The Call For Creativity
Two summers ago, this Newsweek cover caught my eye. It was a satisfying acknowledgement of my core belief as an educator: Students can -- and should -- be taught to be creative.
Some Excerpts:
My Response: My goal for the summer of 2010 was already to write a book explaining my philosophies and techniques for teaching creativity to my high school English classes. Seeing this magazine article inspired me to see this project through to the finish. "The Creative Classroom" (or "Hey' You're Doing It Wrong: How To Really Teach High School English" or "Creating Creative Classes") developed as a treatise on the benefits of the writing workshop, an explanation of how to be a creative teacher, and a toolkit of specific lesson plans and methods of instruction.
This Blog: My intention is to blog about my ideas for better educational practices. I try not to get caught up in politics -- standardized testing, charter schools, teacher evaluations -- and instead focus on the day-to-day grind of how to teach better. I believe that any grade, any level, any subject matter can be taught in a way that motivates new thought, accomplishes goals, and inspires young minds. The Creative Classroom is engaging, student-centered, and project-based. It encourages collaboration, demands risk-taking, and values quality over quantity. It's rooted in Nancy Atwell's writing workshop but adds layers of new ideas atop that solid bedrock.
Click here to read more on these ideas...
Some Excerpts:
- “American creativity scores are falling. [The culprit is] the lack of creativity development in our schools. In effect it’s left to the luck of the draw who becomes creative: there’s no concerted effort to nurture the creativity of all children.”
- “As school stuffs more complex information into their heads, kids get overloaded, and creativity suffers.” America’s focus on “standardized curriculum, rote memorization, and nationalized testing” is based on an outdated model."
- “When creative children have a supportive teacher – someone tolerant of unconventional answers, occasional disruptions, or detours of curiosity – they tend to excel."
- “While our creativity scores decline unchecked, the current national strategy for creativity consists of little more than praying for a Greek muse to drop by our houses.”
My Response: My goal for the summer of 2010 was already to write a book explaining my philosophies and techniques for teaching creativity to my high school English classes. Seeing this magazine article inspired me to see this project through to the finish. "The Creative Classroom" (or "Hey' You're Doing It Wrong: How To Really Teach High School English" or "Creating Creative Classes") developed as a treatise on the benefits of the writing workshop, an explanation of how to be a creative teacher, and a toolkit of specific lesson plans and methods of instruction.
This Blog: My intention is to blog about my ideas for better educational practices. I try not to get caught up in politics -- standardized testing, charter schools, teacher evaluations -- and instead focus on the day-to-day grind of how to teach better. I believe that any grade, any level, any subject matter can be taught in a way that motivates new thought, accomplishes goals, and inspires young minds. The Creative Classroom is engaging, student-centered, and project-based. It encourages collaboration, demands risk-taking, and values quality over quantity. It's rooted in Nancy Atwell's writing workshop but adds layers of new ideas atop that solid bedrock.
Click here to read more on these ideas...
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