The first video by Sir Ken Robinson on creativity really resonated with me. I was one of those students that teachers appreciated because I was quiet and did what I was told, however I felt as though I was slipping through the cracks. Quiet students are often easy to overlook, and at times teachers assume that they understand the content because they are not asking questions or being vocal. This is not always the case. Speaking from my own experience I was very shy and did not like the feeling I got when I told the teacher that I didn’t understand. This happened almost across the board (math, science, social studies, and more).
One subject I really enjoyed was ELA. While there were still times that I did not understand how to do what the teacher was asking, I felt that I could be myself. I was at home reading, and writing became my preferred method of communication. I wrote short stories, poems, and wrote a chapter to a book that I had a vision for in my freshman year of high school. Unfortunately there was a systemic crushing of my dream. Teachers either did not believe me, or discouraged me from going any further with something so “frivolous.” The message was clear; “Give up now before you can fail. You’ll never be a writer.” It crushed me, and I began using writing as a means to achieve a grade rather than seeing it as a passion. The book I had started was quickly abandoned.
From then on my grades in high school English dropped steadily. I was still passing, but was not producing the work that I had once striven for. Instead of feeling connected to my writing I felt detached. This feeling increased as I entered college writing courses and was made to write pages upon pages of material that I cared nothing about. The point was for writing to be a formal expression on someone else’s ideas. Any other interpretation was strongly discouraged.
The result was that my technical writing got better, but I was suffering to regain my sense of self. I would try to write for fun, but it was labored and sounded stiff when I read it back to myself. Even when taking a creative writing course I found that I relied on the directions given to me by the teacher to know what to do. I was so connected to being told how to write that I couldn’t do so unless there were specific instructions. I had to know exactly what the teacher was looking for or else I was lost. This is a sentiment I have heard shared several times across several subjects. While not exactly encouraging, it did give me a sense of urgency.
This was at about the same time that I began my core education courses as an undergraduate student. I began writing again, as hard as it was, and stopped worrying about editing. I also wrote lesson plans with a focus on student interests and creativity. Like Robinson, I realized that encouraging creativity was the only way to really see the students’ full potential. Instead of medicating the life out of our students, we should strive to find those things that they are passionate about and help them realize their dreams.
I teach fifth grade math in a very small private school. For some of the students math is natural and comes to them easily. For others (like me at that age) math is like another language that they cannot comprehend. I have learned very quickly that the way to motivate both types of students to do their own personal best is to connect math to something that they enjoy, something they are good at, or something that interests them. Recently we went over a unit on fractions, so I brought in colored pencils, markers, construction paper, and scissors and told the class to show me various fractions using the materials I had given them. It was a simple lesson, but the creativity of the students amazed me. One student represented eighths by creating a three dimensional flower (that I am not going to even try to describe; it was just too cool). Another student drew a picture of the class as a fraction of boys to girls. Everyone came up with their own representation and each one enjoyed the freedom to explore their creativity.
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