices |year=2014 |access-date=13 August 2014 }}</ref>
In 1998, he led a UK commission on creativity, education and the economy and his report, ''All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education'', was influential. ''[[The Times]]'' said of it: "This report raises some of the most important issues facing business in the 21st century. It should have every CEO and human resources director thumping the table and demanding action". Robinson is credited with creating a strategy for creative and economic development as part of the Peace Process in Northern Ireland, publishing ''Unlocking Creativity'', a plan implemented across the region and mentoring to the Oklahoma Creativity Project. In 1998, he chaired the National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stateofcreativity.com/events/cwf/sir-ken-robinson/ |title=Sir Ken Robinson – Creative Oklahoma |work=State of Creativity |year=2014 |access-date=13 August 2014 |archive-date=1 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131201105359/http://www.stateofcreativity.com/events/cwf/sir-ken-robinson/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 2001, Robinson was appointed senior advisor for education and creativity at the [[Getty Museum]] in Los Angeles, which lasted at least until 2005.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bates |first1=Stephen |title=Sir Ken Robinson obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/aug/26/sir-ken-robinson-obituary |website=The Guardian |access-date=17 August 2023 |date=26 August 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Tim Bogatz |title=REPLAY: An Interview with Sir Ken Robinson |url=https://theartofeducation.edu/podcasts/replay-an-interview-with-sir-ken-robinson/ |website=theartofeducation.edu |publisher=The Art of Education University |access-date=17 August 2023 |date=25 August 2020}}</ref>
Robinson gave three [[TED (conference)|TED]] talks on the importance of creativity in education, which together have been viewed over 98 million times (2023) on the TED website.<ref name="Do">{{cite web |url= http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity |title=Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity? {{pipe}} TED Talk |publisher= TED.com |access-date= 2016-09-04|quote=I saw a great T-shirt recently which said, “If a man speaks his mind in a forest, and no woman hears him, is he still wrong?”}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/iG9CE55wbtY |archive-date=2021-12-19 |url-status=live|title= Do schools kill creativity? {{!}} Sir Ken Robinson {{pipe}} TED Talk |publisher= TED.com |access-date= 2016-09-04}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In April 2013, he gave a talk titled "How to escape education's death valley", in which he outlines three principles crucial for the human mind to flourish – and how current American education culture works against them.<ref name="death_valley">{{cite web |url= http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_how_to_escape_education_s_death_valley |title=Ken Robinson: How to escape education's death valley |work=TED.com |date=April 2013  |access-date=13 August 2014}}</ref> At the time of his death in August 2020, his "Do schools kill creativity?" presentation was the most watched TED talk of all time, with 66.3 million views on the TED channel and millions more on YouTube. It has been translated into 62 languages.<ref name=strauss>Strauss, Valerie (25 August 2020) ''Tribute to the late Sir Ken Robinson'' in [[The Washington Post]]. Retrieved 26 August 2020</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.ted.com/speakers/sir_ken_robinson |title=Ken Robinson – Speaker |work=TED.com |year=2014 |access-date= 13 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution |title=Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution! |work=TED.com |date=February 2010 |access-date=13 August 2014}}</ref> In 2010, the [[Royal Society of Arts]] animated one of Robinson's speeches about changing education paradigms, which has been viewed more than 17 million times on YouTube as of August 2023.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/zDZFcDGpL4U |archive-date=2021-12-19 |url-status=live|title=Changing Education Paradigms |author=RSA Animate |work=YouTube |date=14 October 2010 |access-date=13 August 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
===Ideas on education===
Robinson suggested that to engage and succeed, education has to develop on three fronts.<ref name=you/> Firstly, that it should foster [[diversity (politics)|diversity]] by offering a broad curriculum and encourage [[individualism|individualisation]] of the learning process. Secondly, it should promote curiosity through creative teaching, which depends on high quality teacher training and development. Finally, it should focus on awakening creativity through alternative didactic processes that put less emphasis on standardised testing, thereby giving the responsibility for defining the course of education to individual schools and teachers. He believed that much of the present education system in the United States encourages conformity, [[compliance (psychology)|compliance]] and standardisation rather than creative approaches to learning. Robinson emphasised that we can only succeed if we recognise that education is an organic system, not a mechanical one: successful school administration is a matter of engendering a helpful climate rather than "command and control".<ref name="death_valley"/>
