Category: Books

The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything

I recently finished reading “The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything” by Ken Robinson. I had very much looked forward to reading this book after seeing the video titled “How schools stifle creativity” at http://edition.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/11/03/robinson.schools.stifle.creativity/index.html. This book was certainly well written and captivating through its illustrative technique of using real world examples, many of which were based on well known people.

Favorite Insights:

p. 238: “Children learn best when they learn from each other and when their teachers are learning with them.” This makes so much sense and yet most of school is about linear and mostly unidirectional information flow.

p, 67: “You can think of creativity as applied imagination.” There is a followup statement that links creativity, as opposed to imagination, with value. However, I would think that imagination is a prerequisite for creativity, not a form of it. Therefore, I would suggest that imagination has value as well but less perceptible in the adult realm.

p. 77: “Creative insights often come in nonlinear ways, through seeing connections and similarities between things that we hadn’t noticed before.” This is something that instructors need to be aware of and incorporate in their design style.

pp. 179-183: Four roles of mentors: recognition, encouragement, facilitating, stretching. I wonder whether there is a necessary sequence or relative magnitude for these roles to be optimally effective.

p. 90: “One of the strongest signs of being in the zone is a sense of freedom and of authenticity.” This backs up the notion of having a youth creativity and leadership workshop that is free-form.