A Tribute to Our Hero, Sir Ken Robinson
1950–2020
Sir Ken Robinson passed on August 21st, 2020 at the age of 70. He is one of the greatest educational heroes of all time.
He championed creativity and educating the whole person.
If you’ve listened to Ken’s TED Talks, you’ll know he was deeply passionate about supporting young people. He believed that schools were doing a disservice to children by stripping away creativity, instead of instilling it within them. ‘We are educating people out of their creative capacities,’ he expressed. He advocated educating the whole person and believed that ‘the arts, sciences, humanities, physical education, languages and maths all have an equal and central contribution to make to a student’s education’.
He made his voice heard.
Ken spent his career speaking and writing about creativity, innovation and education. Education ‘is one of those things that goes deep with people…like religion and money,’ he expressed in his famous TED Talk, Do Schools Kill Creativity. Through his talks, best-selling books, interviews and articles, he inspired generations of educators, parents, and young people to question the traditional educational paradigm. His reach was so wide that in 2019, he was awarded the Nelson Mandela Changemaker Award for Global Impact.
He inspired generations.
Whether speaking to a big audience or sharing his insights from his living room, Ken was one of the most powerful storytellers we may ever know. He was playful, humorous and articulate, building trust with his audience almost immediately. Over the years, he inspired us to stay true to our vision and reminded us of the value within our work. ‘What you do for yourself dies with you when you leave this world, what you do for others lives on forever,’ he once said.
He was a coach.
Whether or not Ken realised it, he was a coach. He believed in human potential and the importance of finding our unique passions. In his book The Element, he expressed, ‘...too many people never connect with their true talents and therefore don’t know what they’re really capable of achieving. In that sense, they don’t know who they really are.’
He will be remembered.
Thank you Sir Ken Robinson for inspiring us to do the work we and millions of others do. Thank you for telling inspiring stories, pioneering creativity, advocating for education, and living a life of service. You will be remembered in our hearts and minds for the rest of time. Our work will continue to honour you.