The New Smart: How Nurturing Creativity Will Help Children Thrive

by Terry Roberts, Howard Gardner (Foreword)

Who will thrive in the year 2050? The New Smart is a riveting study of the kinds of minds that will succeed in the 21st century. As it turns out, the key ingredient for all aspects of life is not traditional IQ but creativity. In Dr. Terry Roberts’ newest book he presents readers with a 21st century exploration into intelligence and creativity. The New Smart argues that the old notion of intelligence as a static quotient has ceased to mean much of value. Being smart, especially as it’s related to test scores and school grades, has less and less to do with success in contemporary life. Both these words and the ideas they represent are worn out. Our new age demands something much more fluid, much more resilient―much more creative. In this book, we ask who will thrive in the future? And by reframing the question, we arrive at the following profile of successful • • • • • • The New Smart asks how we re-train ourselves and educate our children for a life that demands such creativity. It provides a clear roadmap away from standardized schools producing standardized minds and describes in detail why creative is The New Smart .

Genres: Audiobook, Education, Teaching, Nonfiction

157 pages, Hardcover

Published November 26, 2019

About the author

Terry Roberts is the author of seven celebrated novels: A Short Time to Stay Here (winner of the Willie Morris Prize for Southern Fiction and the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction); That Bright Land (winner of the Thomas Wolfe Literary Award, the James Still Award for Writing About the Appalachian South and the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction); and, The Holy Ghost Speakeasy and Revival (a finalist for the 2019 Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction), My Mistress’ Eyes are Raven Black (Finalist for the 2022 Best Paperback Original Novel by the International Thriller Writers Organization), The Sky Club (a finalist for the 2023 Thomas Wolfe Literary Award), The Devil Hath a Pleasing Shape, and In the Fullness of Time.

Roberts is a lifelong teacher and educational reformer as well as an award-winning novelist. He is a native of the mountains of Western North Carolina—born and bred. His ancestors include six generations of mountain farmers, as well as the bootleggers and preachers who appear in his novels. He was raised close by his grandmother, Belva Anderson Roberts, who was born in 1888 and passed to him the magic of the past along with the grit and humor of mountain story telling.

Roberts is the Director of the National Paideia Center and lives in Asheville, North Carolina with his wife, Lynn.

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What will our children need for their futures, what will they need from their schooling? Dr. Terry Roberts has a visionary response to the question that is on the mind of every parent. Success will not be gained from a high test score, a high IQ score. What children will need is to be creative, to be able to adapt to new conditions, and to collaborate with others as they adjust to the changing world. And we, as the adults who care for them, will need to advocate.

[Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roberts contends that our traditional view of intelligence as a static number (IQ for example) is actually limiting. He examines the work of Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences and also his research into combining intelligences. Gardner’s view was that it was the combining of intelligences coupled with time that is most powerful in developing creativity. Roberts asserts that in schools “creativity” is a far greater goal rather than intelligence. It is possible for nearly everyone to exercise intensifying levels of creativity when combining ones various intelligences. Roberts asserts that schools need to encourage the development of intelligence rather than primarily seek to measure intelligence, something which happens far too often in schools.

Roberts is an engaging writer, whose book is thought-provoking. It is a very accessible read, and conceptually will likely stick with me for quite some time. Yet, I did feel the book was light in terms of original research. Roberts referred to Gardner frequently. So much so that I felt at times maybe I would have been better served to have picked up Gardner’s book instead. Had Roberts referred to other current research on creativity, his conclusions would have held more weight. Nevertheless, this book was a worthwhile read. I will certainly explore the topic further.

[Carissa]

I almost read half of this book before I ultimately decided to set it down for good. The writing was academic and mechanical. I was unimpressed by how the author presented and interpreted data. Too much was glazed over or completely unacknowledged. Sometimes broad sweeping statements were made without enough data to back them up. This book was more political than I was expecting for the topic.

On the bright side, it did make me think about education and what exactly constitutes intelligence. It was fun to hear about famous people who did poorly in school.

DNF around 46%.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a lifelong teacher AND as a parent, I have been both moved and inspired by The New Smart: How Nurturing Creativity Will Help Children Thrive. We all want what’s best for our own children (including our nieces, nephews, grandchildren) including that they are well-prepared for adulthood. For many of us who teach, this hope also applies to the hundreds of children and adolescents who come through our classrooms. Fingers crossed, we wish for them personal happiness and professional success. The New Smart goes straight to the heart of this profound desire by examining the world in which the next generation will live out their lives and then building a portrait of what it will take to prosper in that world. Terry Roberts makes the convincing argument that what life in 2050 will require of us and our children is not traditional intelligence but creativity. He challenges us to rethink our previous definitions of success and plan for the future.

If you have children or young people in your life that you care about, you need to read this book. In particular, if you are an educator and want to be part of the movement that leads to true 21st century schools, you need to share this book with everyone you know.

[Kadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is what I've been trying to preach to parents and teachers for years! We are giving our children a modern education and then sending them out into a postmodern world.

"What we serve up in the middle school and high school experience is about as unimaginative as it can be."

I dock a star because this book was too brief and gave no real advice for parents and teachers who have no other options than the traditional, authoritative, and over-specialized school system.

[Mujah Aziz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought the book could have been a little longer more vocab for the most part great book but still feel like it could been structure a little better with more fact clinical date stats and number with more the development of the creativity to thrive like key process format in the classroom to get the kids in that mode. More the most part still was a great theory and prediction in 2050? We all should be riding on Battery operative vehicle then right...To be continue

[Namratha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay…. im not a teacher so prob not intended audience but just seemed like a rehashing of gardeners theories
plus didn’t know where he got the vision of the traits needed for the future….

but I got a good take way which is that our creativity is marked my our consistent productivity through out our lives … so guess I need to find something to do and have something to show for my life

[kathryn donovan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The case for more creativity and critical thinking in schools.

[Sarah Robbins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really anything new in my opinion. More a summary of lots of other research.

[OjoAusana · Rating 5 out of 5]

really loved this audiobook and the ideas in it!

[Beth Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one. It made me write letters of thanks to my teachers for their creative & collaborative teachings.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do parents and educators prepare our children to succeed in the future? The author makes a compelling case for project based learning and the importance of exploring creativity.

[Abby Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read. Every out of the box educator will be affirmed as they read this book, and may find themselves shouting, "YES!!!! That's how I need to learn and need to have freedom to teach creatively to reach ALL learners!"

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What will our children need for their futures, what will they need from their schooling? Dr. Terry Roberts has a visionary response to the question that is on the mind of every parent. Success will not be gained from a high test score, a high IQ score. What children will need is to be creative, to be able to adapt to new conditions, and to collaborate with others as they adjust to the changing world. And we, as the adults who care for them, will need to advocate.