This week I’ve come across the educational biographies of two influential thinkers in the educational world. One, Laura McInerney has just been appointed to the board of the Teacher Development Trust, a promising organisation committed to ensuring high quality professional development for teachers. The other, Sir Ken Robinson, was recently interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island discs.

 

I found both biographies fascinating, irrespective of my own thoughts about each subject’s educational ideas, and thought I’d share them. It is always interesting to find out more about the educational background of prominent people who influence the thinking of others in the educational world. It is even more interesting to consider how their experiences may have led them to their current thinking.  It is also worth noting that, despite his widely publicized thoughts about creativity in schools, Sir Ken Robinson has never worked in one as a teacher (or otherwise) from what I can tell. 

 

Laura McInerney’s schooling biography 

Sir Ken Robinson’s Desert Island Discs interview (this link worked at the time of posting but depending on when you read it you may have to go to the DID archives instead).

 

Further reading:

Educational blogger, Alex Quigley has written a few posts about Sir Ken Robinson and it’s been interesting to see the steady change of his views from disciple to healthy skeptic.