Compliance* is what our education systems are still set up for.

A hundred and fifty years ago, Industrialists were convinced if they allowed a child go to school rather than work in their factory, they would, in a few years time, receive a more compliant adult.**

Brilliance is what we can assume every Human has and it needs to be allowed to shine in some way or other.  Whatever our nature provides us with – the result of the couplings of parents and grandparents and beyond – positive environments and encouragements can help any Human develop in multitudinous ways.^

Seth Godin‘s thesis on education challenges the compliant systems we do not question, whilst McNair Wilson way assumes brilliance in everyone he meets.

More often than not, demanding compliance inhibits the possibilities for a person’s development, whilst assuming brilliance allows people space – from small to big – to become more of who they are and can be.

The problem is, compliance is the loud, bullying voice supported by the system, and has been for too many years.  This means we have to prioritise assuming brilliance wherever we can, until it becomes the norm.

We have a long way to go but if you happen to be in Edinburgh in November you’ll be very welcome to come along to one or both of a couple of happenings.^^

(*Compliance as I write about it today is a negative expression.  Of course, there are times when compliance can be a positive expression, though we tend to overestimate the cases for positive compliance and underestimate negative compliance.)
(**Education has a double edge, of course, offering a child skills to be developed, if, say, they went along to the public library and began reading whatever they could lay their hands on.)
(^Malcolm Gladwell shares the story of litigation lawyer David Boies who overcame dyslexia to become one of the best,  having developed the skills of listening and memorising way beyond his peers.)
(^^There’s #libraryofawesome on the 9th November – developing the idea of the library of the future being a transformative space for people – and VOXedinburgh on the 28th November – an evening of creativity on many levels only made possible through music, story, crafts, and generosity.)