At the moment, squirrels are whipping all over the place at Smoky Mountain Pizzeria…I can’t necessarily see them, but Jamie sure can! Their doing the twist, contemplating table dancing, and other things I won’t elaborate on, which reaffirms the belief that I’m not very creative; creativity sometimes feels like flying by the seat of your pants with artistic abilities as the wind beneath propels you. Lacking artistic abilities, I feel like I lack wind beneath my pants??? Wow, that didn’t come out right!
Creativity is an uncomfortable topic for me because it does not feel like a strength I can tap into but rather something that requires huge efforts and stress. Creativity is extremely valuable, so it’s possible I need to learn to think of it in a broader context, as a broader skill set than I currently equate it to be. If I don’t, then I’ll continue to question the ability to help students develop this aspect or whether or not I am discouraging it subconsciously.
The other concern related to classroom practice is how to assess student work objectively, especially if I lack understanding of creativity. How will I be able to “prove” they learned the content or justify my teaching style if I can’t provide the analytical, empirical evidence our education system seems to relish? Will I be able to model, assess, encourage, recognize, and incorporate creativity for the students?
However, it seems clear there is a connection between creativity and innovation. In the article, creative people are described as “engaged, motivated, and open to the world,” and this really does seem to be applicable to the classroom and to fit into my vision statement. In order to foster divergent-convergent thinking it seems we should work to help students learn to view the potential for multiple correct answers. I’m not sure how well this works for math, science, or English (though I’m sure talented content area teachers could help me understand), I believe this fits perfectly into social studies. From learning to view multiple perspectives of issues, it’s not such a stretch to ask them to construct multiple options responses, debate the pros/cons, formulate consensus – negotiate a compromise between opposing parties, and then evaluate effectiveness, which are skills needed in society. So then, I need to stop looking at creativity as something which causes me indigestion and rather as a component which ties in nicely with the objectives already utilized. Creativity can become the wind beneath my wings instead of, well you know, a fart.
I’ve attached a couple of video clips for you to view:
• Where Good Ideas Come From
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NugRZGDbPFU&feature=related
• Changing Education Paradigms (For Cohort 12)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U&feature=relmfu
I did not not think teaching English would have much creativity, except different writing. Since I had no experience teaching English, although I had the credits and the PRAXIS score to teach it, I thought it would be a bunch of terms and names that the kids would have to learn (which is the way many view Social Studies). Since I started teaching, having an English class is an inevitable in the schools where I have worked. I had to change my thinking about English, and suck it up knowing this is what I had to teach. I started thinking of myself as a Social Studies teacher who teahes English. I starting teaching with more current events and History. I also started teaching with perspectives. My favorite is using feminist theory to teach "Beowulf" and Shakespeare. Even the boys were saying, "Men are pigs." My Social Studies background allowed me to teach English in a different and creative way that I felt comfortable with. I am still waiting for parents to call,which is true in my Social Studies classes as well, but the students are learning to like to read and write, and I am getting better at teaching English (which means I am teaching it too much, and need to teach more Social Studies).
ReplyDeleteP.S. You are very creative! I can tell, not just by looking at the cool lessons on your website, but how you talk about what you do! Very inspiring.
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