A book written merely a decade ago - very relevant if you are a parent and want the very best for your child. Very relevant if you are simply wanting to figure out what to do that might make you happy. The title 'The Element' refers to the state where every person trying to find what makes them perform their very best, ideally finds themselves in.
A race car driver performing on the track, a ballet dancer on stage or a carpenter in his natural element selecting his wood and working with the grain they all can be extremely accomplished and fulfilled if they are in fact in their element.
This thesis is also a rant against what our current educational system has become, a ritualistic and mechanised assembly line of students who are forced into conformity and assessed in their capabilities as a result of standardized tests that measure nothing more than the ability of the parent to fork out large sums of money.
This is somewhat in contrast to another book I read in parallel by Mark Hanson, a NY blogger who preached to not give a fuck about every little thing around you and make the moment that cherishes who you are count. It rails against all the Instagram crazed millenial and gen Z cultures that seem to only find depression after comparing themselves with the person with two swimming pools and a hot partner.
Mark exhorts his readers to give up on the idea of finding the best of anything including yourself and be more accepting of who you are. There are some parallels in that they both expect people to stop looking through a lens made by someone else and start focusing on who you are inside.
Sir Robinson, so called because he was knighted by the Queen (a rather hilarious premise IMHO) is actually also a gifted speaker and can narrate his subject in a calm, casual yet effective manner to large or small audiences; from a TED stage, to heads of state or anyone who would listen.
He implores us all to stop fantasizing about conformity and having yourself or your child follow a prescription of what is common cliche of graduating with best schools and wanting to find a job that might pay well but make you miserable. Instead dwell on what really defines you and seek it with gusto.
A lot of it might appear fantastical to someone in dire circumstance and myself and my best half can attest - sometimes your life does not afford you the luxury of discovering your inner intelligence. Sometimes the cliche is your friend and you do what must be done... in that I disagree with this esteemed author.
His book reads much like a Gladwell essay or Michael Lewis's research, which this is. Exhaustively researched (the guy has a PhD) but focusing on one thing and that is critical thinking and learning is what education should be but isn't. Our system is to blame and the sooner we get off the IQ and SAT scores wagon the sooner we will start growing.
The ed. I read was published circa 2009 which means it was before the advent of iphone and facebook and in that it is somewhat dated. There is a new edition in print now and I plan to read it. Robinson in a recent talk said so - he ended up rewriting most of this book to conform to the pace of change that is a constant in our workaday lives.
A race car driver performing on the track, a ballet dancer on stage or a carpenter in his natural element selecting his wood and working with the grain they all can be extremely accomplished and fulfilled if they are in fact in their element.
This thesis is also a rant against what our current educational system has become, a ritualistic and mechanised assembly line of students who are forced into conformity and assessed in their capabilities as a result of standardized tests that measure nothing more than the ability of the parent to fork out large sums of money.
This is somewhat in contrast to another book I read in parallel by Mark Hanson, a NY blogger who preached to not give a fuck about every little thing around you and make the moment that cherishes who you are count. It rails against all the Instagram crazed millenial and gen Z cultures that seem to only find depression after comparing themselves with the person with two swimming pools and a hot partner.
Mark exhorts his readers to give up on the idea of finding the best of anything including yourself and be more accepting of who you are. There are some parallels in that they both expect people to stop looking through a lens made by someone else and start focusing on who you are inside.
Sir Robinson, so called because he was knighted by the Queen (a rather hilarious premise IMHO) is actually also a gifted speaker and can narrate his subject in a calm, casual yet effective manner to large or small audiences; from a TED stage, to heads of state or anyone who would listen.
He implores us all to stop fantasizing about conformity and having yourself or your child follow a prescription of what is common cliche of graduating with best schools and wanting to find a job that might pay well but make you miserable. Instead dwell on what really defines you and seek it with gusto.
A lot of it might appear fantastical to someone in dire circumstance and myself and my best half can attest - sometimes your life does not afford you the luxury of discovering your inner intelligence. Sometimes the cliche is your friend and you do what must be done... in that I disagree with this esteemed author.
His book reads much like a Gladwell essay or Michael Lewis's research, which this is. Exhaustively researched (the guy has a PhD) but focusing on one thing and that is critical thinking and learning is what education should be but isn't. Our system is to blame and the sooner we get off the IQ and SAT scores wagon the sooner we will start growing.
The ed. I read was published circa 2009 which means it was before the advent of iphone and facebook and in that it is somewhat dated. There is a new edition in print now and I plan to read it. Robinson in a recent talk said so - he ended up rewriting most of this book to conform to the pace of change that is a constant in our workaday lives.
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