52 Books (#3) The Element
The Element by Sir Ken Robinson
The Element is the 3rd of 52 books that I will read this year.
How did I find Sir Ken Robinson’s new book, The Element? I had watched videos of Dr. Robinson’s presentations for years. He is a dynamic presenter and a great presentation role model. Plus, he has some unique and controversial opinions on education. Not knowing which book to start with, I fired-up Twitter and asked him (@SirKenRobinson) for a recommendation. He suggested The Element. Within seconds I had the book on my Kindle.
Lessons learned. The Element is that region where your talents, passion and opportunity intersect. The book discusses this in great detail. There are many stories in the book. That describe how people find the Element.
But all is not well. Sir Ken goes on to describe the world of modern education where many kids have problems fitting into modern schools. Schools which, according to the book, were designed during the industrial revolution. Schools which closely resemble factories.
The Element makes the assertion that schools crush creativity. This struck a cord with me. I hated school when I was growing up. To this day there are only a couple of teachers who I remember fondly. The Element was a soul searching trip through memory lane. When I was a child I loved to draw. During the fourth grade a teacher made fun of the blue tree I drew. That was it. I quit drawing. She ruined it for me. Now I know the blue tree was a result of colorblindness. This is exactly the situation that Sir Ken is talking about.
The Element had the surprising effect of making me appreciate my job more. I figured-out that I have lots of control over what I do and, more importantly, how I do it. This was, for me, the best part of the book. It challenged me and made me think, a lot. You can’t ask more from a book.
The final verdict: This is a book that everyone should read. The storytelling is outstanding and you get to learn some interesting facts about some famous people.