===Writing===
''Learning Through Drama: Report of the Schools Council Drama Teaching'' (1977) was the result of a three-year national development project for the UK Schools Council. Robinson was principal author of ''The Arts in Schools: Principles, Practice, and Provision'' (1982), now a key text on arts and education internationally. He edited ''The Arts and Higher Education,'' (1984) and co-wrote ''The Arts in Further Education'' (1986), ''Arts Education in Europe'', and ''Facing the Future: The Arts and Education in Hong Kong''.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
Robinson's 2001 book, ''Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative'' (Wiley-Capstone), was described by ''Director'' magazine as "a truly mind-opening analysis of why we don't get the best out of people at a time of punishing change." [[John Cleese]] said of it: "Ken Robinson writes brilliantly about the different ways in which creativity is undervalued and ignored in Western culture and especially in our educational systems."<ref name="Reviews for 'Out of Our Minds'">{{cite web |url= http://sirkenrobinson.com/?page_id=15 |title=Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative |work=sirkenrobinson.com |year=2014 |access-date=13 August 2014}}</ref>
''The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything'',{{sfn | Robinson | 2009 | p=}} was published in January 2009 by Penguin. "The element" refers to the experience of personal talent meeting personal passion. He argues that in this encounter, we feel most ourselves, most inspired, and achieve to our highest level. The book draws on the stories of creative artists such as [[Paul McCartney]], ''[[The Simpsons]]'' creator [[Matt Groening]], [[Meg Ryan]], and physicist [[Richard Feynman]] to investigate this paradigm of success.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
===Publications===
* 1977 ''Learning Through Drama: Report of The Schools Council Drama Teaching Project'' with Lynn McGregor and Maggie Tate. UCL. Heinemann. {{ISBN|0435185659}}
* 1980 ''Exploring Theatre and Education'' Heinemann {{ISBN|0435187813}}
* 1982 ''The Arts in Schools: Principles, Practice, and Provision,'' [[Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation]]. {{ISBN|0903319233}}
* 1984 ''The Arts and Higher Education.'' (editor with Christopher Ball). Gulbenkian and the Leverhulme Trust {{ISBN|0900868899}}
* 1986 ''The Arts in Further Education.'' [[Department of Education and Science (UK)|Department of Education and Science]].
* 1998 ''Facing the Future: The Arts and Education in Hong Kong,'' Hong Kong Arts Development Council ASIN B002MXG93U
* 1998 ''All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture, and Education (The Robinson Report)''. {{ISBN|1841850349}}
* 2001 ''Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative''. Capstone. {{ISBN|1907312471}}
* {{cite book | last=Robinson | first=Ken | title=The element : how finding your passion changes everything | url=https://archive.org/details/elementhowfindin00robi | url-access=registration | publisher=[[Viking Press]] | location=New York | year=2009 | isbn=978-0-670-02047-8 | oclc=233549573 }}
* {{cite book | last=Robinson | first=Ken | title=Finding your element : how to discover your talents and passions and transform your life | publisher=Viking Press | location=New York | year=2013 | isbn=978-0-670-02238-0 | oclc=829096794 }}
* {{cite book | last=Robinson | first=Ken | title=Creative schools: the grassroots revolution that's transforming education | publisher=Viking | location=New York | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-14-310806-1 | oclc=893894810 }}
* Robinson, Ken (2018). ''You, your child, and school : navigate your way to the best education''<ref name=you>{{cite book | last=Robinson | first=Ken | title=You, your child, and school : navigate your way to the best education | publisher=Viking | location=New York, New York | year=2018 | isbn=978-0-670-01672-3 | oclc=993684586 |quote="LEARNING is acquiring new knowledge and skills, EDUCATION is an organised program of learning, SCHOOL is a community of learners"}}</ref>
* Robinson, Ken (2022). ''Imagine If... Creating a Future for us All. Penguin. {{ISBN|014199097X}}
=== Awards and honours ===
*2003 [[Knight Bachelor|Knighted]] for his life's work.<ref name=strauss />
*2004 Companionship of [[Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lipa.ac.uk/content/AboutUs/testingcompanionspatrons.aspx?year=2006 |title=LIPA Companions |work=Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts |year=2014 |access-date=13 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140915050409/http://lipa.ac.uk/content/AboutUs/testingcompanionspatrons.aspx?year=2006 |archive-date=15 September 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*2008 Governor's Award for the Arts in Pennsylvania{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}}
*2008 Gheens Foundation Creativity and Entrepreneurship Award{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}}
*2008 [[George Peabody Medal]]<ref name="KenRob">{{cite web |url= http://sirkenrobinson.com/?page_id=10 |title=Biography |work=sirkenrobinson.com |year=2014 |access-date=13 August 2014}}</ref>
