Thom Browne – Pencils at Desks: The State of Innovation in American Education – TEDxSMU 2016
Tracing the rate of American innovation over the last 100 years leaves one noticing that somehow K-12 Education got left off the bus. This linguistically engaging and humorous education policy poetic performance by writer, educator, and designer Thom Browne, combines spoken word, American history, and vivid imagery to paint a comparative timeline of K-12 Education from 1908 to now. Asking “What if…”, we can start to see what the future of schools might be if we are willing to let go of some things we think school must be.
Thom Browne is a writer, designer, and award-winning educator. He is currently the Storyteller in Residence at the Novus Academy in Grapevine, Texas where he is collaborating with artists to create an emotional literacy curriculum to train youth in self expression. Thom travels the country speaking and training educators on building more inclusive and innovative classrooms. Browne is an alumnus of the University of Kansas (Rock Chalk!) and trained in design at Southern Methodist University’s Master’s of Design and Innovation program. He lives in Oak Cliff, Texas with his lovely wife and two clumsy dogs.