How To Find A School Your Kids Will Love (And That You Will, Too)

"Creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status." That's one of the many quotes that's made Sir Ken Robinson's 2006 lecture on rethinking the nation's schools become one of the most popular TED talks — with more than 50 million views.

Over the last two decades, Robinson, an author, consultant and former education professor, has argued, among other things, that dance might be more important than math (though, he admits, both are important). And that our system of education is more like a fast food chain — robotic, formalized and industrial.

In his new book, Robinson takes his ideas about what a school should be and translates them into specific things parents can look for. Our conversation has been edited for length