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Creating Tomorrow's Schools Today: Education - Our Children - Their Futures 2nd Revised edition by Gerver, Richard (2014) Paperback
<div>Education is the platform for our success or failure, but is our system still fit for purpose? Will our children be equipped to face the challenges the future holds: the rapidly changing employment patterns and the global environmental, economic and social crises ahead of us? Or will our children grow up to resent their school years and blame them for their unfulfilled potential and achievement? <br/><br/><em>Creating Tomorrow's Schools Today </em>explores these questions in the context of early schooling and primary education, presents powerful arguments for change and highlights strategies that offer a solution. </div>>
Paperback
First published February 4, 2010
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About the author
Richard Gerver
6 books12 followersRichard Gerver has been described as one of the most inspirational leaders of his generation. He is an award-winning speaker, bestselling author and world-renowned thinker.
Richard began his career in education, most notably as headmaster of the failing Grange Primary School. In just two years, famously transformed into one of the most acclaimed learning environments in the world. He was celebrated by UNESCO and the UK Government for its incredible turnaround.
Richard has since transitioned to the global stage where he uses his trademark humour and natural style to deliver passionate, provocative and authentic speeches. He draws upon the first-hand experiences and unique insights garnered from frontline education to explore the links between great leadership, human potential, change and innovation. His ability to connect experiences across many seemingly different environments helps people to expand their thinking and perception of potential. It is this authenticity and uniqueness which has helped Richard win him global acclaim and invitations to speak on the most recognised stages, including TED, the RSA and BBC radio.
Richard Gerver has been described as one of the most inspirational leaders of his generation. He is an award-winning speaker, bestselling author and world-renowned thinker.
Richard began his career in education, most notably as headmaster of the failing Grange Primary School. In just two years, famously transformed into one of the most acclaimed learning environments in the world. He was celebrated by UNESCO and the UK Government for its incredible turnaround.
Richard has since transitioned to the global stage where he uses his trademark humour and natural style to deliver passionate, provocative and authentic speeches. He draws upon the first-hand experiences and unique insights garnered from frontline education to explore the links between great leadership, human potential, change and innovation. His ability to connect experiences across many seemingly different environments helps people to expand their thinking and perception of potential. It is this authenticity and uniqueness which has helped Richard win him global acclaim and invitations to speak on the most recognised stages, including TED, the RSA and BBC radio.
The three core principles underpinning Richard's philosophy are communication, empowerment and impact. He argues that great leadership is first and foremost about serving the needs of the people who work for you. His mantra: systems and structures change nothing; people do.
Having successfully transitioned from teacher to thought leader, Richard has had the opportunity to regularly advise governments and major corporations globally, including Google, Visa, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Deloitte, Harrods, Puig and Telefonica. His unique experience and insight into realising human potential also see him working in elite sport, with Olympic and Paralympic coaches, EPL Soccer coaches, England Golf and professional cricket teams. He has recently started working with the British music industry to help develop a capacity for forward, proactive and sustainable change.
Richard is also a bestselling author. His first book, Creating Tomorrow’s Schools Today (now in its second edition), has become a seminal text around the world for those engaged in the transformation of education. His other books are explorations of human potential, leadership and success. In Change and Simple Thinking, Richard explores the world beyond school, through the eyes of an educator. Both have received critical and public success; both achieving global bestseller status. All his books have been translated into a multitude of languages including Spanish, Chinese and Korean.
Most importantly, Richard is always humbled to be able to share his lifelong commitment to living, learning and laughing.
Richard began his career in education, most notably as headmaster of the failing Grange Primary School. In just two years, famously transformed into one of the most acclaimed learning environments in the world. He was celebrated by UNESCO and the UK Government for its incredible turnaround.
Richard has since transitioned to the global stage where he uses his trademark humour and natural style to deliver passionate, provocative and authentic speeches. He draws upon the first-hand experiences and unique insights garnered from frontline education to explore the links between great leadership, human potential, change and innovation. His ability to connect experiences across many seemingly different environments helps people to expand their thinking and perception of potential. It is this authenticity and uniqueness which has helped Richard win him global acclaim and invitations to speak on the most recognised stages, including TED, the RSA and BBC radio.
Richard Gerver has been described as one of the most inspirational leaders of his generation. He is an award-winning speaker, bestselling author and world-renowned thinker.
Richard began his career in education, most notably as headmaster of the failing Grange Primary School. In just two years, famously transformed into one of the most acclaimed learning environments in the world. He was celebrated by UNESCO and the UK Government for its incredible turnaround.
