RE Log Spring 2018

28 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2018 Sir Ken Robinson brought his powerful message about transforming education through innovation and creativity to the Lewis Family Auditorium on October 17, 2017, captivating hundreds of members of the RE community and setting the tone for the launch of REinventing Excellence: The Campaign for Ransom Everglades . Robinson, considered one of the world’s foremost experts on education, advocated for schools that are more individualized and less conformist. He called for more emphasis on creative thinking and less preoccupation with test scores. Robinson addressed an appreciative crowd of alumni, parents, board members, admin- istration, faculty, staff and RE friends for more than 90 minutes. “The human imagination is the seed of every form of human achievement,” he said. “We can’t afford to neglect it.” Earlier that evening, RE’s Chair of the Board Rudy Prio Touzet ’76 introduced Ransom Everglades’ $75 million capital campaign, announcing that $40 million had already been raised, including $30 million in gifts from the school’s trustees. Head of School Penny Townsend also addressed the crowd, explaining why even the nation’s finest institutions must seek reinvention in many realms. “What kind of curriculum is appropri- ate for a society in which traditional work, career ladders, even entrepreneurship are radically different?” she said. “How do we factor in something as potentially world-changing as artificial intelligence? We don’t know any of the specifics. All we do know is that test-centric teaching, perfectionism, and complacency will sink us. A lot needs to be reinvented.” REinventing Excellence will usher in that wide-ranging reinvention, starting in the summer of 2018 with the construction REinvention Starts Now Sir Ken Robinson helps RE launch