Professionalism

Announcing Sir Ken Robinson as the Art Ed Now Featured Presenter!

Today, we are thrilled to announce Sir Ken Robinson as the featured presenter for the Art Ed Now 2017 Summer Online Conference!

Sir Ken Robinson is an internationally acclaimed expert on creativity and innovation, and the author of Finding Your Element, The Element, and Out of Our Minds. He also has the most viewed TED talk of all time with over 45 million views –“Do Schools Kill Creativity?” He is one of the most influential voices in education and the arts today, and we could not be happier to have him as a part of Art Ed Now.

And he has a message just for you!

During the conference, Sir Ken will talk about creativity, finding your passion as an art teacher, and the benefits art teachers can bring to their schools. It will be an inspiring presentation that you will not want to miss!

Register Now!

In addition, be on the lookout for an upcoming episode of Art Ed Radio where Tim talks to Sir Ken about a variety of topics. It will be a thought-provoking, engaging, and intelligent conversation. Here’s a sneak peek with just a few short nuggets of wisdom from Sir Ken:

Sir Ken’s advice for teachers who are on the proverbial “art teacher island”:

“When you’re on your own laboring quietly, and you’re overlooked by the administration, and you’re the only voice out in the wilderness–it’s very hard to keep yourself going on that basis. Teachers need to be empowered, they need to know there are other people engaged in this too. They need to make common cause and connect with them and learn from them. Above all, education is a collaborative process. The more teachers can connect with each other and make some small changes, it’s going to help.”

On parents and how they can affect their child’s education:

“Parents are of course deeply invested in education, but they often don’t know more about education than the education they had, what they read about, or the school their kids go to. I think it’s important they get information and advice on the sort of education that kids need these days. Often, against their will, parents can become part of the problem they’re trying to solve. They don’t see why kids should do art at school—they think it’s a waste of time. They can’t see why kids should do music at school. They can be pushing hard for their kids to go to college, and get a law degree when their kid might be so much better off doing something else entirely.”

On how change can start in our own classrooms:

“There is room in any school for things to change. With the right vision, leadership, and support, things can begin to shift. Teaching, at its best, is a creative profession, and that’s why most people go into it. I think it is important for people to believe in their own creative powers and cultivate them. It’s not easy to come up with new ideas, but you have the power to move things around and try to do them differently. When you close the door to your classroom, what you do next IS the educational system for those kids.”

Register Now!

Sir Ken’s intelligence, passion, and love for the arts are inspiring. There will be so much to enjoy and learn about as he dives deep into creativity, teaching art, and the importance of art education on August 3rd. Don’t miss your chance to hear Sir Ken and an impressive list of inspiring presenters speak about the most vital topics in art education today. See you there!

Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Timothy Bogatz

Tim Bogatz is AOEU’s Content & PD Event Manager and a former AOEU Writer and high school art educator. He focuses on creativity development, problem-solving, and higher-order thinking skills in the art room.

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