Richard has since transitioned to the global stage where he uses his trademark humour and natural style to deliver passionate, provocative and authentic speeches. He draws upon the first-hand experiences and unique insights garnered from frontline education to explore the links between great leadership, human potential, change and innovation. His ability to connect experiences across many seemingly different environments helps people to expand their thinking and perception of potential. It is this authenticity and uniqueness which has helped Richard win him global acclaim and invitations to speak on the most recognised stages, including TED, the RSA and BBC radio.
The three core principles underpinning Richard's philosophy are communication, empowerment and impact. He argues that great leadership is first and foremost about serving the needs of the people who work for you. His mantra: systems and structures change nothing; people do.
Having successfully transitioned from teacher to thought leader, Richard has had the opportunity to regularly advise governments and major corporations globally, including Google, Visa, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Deloitte, Harrods, Puig and Telefonica. His unique experience and insight into realising human potential also see him working in elite sport, with Olympic and Paralympic coaches, EPL Soccer coaches, England Golf and professional cricket teams. He has recently started working with the British music industry to help develop a capacity for forward, proactive and sustainable change.
Richard is also a bestselling author. His first book, Creating Tomorrow’s Schools Today (now in its second edition), has become a seminal text around the world for those engaged in the transformation of education. His other books are explorations of human potential, leadership and success. In Change and Simple Thinking, Richard explores the world beyond school, through the eyes of an educator. Both have received critical and public success; both achieving global bestseller status. All his books have been translated into a multitude of languages including Spanish, Chinese and Korean.
Most importantly, Richard is always humbled to be able to share his lifelong commitment to living, learning and laughing.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 10, 2016
it's a personal account of a former head teacher who wanted to make a school into a disney land. They ended up building a university within a school and a kind of a city with its own administration and services. Lots of local entrepreneurs were involved in the process. All in all "Learning must matter to the learner. For it to matter it must have relevance and context. I learned to walk so that I could get to the cookie jar in the kitchen. I learned to drive a car so that I could go places my parents didn't know about..."
May 3, 2013
Excellent read, progressive outlook! Education must be 'transformed' globally, not merely reformed! The example of Grange Primary School in Nottingham is an insightful one where the author brings hope and light to a once helpless case of failing school system, I loved the realistic and common sense approach to creating a curricula, system, k& pedagogies that were both successful and not complicated as I had imagined it to be..
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March 2, 2024Gerver no miente: quiere crear en las escuelas "marcas" y "jóvenes emprendedores". Pero algunas de sus propuestas en Granger están bien pues reconocen el papel que la taxonomía tienen. Otras resultan paradójicas pues un libro como el suyo, escrito en patrones claros, afirma que todo debe ser "dinámico". ¿Para quienes?
January 27, 2018
It's a bit outdated, as it is basically talking about stuff that happened during the first decade of this millennia, but all in all, Richard and I have a fairly similar view of education. Which I knew, having met him a couple of times, so that was not a big surprise.
March 20, 2018
I didn't really finished it... I just assumed it was finished for me. It has a lot of great thoughts, I loved learning about Gervers project, but I find it really hard to read non-fiction, it doesn't keep my interest. It's a good book, but I craved for some fiction all the way through.
December 31, 2023
Yes! Read this to see that there is another way! We just have to see education and schools from a new perspective.
February 23, 2020
Rompió mis esquemas: ahora tengo un nuevo planteamiento de la educación. Probablemente de aquí se desencadene una nueva forma de plantear las clases en dónde trabaje.
June 1, 2014
Richard Gever is a from-ground-up version of Ken Robinson, both promoting the development of individuals’ unique talents and interests along with creativity.
The book has real substance in both the conceptual ideas and how to implement them. Part I focuses on the conceptual aspect of future education, while Part II the actual implementation of those concepts at his former school in England. For instance, in part I there is a discussion on the importance of making school magical, making learning matter to students and utilizing support from the support, and then, in part II those concepts get realized in the Grange University project (p. 139-141) where the school ran 40 or so workshops two hours every week. I’m especially impressed by the variety of innovative projects and programs that the book included.
There are several big takeaways. First, true education transformation starts at the core; the staff collectively work together to figure out the purpose of school and educational philosophy. Local culture and habits of minds count in that process. Second, we need to accept change as an essential part of human evolution and help our children to deal with the unknown. Further more, to “live within it and be excited by it.” (p. 152) For instance, it’s not just about training our students to be fit for the future job market, but about how to help them to be innovative in creating new jobs for themselves. Third, we need to focus on the future and our job is to best prepare our children for future challenges rather than preserving tradition or doing what’s comfortable for us. Fourth, keeping learners engaged and empowered is the key. Students need to have a sense of ownership in the learning process and to be able to see “what’s in it for me?” (draw links to their lives) and draw relevance to real world. Fifth, schools need to be like a Disneyworld of learning where children learn joyfully.
