Creativity and Connectivity

If you have never visited TED.com prepare to have your mind blown. Current innovators in every field share their ideas in 15-20 minute presentations. I can only handle about three or four in a day or my brain will get stretch marks. Here's an easy one for starters and it relates to the last post about creativity and relevance: Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity. Like Ken, I believe that every child is a genius. One commentator says of Ken's idea,

"This thesis feels so authentic. The premise is not that we all need to be artists. Rather for me it says that releasing the idea that there is one right answer, or one right way to educate, opens up a world of possibility. [...] All means of retaining our inherent human creativity should be pursued passionately."

If you're interested in more about creative genius try Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity. This was my first TED talk.

If you've taken sides in the debate of left brain vs. right brain or academics vs. arts join Robert Lang as he illustrates how origami is improving art, space research and medicine.

Despite being reared in a culture of specialization, my personal philosophy is that all truth is circumbscribed in one eternal whole. Every truth enlightens, improves and applies to every other truth. My ultimate goal is total integration. Let's connect. What are you discovering?

Life-coach

I picked this painting instead of the many other images of mothers reading to children because the mother has a book and the child has a book. The mother and child are having a conversation and the mother is pointing outside of what I presume to be the home indicating the relevance of what they are reading/discussing to the outside world.

We're moving in a good direction, but I am continually tempted by the school model to just dump a bunch of information on my children. I like this life-coach approach. It behooves me to consider myself their life-coach on a discovery driven process. This is a great reminder to move towards the ideal of curiosity, relevance and enthusiasm in learning in whatever circumstance we deem best for our children. I also just finished a lecture by John Gatto on Extended Childhood. He always reveals the socialist and corporate (socializing) underpinnings of our current education model, but it seems corporate now needs people who are self-motivated, flexible and innovative.