A few years ago, Sir Ken Robinson gave an inspiring speech to an assembly of teachers in Harrogate.
His task was to encourage creative thinking and unlock some of the restrictions placed on kids’ imagination.
He came up with a great analogy that got people thinking.
He asked the teachers to imagine how they’d react if William Shakespeare was in their class.
Although he’s now widely recognised as the greatest dramatist of all time
Bill was also a bit of a maverick.
If he couldn’t think of a word to express something
He made one up.
In fact, it’s estimated that he made up over 3,000 words.
That’s a lot of broken rules.
But here’s the funny thing – 1,200 of them (here's a list) have been adapted and incorporated into everyday language.
Follow that line of thinking for a moment.
Would Picasso’s art teacher have said
“Well I like the colours, but maybe try putting eyes on either side of her head”?
Despite the best efforts of teachers, peers and managers, great ideas always find an audience.
Rather than reacting with “It can’t be done” we should give them time to breathe.
Or we can just keep drowning them in a bucket of cold water.
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