The book has real substance in both the conceptual ideas and how to implement them. Part I focuses on the conceptual aspect of future education, while Part II the actual implementation of those concepts at his former school in England. For instance, in part I there is a discussion on the importance of making school magical, making learning matter to students and utilizing support from the support, and then, in part II those concepts get realized in the Grange University project (p. 139-141) where the school ran 40 or so workshops two hours every week. I’m especially impressed by the variety of innovative projects and programs that the book included.
There are several big takeaways. First, true education transformation starts at the core; the staff collectively work together to figure out the purpose of school and educational philosophy. Local culture and habits of minds count in that process. Second, we need to accept change as an essential part of human evolution and help our children to deal with the unknown. Further more, to “live within it and be excited by it.” (p. 152) For instance, it’s not just about training our students to be fit for the future job market, but about how to help them to be innovative in creating new jobs for themselves. Third, we need to focus on the future and our job is to best prepare our children for future challenges rather than preserving tradition or doing what’s comfortable for us. Fourth, keeping learners engaged and empowered is the key. Students need to have a sense of ownership in the learning process and to be able to see “what’s in it for me?” (draw links to their lives) and draw relevance to real world. Fifth, schools need to be like a Disneyworld of learning where children learn joyfully.
November 14, 2015
Absolutamente inspirador. Lo de siempre: el libro te elige, escoge el mejor momento. Hace varios meses que compré este volumen y desde entonces intenté empezar a leerlo. Sin embargo, cansado de lecturas ligadas a mi trabajo, opte por la ficción que felizmente me ha dado grandes momentos en este año. Y ahora, en lo más profundo de una de mis más severas crisis pedagógicas, lo retomé para felizmente encontrar un libro de gran sencillez que bien puedo asumir casi como credo. Cansado de encontrar sentido al trabajo que se hace hoy en las escuelas, no encontré aquí respuestas, pero sí recordatorios importantes y detonadores poderosos.
Ubicado en el contexto británico de hace 5 años (que seguramente no ha cambiado en lo sustantivo), el texto ofrece pautas muy útiles para sacudirnos la inercia y cuestionar qué diantres vamos a hacer con nuestros sistemas educativos. Me duele profundamente reconocer que en esto México vive un profundo retraso. Vamos décadas atrás y además seguimos queriendo imitar modelos que claramente no están funcionando en sociedades más "desarrolladas". Naturalmente, como se advierte en el libro, hay mucho de política haciendo eso posible. Y justamente por eso es necesario pensar medidas más radicales. No estoy aún claro de cómo sería eso en mi contexto inmediato, pero en esas ando.
No se resuelve mi crisis con este libro, pero recupero elementos para enfrentarla y asumir algunas acciones. Lo más urgente por ahora es compartir esta lectura con mi equipo. Ojalá hubiera forma también de compartirlo con todos los padres de la escuela donde trabajo. Buscaré el modo de hacerlo, aunque sea por fragmentos. Necesitamos un destino compartido si vamos a andar más tiempo esta aventura juntos.
Ubicado en el contexto británico de hace 5 años (que seguramente no ha cambiado en lo sustantivo), el texto ofrece pautas muy útiles para sacudirnos la inercia y cuestionar qué diantres vamos a hacer con nuestros sistemas educativos. Me duele profundamente reconocer que en esto México vive un profundo retraso. Vamos décadas atrás y además seguimos queriendo imitar modelos que claramente no están funcionando en sociedades más "desarrolladas". Naturalmente, como se advierte en el libro, hay mucho de política haciendo eso posible. Y justamente por eso es necesario pensar medidas más radicales. No estoy aún claro de cómo sería eso en mi contexto inmediato, pero en esas ando.
No se resuelve mi crisis con este libro, pero recupero elementos para enfrentarla y asumir algunas acciones. Lo más urgente por ahora es compartir esta lectura con mi equipo. Ojalá hubiera forma también de compartirlo con todos los padres de la escuela donde trabajo. Buscaré el modo de hacerlo, aunque sea por fragmentos. Necesitamos un destino compartido si vamos a andar más tiempo esta aventura juntos.
April 25, 2012
An interesting view on the education system today and what can be done to improve it.
If only more people shared the authors vision.
If only more people shared the authors vision.
November 1, 2012
delicious. He's is not a great thinkers, but he's working on the field with the best theory, with courage, commitment and great results. Educations needs a revolution. And it´s possible
September 6, 2016
Inspiring read about how children as well as the local community can work together to create learning environments of tomorrow.
November 29, 2014
Excellent! Inspirational and has many good ideas for educationists.
July 24, 2023
a college read 💀 it was something alright
July 5, 2018
Un libro muy recomendable. Se lee muy fácil y aporta una estupenda versión de lo que tiene que ser la educación hoy en día.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews