Since I started this blog I’ve been following a lot of cultural thinkers through blogs, Facebook, and Twitter, and I’ve come across some incredible leaders who have changed the way that I look at the world. This list is a small sampling of who I’m paying attention to (mainly the result of time limitations…babies can only play by themselves for so long) so I welcome you to join me on Facebook or Twitter and see more of the people that I follow.
I’d also love to know…who do you think should be on this list?
Happy reading!
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Gever Tulley, Tinkering School: http://twitter.com/#!/gever
Why you should follow him: Tulley is the visionary behind Tinkering School, a place where “children can build anything, and through building, learn anything.” He’s opening a new school this fall in San Francisco called Brightworks, where “students explore an idea from multiple perspectives with the help of real-world experts, tools, and experiences, collaborate on projects driven by their curiosity, and share their findings with the world.” If I could justify the drive, I would be over-the-moon if my kids attended this school. He also wrote a book called Fifty Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do). What’s not to like? Tulley explains Tinkering School here in about four minutes.
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Maria Popova, Brain Picker: http://twitter.com/#!/brainpicker
Her Twitter Page: Maria Popova, Brooklyn, NY. Interestingness curator and semi-secret geek obsessed combinatorial creativity. Editor of Brain Pickings. Bylines for @WiredUK @TheAtlantic @DesignObserver http://brainpickings.org
Why you should follow her: Brain Pickings is a well-curated blog of all sorts of interesting ideas from the worlds of design, science, psychology, art, you name it! From her blog (because it’s hard to classify this one): “Brain Pickings is a discovery engine for interestingness, culling and curating cross-disciplinary curiosity-quenchers, and separating the signal from the noise to bring you things you didn’t know you were interested in until you are.” You just never know what you’ll find there, but you know it will always be good. Maria also writes for Wired UK and GOOD, and tweets all the gosh darned time. Just look at her profile picture — she’s out there, finding the best of the best for you and me to devour. For example, check out this recent article from The Atlantic:A round-the-world tour of children’s bedrooms. So freakin’ interesting! She also has a popular Facebook page.
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Sir Ken Robinson, Author: http://twitter.com/#!/SirKenRobinson
His Twitter Page: Sir Ken Robinson, Los Angeles, CA. http://www.sirkenrobinson.com
Why you should follow him: Sir Ken comes from the world of arts education, and has grown to become one of the most forward-thinking leaders in the realm of creativity. He wrote Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative and The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, which I’m reading right now. Not only is his writing friendly and approachable, but he’s also a riot to listen to. The word “brilliant” barely begins to describe him, and you’ll want to know what he knows. If you haven’t already heard of Sir Ken Robinson, watch this video and you’re sure to become his newest fan.
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WOW! I can’t wait to check out these creative visionaries. Thank you, Rachelle, for sharing so much inspiration. I’ve read that book – “Fifty Dangerous Things…”.
You might be interested in these:
– Sugata Mitra – his ‘hole-in-the-wall’ project for kids is being talked about world-over (http://www.hole-in-the-wall.com/)
– Arvind Gupta (scientist, museum director of Children’s Science Centre in Pune, India, who has played a huge role in popularizing hands-on science through toys and activities with junk.
Thanks for the link to Hole-in-the-wall. I just linked over (lots of good reading!) and joined them on Facebook. I’ve seen Arvind Gupta on TED Talks — thank you for the reminder as he slipped off my radar. Brilliant. Here’s a link if anyone is interested: http://www.ted.com/talks/arvind_gupta_turning_trash_into_toys_for_learning.html
Oh, here is the website of Arvind Gupta: http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/
He’s also translated thousands of books on education into English and regional Indian languages.
Thank you Rachelle! Visiting your site is like food for my brain daily! Oh, and my kids get huge benefits too. 🙂
You’re so nice to say that, Becca. I’m so glad you’re here!
Rachelle thanks for sharing these. Sugata MAitra,which Rashmie mentions is amazing,too. I LOVE that hole-in-the-wall experiment.
Two votes for hole-in-the-wall! Must learn more about it! Thank you, Isil.
looking forward to checking these out! thanks rachelle!
no problem, jen. thanks for the comment!
This is great – thanks for pointing these people out – super interesting!
You’re so welcome Leslie!
I think I want to be like you when I grown up:)
In all seriousness, I just stubbled on your blog, and what a wonderful mix of intelligence and imagination. You have just swept in and became my #1 new favorite…thank you.
Hi AshLee! Are you sure you have the right blog? In all seriousness, you just made my day! I’m glad we’re connected and hope to see you around here often!