*2008 [[Benjamin Franklin Medal (Royal Society of Arts)|Benjamin Franklin Medal]] from the [[Royal Society of Arts]]<ref name="KenRob"/>
*2008 Honorary Degree from [[Birmingham City University]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bcu.ac.uk/about-us/corporate-information/honorary-graduates/full-list |title=Honorary Graduates of Birmingham City University |work=Birmingham City University |year=2014 |access-date=13 August 2014 |archive-date=27 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827110400/http://www.bcu.ac.uk/about-us/corporate-information/honorary-graduates/full-list |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*2009 Honorary [[Doctor of Fine Arts]] from the [[Rhode Island School of Design]] (RISD)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.risd.edu/press-releases/2010/Commencement-2009/ |title=Ken Robinson Keynote Address at Commencement 2009 |work=RISD |date=30 May 2009 |access-date=13 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216003100/http://www.risd.edu/press-releases/2010/Commencement-2009/ |archive-date=16 December 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*2011 Gordon Parks Award for Achievements in Education<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gordonparksfoundation.org/news/gallery?id=12 |title=Gordon Parks Celebrating Creativity Awards Dinner and Auction |work=Gordon Parks Foundation |date=1 June 2011 |access-date=13 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130207153002/http://www.gordonparksfoundation.org/news/gallery?id=12 |archive-date=7 February 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* 2012 Arthur C. Clarke Imagination Award<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.clarkefoundation.org/2012/04/arthur-c-clarke-foundation-confers-honors-for-lifetime-achievement-innovation-and-imagination/ |title=Arthur C. Clarke Foundation Confers Honors for Lifetime Achievement, Innovation, and Imagination |work=The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation |date=10 April 2012 |access-date=13 August 2014}}</ref>
*2012 Honorary [[Doctor of Humane Letters]] from [[Oklahoma State University]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.okstate.edu/press-releases/1600-robinson-vennerberg-to-speak-at-osu-commencement-ceremony |title=Robinson, Vennerberg to speak at OSU Commencement ceremony |work=OSU |date=25 April 2012 |access-date=13 August 2014}}</ref>
* Honorary Fellow of the [[Central School of Speech and Drama]]<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.cssd.ac.uk/content/honorary-fellows-honorary-phds |title=Honorary Fellows & Honorary PhDs |work=Royal Central School of Speech and Drama |year=2014 |access-date=13 August 2014}}</ref>
==Personal life==
In 1977, Robinson met Marie-Therese "Terry" Watts, while delivering a course in Liverpool.<ref name="Guardian obituary"/> They married in 1982 and had two children, James and Kate.<ref name="Guardian obituary"/>
Robinson died on 21 August 2020, aged 70, at his home in [[London]].<ref name="Guardian obituary">{{cite news |last= Bates |first= Stephen |date= 26 August 2020 |title= Sir Ken Robinson obituary |url= https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/aug/26/sir-ken-robinson-obituary |work= The Guardian |access-date= 27 August 2020}}</ref><ref name=strauss /> According to his daughter, Robinson died of cancer.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sandomir |first1=Richard |title=Ken Robinson, Who Preached Creativity in Teaching, Dies at 70 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/11/world/europe/ken-robinson-who-preached-creativity-in-teaching-dies-at-70.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=11 February 2022 |date=11 September 2020}}</ref>
== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}
== External links ==
{{Wikiquote|Ken Robinson}}
* [http://sirkenrobinson.com/ Official website]
* {{Twitter}}
* {{IMDb name|2213158}}
* {{TED speaker}}
* [http://www.PersonalLifeMedia.com/podcasts/dishy-mix/episode006-sir-ken-robinson-creativity-innovation.html In-depth interview on creativity]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0pQzuPnAaA/ Sir Ken Robinson interviewed on ''Conversations from Penn State'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101204004045/http://www.imno.org/articles.asp?qid=283&sid=3 IMNO Open Source Mentoring interview with Robinson]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120724172203/https://www.radiowaves.co.uk/story/14527/title/interviewwithsirkenrobinson Liverpool pupils interview Robinson, 2008]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120722175042/https://www.radiowaves.co.uk/story/22803 London students interview Robinson, London International Music Show, 2008]
* [http://mediaSnackers.com/2007/06/mediasnackers-podcast88/ Podcast interview with DK from MediaSnackers, 2007]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Ken}}
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:2020 deaths]]
[[Category:Academics of the University of Warwick]]
[[Category:Alumni of Bretton Hall College]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Leeds]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of London]]
[[Category:British educational theorists]]
[[Category:English expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:George Peabody Medal winners]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Writers from Liverpool]]