PME 811- Post #10

I feel as though I could continue to write a post daily on all of my thoughts and reflections. For my last post, I wanted to reflect on creativity. We have now defined it, evaluated it, and researched it in class. But, I still feel like this generation of students I am teaching are not experiencing creativity in the classroom's anymore. Art and music budgets are being cut, recess and free play time has been shortened, and the stress on students mastering standards is in full effect.

As we recall, Sir Ken Robinson's Ted Talk in 2003 expresses how our current school system suppresses creativity. Paul Collard for Creative Partnerships states, "60% of English students will work in jobs that are not yet created!" This is alarming to me. Why isn't creativity a learning standard yet? If we know this is an issue, why aren't we making it mandatory? Why are we preparing our students with knowledge that may not have an impact on them when it is clear that creativity is a necessity for survival for them? To me, it just appears like we are lacking intelligence and setting up our students for failure.

So, as we know, it is left to us teachers to make the difference and do what is needed to help these children. Collard expresses the importance of teaching creative skills in the classroom. According to Collard, “Creative skills aren’t just about good ideas, they are about having the skills to make good ideas happen.” These 5 major areas that he focuses on are, "Imagination, being disciplined or self-motivated, resiliency, collaboration, and giving responsibility to students." Creativity should be our focus in the classroom.

As I reflect on my past 10 blog post and my desire to create a student-centered classroom where students flourish in creativity and innovation, I feel armed with the strategies and skills to make this change in my classroom and for my students.

Thank you for following along with my journey!

Riley Wood

Sources:

Clifford, Miriam. “30 Things You Can Do To Promote Creativity.” InformED, 26 Nov. 2012, www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/30-things-you-can-do-to-promote-creativity-in-your-classroom/.