I have been reading a great deal lately and watching some fascinating youtube videos. I know what it feels like to be in the trenches of education while the bombs seem to be going off everywhere without relief in sight. The teachers of today are heroes. Unsung heroes at best many times, but heroes no less. I would like to briefly look at three men who are trying to help the children and teachers of the planet. They are creative, educated and passionate about education. This is good news for all of us. There are of course many great people working tirelessly for all of our children, but I am only going to look at these three for today’s blog. Edward De Bono, Daniel Pink and Sir Ken Robinson are leaders in education, business and creativity. I believe they are all on the right track for our future, and the future of education.

Edward De Bono is considered by many as one of the leaders in the field of creative thinking and the direct teaching of thinking as a skill. He has written over 62 books with translations into 37 languages. He is the originator of lateral thinking. My favorite technique of De Bono’s is Six Thinking Hats book and game. This technique has been used in businesses and schools around the world successfully. The main point of the training is to help people see different subjects and situations from different points of view and value all of them equally. Go to his website www.debono.com for more information on all of the wonderful trainings and information this man has to offer all of us, especially teachers.

Daniel H. Pink is a great author, speaker and humanitarian. The two books he has written that deal with thinking and education are my favorites. A Whole New Mind really reminds us all what education is supposed to be about while he investigates where the future of thinking and dealing with the world is going. His emphasis on happiness, story and developing life long skills is interesting and provocative. His latest book Drive — The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us is an eye opener for all parents, grandparents and teachers. Our children are naturally motivated to learn and the techniques used to normally to motivate all of us don’t appear to be that effective. The studies that he found and discusses are well worth checking out. He has a great website danpink.com that is constantly updated and full of interesting information. He also has a newsletter that is very good and full of tidbits for people of all walks of life.

Sir Ken Robinson, the internationally renowned expert on the field of creativity, is a powerful spokesman for the children of our world. Governments, corporations and cultural organizations worldwide employ this visionary to change and improve our companies and institutions. He is the author of many reports, papers and several books including The Element — How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything and Out of Our Minds. As a parent, grandparent and educator I can’t recommend enough the work of Sir Ken Robinson. His view of child development, education and creativity is crystal clear and profound. His information cuts through worn out, bureaucratic ideas like a laser beam that has been needed for many years.

His work also appears on youtube, which gives all of us the ability to hear this inspirational speaker give real facts about creativity, learning and children. Check out his thoughts on reforming education. You can go to youtube and sign up for a free account and watch his work when they appear. There are many videos on his speeches especially through TED. I hope these three men give you inspiration and a hopefully attitude as we move forward toward a happier more fulfilling educational system for the teachers and the children of our world.