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Sir Ken Robinson

Kirsty Young talks to educationalist Sir Ken Robinson.

Kirsty Young's castaway is the educationalist Sir Ken Robinson.

Creativity - how to nurture it, develop it and marshal its power - is his preoccupation. He believes that too many people have no sense of their true talents and passions, and his internationally renowned talks to teachers, business and government leaders argue that - contrary to popular myth - creativity and innovation can be developed in a deliberate and systematic way. What we need, he thinks, is a learning revolution.

His own erudition began in a crowded house on Merseyside in the fifties, full of visitors, noise and laughter. His front door was just a hundred yards from Everton football club, but his boyhood dreams of playing for The Blues ended when he contracted polio.

The first of his six siblings to pass the 11-plus and win a scholarship to one of Liverpool's best schools, his education would fundamentally shape the rest of his life. He says "If a teacher hadn't seen something in me that I hadn't seen in myself, my life might have gone in a very different direction."

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Available now

45 minutes

Last on

Fri 8 Nov 2013 09:00

Music Played

  • The Beatles

    Love Me Do

    • Please Please Me.
    • Parlophone.
  • Sergey Prokofiev

    Dance of the Knights (from Romeo and Juliet)

    Performer: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. Performer: Mark Ermler.
    • Essential Russian Ballet.
    • Royal Opera House.
  • Dick Powell & Wini Shaw

    Lullaby of Broadway

    • The Best of Busby Berkeley at Warner Bros.
    • Turner Classic Movies/Music.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Hallelujah Chorus (from Messiah)

    Performer: The Portsmouth Sinfonia. Performer: Ken Robinson.
    • Classical Muddly / Hallelujah Chorus (From Händel's Messiah- Part II).
    • Springtime.
  • Joan Armatrading

    Down to Zero

    • Classic.
    • A&M Records/Universal.
  • The Mamas & the Papas

    Creeque Alley

    • California DreaminÂ’ The Best Of The Mamas & The Papas.
    • Universal.
  • Castaway's Favourite

    • Traveling Wilburys

      End of the Line

      • Travelling Wilburys, Vol.1.
      • Wilbury Record Co.
  • Leonard Cohen

    Night Comes On

    • The Essential Leonard Cohen.
    • Columbia.
  • Book Choice

    • India's Summer - Therese

  • Luxury Choice

    • Quad bike with a solar panel

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Kirsty Young
Interviewed Guest Ken Robinson
Producer Cathy Drysdale

Broadcasts

  • Sun 3 Nov 2013 11:15
  • Fri 8 Nov 2013 09:00

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