Ken Robinson - Imagine If . . . : Creating a Future for Us All

You, Your Child, and School

Creative Schools

Finding Your Element

The Element

Out of Our Minds

The core of this book has been in development for decades. It is, after all, an accumulation of a lifetime of work. My fathers lifetime of work. It is even more significant, of course, because we had no idea when the proposal was being drafted or the agreements were being signed that he wouldnt be here to hold the finished book in his hands. That being said, there are two ca-veats to highlight before continuing.

The first is that there will no doubt be people whom Dad would have loved to acknowledge here, and who absolutely deserve the acknowledgment, but may be missing from the list. If you are one of these people, please know that it is absolutely not intentional, it is simply a result of not having Dad here to ask.

The second is that there are people who supported me and my family during the most difficult time we have knownlosing Dad. These people gave their hearts to keep ours beating, even though they were breaking, and they deserve true acknowledgment and recognition. There are also people who contributed actively to Dads work over the years, and they also deserve true acknowledgment and recognition. Im afraid I havent been able to include all these people here, for fear the pages of acknowledgments would outnumber the actual pages of the book itself. Dad lived an incredible life and had a monumental careerthere is a place for a book dedicated to that alone, and should I write it I will include a more comprehensive list of acknowledgments than I have here. All that is to say, I have focused solely on the people who have helped in the process of making this particular book.

With those caveats out of the way, and all of us hopefully on the same page, here we go.

First and foremost, I must thank Dad. Not only for beginning this book, but for trusting me to finish it and for his confidence in me to do it justice. The same goes for the team at Penguin Viking for their patience, understanding, compassion, and support throughout this process: my first editor, Victoria Savanh for making the prospect of writing a book seem less terrifying, for bouncing ideas back and forth, and for elevating each draft with her spot-on feedback; then Gretchen Schmid, who took over when Victoria left Penguin and picked up the project seamlessly to guide me through the final stages of production and design to the book you are holding now. Josephine Greywoode at Penguin UK, who has shown kindness and consideration at every turn, and who has generously shared her expertise with me throughout. At Global Lion Management, my sincere thanks to Charlie Sarabian for being a true friend to Peter, for answering my hundreds of questions, and for always being there.

To Sophie Britton, our incredible EA, a published author in her own right, who read every single draft before I was brave enough to send it to Penguin, and whose feedback and advice have been an invaluable lifeline. I also must thank Sophie, although I may be the only one, for closing my diary entirely while I was writing and patiently rescheduling every meeting I snuck in and then inevitably realized I couldnt make.