Amazing, obvious and important influence number one

With motherhood came my initiation into the TED talks. I LOVE them. They are such a good pick-me-up for inspiration and motivation. The first TED talk that began my journey into thinking the education available to my children is just not good enough was the famous and most watched.

It was a talk by the brilliant and entertaining Sir Ken Robinson, which gave me the permission to start questioning the whole system. I'm sure you have watched them, but here they are just in case.

  And then

My favourite quote from them is that "a three year old is not half a six year old."

I then went on to read his re-published Out of our minds and after watching the talks, when reading the book you can hear his voice in your head. The book makes it clear how outdated the current system is and why it was initially designed the way it was. It also highlights how fast the world is changing and showcases some of the schools which are trying new innovative things.

I loved the story of the early years classroom set up in the foyer of a retirement home, with residents from the home spending time reading one-to-one with the children. This approach not only led to an improvement in the children's reading and the building of strong relationships across the generations, but amazingly a dramatic fall in medication levels in the home.

The main things that stayed with me were;

• Move from an essentially maufacturing model to one that is based more on the principles of agriculture.
• "It's about customisng to your circumstances and personalising education to the people you're actually teaching."
• The real importance for all subjects and disciplines being valued.

He is also a proponent of finding your passion, capitalising on each of our differing but natural talents and doing what you love. This was another kick up the butt for me. Children and their learning are what I love, so it made me want to try and put my money where my mouth is so to speak.