Daniel Pinkauthor of Free Agent Nation and A Whole New Mind
www.danpink.com
After his presentation at a recent forum on the creative economy at the Savannah College of Art and Design, I asked Pink if he was optimistic about any of the responses he's seen to our current economic crises coming from our institutions. In a word, he said "no." But then he clarified ...
“What I’m optimistic about – it isn’t the institutions – it is the young woman from Laos who came to this country at 12 not speaking English who graduated at the top of her high school class and is majoring in industrial design at the Savannah College of Art and Design and, on her break time, is building the ‘next big thing.’
“At colleges, I’m optimistic about the rise of self-created majors. But at the K-12 level it is truly scary. It isn’t the teacher or the principals, who do heroic work, but the problem is the policymakers who create these incredibly restrictive rules. Public schools are moving to more routines and standardization at a time when those skills are the most irrelevant.”