"You can't be creative unless you are acting with high intelligence."
-Sir Ken Robinson
Does education allow our kids to paint outside the lines or does it encourage teachers to have the kids paint by the numbers?
One of the greatest challenges I find in teaching is being allowed to challenge my students to be creative and "paint outside the lines".
How does a teacher help foster creativity with their students when they're told they think too far out of the box or outside of the lines? How does a teacher motivate their students when they're told they should try to do some more traditional lessons or keep their kids painting by the numbers? Does thinking like this prepare our kids for what they need NOW?
Like Sir Ken Robinson points out in this talk here, human beings possess one of the greatest qualities necessary to move forward and make great strides in education...our imagination. Robinson points this out in 2008! Why is it that seven years later teachers are still being questioned on making kids think imaginatively and creatively? Why do administrators, teachers, and communities continue to stifle it?
Robinson encouraged us to no think of "reforming" our education system, but to think of "transforming" it. Has the education system been transformed yet?
I have roughly 180 days with my students. Every one of the those days I need to challenge their thinking and encourage them to look at their learning a bit differently and "transform" their thinking. I want my students creating their own paintings.
Robinson believes creativity is as important as literacy and numeracy. Why do we continue to not promote this with teachers and students? What can teachers do NOW for our kids?
What do our students need NOW?
Our students need to...
...have creativity as a centerpiece to their learning
...know that they are valued
...know they can make a difference
...think creatively
...have teachers that will encourage them to think outside the box
...understand all "courses" have value to their life
...be given opportunities daily to develop their creativity
...understand that they are all creative
What else do you believe our students need right NOW?
What kind of paintings are your students creating?
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