Ken Robinson Intro from #TEDxLondon

Sir Ken Robinson's video's from 2006 and 2010 on TED.com are the most watched video's on the site with over 200,000,000 views. The event TEDxLondon was organised in response to his 2010 talk about the state of education and the need for an Education Revolution:



Ken started his 2011 talk by agreeing with politicians who state that we need to go "back to basics". However, the definition of "back to basics" was a reference to fundamental principles of education, not the common definition of "basic subjects" e.g. Literacy, Numeracy and Science.

Ken defined his three fundamental principles of education as:

1. Economic (To ensure economic growth, development and sustainability)
2. Cultural (To understand each other, as much of today's conflict is based on cultural misunderstanding)
3. Personal (To relate to people as individuals, their hopes and challenges)

The root of this revolution is to PERSONALISE education, as opposed to standardising it (the latter strategy is currently being used simply as it is more convenient for testing and measurement). All of our students have unique talents and interests and by standardising education, we are limiting them and restraining them from the pursuit of their true interests.

In referencing Peter Brook's "The empty space", Ken went on to discuss how we should start with the 3 principles and personalised education and only add things if it actually improves the experience and learning. There is no need to throw in a load of other things if it does not improve the educational experience. Education revolution needs to be based on learning and by this we do not mean simply the content of the curriculum but rather the quality of learning.

Ken closed by stating four principles for the Education Revolution:

1. Personalised learning (everyone has a unique story)
2. Customised learning (for the specific environment, community, place and time)
3. Diversity (Because human life is diverse)
4. Partnerships (Between schools and other institutions such as museums, the local community, businesses)

These four principles will be required in order to meet the needs of the 21st Century. Marcus Davey (the host of TEDxLondon) went on to encourage us to make small steps in order to make a great leap forward.