Everyone is creative: everyone is given crayons in pre-school…. Why don’t we still get given crayons???

Incase you need abit of creative inspiration this website  has some great creativity quotes. Here are some of my favourites:

The’re are two catergories… the first is those who are powerful examples of what can happen if you don’t allow creative thoughts to flourish.

• “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” –Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
• “We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.” –Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.
• “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” –Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.
• “640K ought to be enough for anybody.” — Bill Gates, 1981

The second category is from people who have had a much more creative, open view of life.

• “There is no such thing as a failed experiment, only experiments with unexpected outcomes.” — Buckminster Fuller
• “If at first, the idea is not absurd, there is no hope for it.” — Albert Einstein
• “Standing still is the fastest way of moving backwards in a rapidly changing world. Imagination is the highest kite one can fly” — Lauren Bacall.
• “Backwards understood be only can but, forwards lived be must life.” — Kierkegaard Soren (read it till you get it!)
• “Instead of pouring knowledge into people’s heads, we need to help them grind a new set of eyeglasses so that we can see the world in a new way.” — J S Brown.
• “Come to the edge. We might fall. Come to the edge. It’s too high! Come to the edge! And they came, and he pushed…… and they flew.” — Christopher Logue
• “A problem is a chance for you to do your best.” — Duke Ellington.
• “Never forget that only dead fish swim with the stream.” — Malcolm Muggeridge.

   Many blogs i have found on creativity have been from people in both the business, science and worlds of arts on how to be creative and i thought i would sum them up, with my own take on them, from the view of an educator, thinking does the education system provide such an enironment for creativity?

• Be adaptable, flexible, imaginative.
• Ask ALOT of questions (all the time) from different perspectives and different angles. Give different answers!
• Focus and perserverance.
• Take time to think, be quiet, doodle, write, draw, think about absolutely nothing in particular.
• Play games.
• Do something you would never normally do.
• Think about things that are not there, that you are not already thinking about.
• Be curious.
• Use the natural environment, normal everyday things – you don’t need to go to New York for inspiration.
• Talk, then think… then talk some more.
• Be positive and optimistic.
• Don’t try to think outside your box; it’s too hard. Your box is your own, don’t change it, grow it!
• Be fearless, do something WRONG, stop perfecting.
• Be patient.
• Confront challenge. See problems as interesting. All amazing discoveries/ creations etc. started off as big scary problems.

Does the school environment and system promote these practices?

Some yes… Things like focus, perserverence and the group activities such as discussing, questionning and answering, sharing opinions are often found in the classroom which is encouraging.

Mostly no… Aspects such as timetables, curriculum, grades, deadlines, exams, constantly having to do your absolute best with the constant fear of failure, competetism. All this pressure makes so many of those bullet points near impossible for the average student. Every hour of every school day must be filled most productively to prevent falling behind in teaching plans, the curriculum, but perhaps a more productive week would include an hour just to take a break, think, doodle, play, discuss, do something wrong, talk about things that don’t have to be talked about, sit outside, make something up with no meaning.

Is there any hope for this?

Looking more and more into this subject of Creativity has not only enabled me to look into my own creativity but also to enjoy arty things that i have, not meaningfully, forgotten, like art. Can’t even remember how i found this now but its great! It just shows how you don’t need to be an acclaimed artist to do something creative that people enjoy. Its title explains all reallly, check these out…

A gallery of walls with stuff written on

http://www.picturesofwalls.com/Index.asp?Album=1&Offset=166 

Some of my favourites!

I was really interested in what Ken Robinson had to say in his speech in TEDtalks on creativity highlighting on its role in schools. I wanted to know about his work and what he has been involved in and made a few brief finds that others may be interested in. He was a professor at the University of Warwick and chaired the National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education in 1997. He has also published many books and reports in the fields of education, the arts and creativity and so will be a very useful source of knowledge for this module. Here are a few links that others may find useful…

http://umwremix.blogspot.com/      this blog has many thoughts on Ken Robinsons theories and has many perpectives both positive and negative and so is a very interesting link.

www.sirkenrobinson.com/    is Ken Robinson’s official homepage

http://www.cypni.org.uk/downloads/alloutfutures.pdf      and this is a link to a copy of the Report: National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education. Now i haven’t read it all yet but i did notice that Dawn French and Lenny Henry were both involved in the project?!

    So… first post! I’m a second year Mathematics with Education student and enjoyed my education module last year so much that i am actually taking this module as an elective! The main reasons behind choosing this module are that i am very interested in looking into improving education by strengthening the weaknesses that have emerged through the push for curriculum and testing. Both the monotonous, exam based learning and the belief that the arts are inferior to science have prevented children from learning and improving their creative skills. I believe creativity is vital in education for many reasons but mostly because in any environment children need to be able to think creatively to solve problems, understand new concepts, explore arts, ideas and subjects that interest them and finally, less interestingly, in a working environment. This is why i really enjoyed the Ken Robinson talk and ask if anyone can suggest any similar articles or presentations?

   Although i feel strongly about this topic i am also really looking forward to exploring my own creative side and learning more about what creativity is. I can’t draw for toffee but feel i am fairly creative, perhaps just not in the typical way. I did a bit of drama at school and come from a very musical background but not sure this makes me creative? I would like to think i can think creatively and although i am also very logical i also believe a can think quite imaginatively.

   I’m pretty sure i can’t remember developing much creativity in school myself so although my aim for this module is to learn how to help pupils develop such skills i am also really looking forward to learning and developing creativity abit for myself!