Sir Ken Robinson is an English author, speaker and committed supporter of education and the arts. He has been writing educational books since 1977 and contributes very respected texts in the study of art education. "Out of Our Minds" is a book promoting creativity in the work place. Robinson discusses why there is a lack of creative minds entering the workforce and plans to put forth strategies to change this. He argues that creativity is undermined in schools and many teachers and students do not realise their full creative potential. This lack of creativity is leaking into the workforce and employers are now in demand more than ever for creative minds. Although this article was written in 2001, I believe his points are still relevant in today's society. Robinson attributes five theories as to the causes of this downfall, which I will discuss below. Robinson's book argues that creativity is not something that only exists in certain people. Many people exhibit creativity without even knowing it or even thinking they can. There are examples of this everywhere. My mother is a social worker who thinks she doesn't have a creative bone in her body. I would disagree, and I think Robinson would too. Even something so common as talking with people and dealing with situations can exhibit creativity. Social workers are trained by the book, the dos and don'ts of dealing with people, but however, as Robin's claims, real creativity is enriched with feelings and intuition. That is just what her job is about. Creativity can emerge in any activity, and whenever we are intellectually engaged in almost anything. Many people fail to recognise this and has therefore led to a waste of talent and human resources.
Robinson also notes of the faults of the education system. Too many schools are failing to see the importance of creativity. There is a preoccupation with developing students in more academic subjects without recognising they are isolating others.