The Courage of Creativity

I am motivated by the courage of creativity. Studying creativity wasn't a task I was consciously seeking, but rather it emerged as a common theme found in my recent interests. In reading Tina Fey's and Amy Poehler's biographies, in the work of Ken Robinson and even in watching reruns of 30 Rock, the power of the creative process is causing me to reconsider how I spend my time.

I'm a huge Stephen Colbert fan and I've been listening to his podcasts to bridge the gap between the ending of the Colbert Report and the start of The Late Show. The Report was funny, smart and thought provoking. Colbert explains in a podcast that he knew what he was doing in the past, but he has no idea what his future show will look like because they are still in the process of creating it. They know they are making a show, but they don't let the end goal limit the journey they are taking to figure out what kind of show it can be. They are not daunted by expectations of what the show should be.

As Colbert and his team go through the creative process, they generate idea after idea. As I learned more about comedians and writers, what surprised me is how they don't just brainstorm ideas, but they actually play them out. They see more ideas through than they will ever need and, sometimes, it's not until the actual performance that some of the ideas get cut and some go on. They see ideas through not just because it's fun, but because they know that the process itself is what generates new ideas. It's what causes them to identify and explore areas they didn't even know were there. The process is essential and it takes time. If you really want to discover and explore uncharted territory, you can't shortchange the creative process

I know where public education has been and I know that in the end, what we want are well-educated citizens capable of leading a meaningful life. It excites me to think that the journey between the beginning and the end is undefined. Or, better yet, it's definable by us. As educators, we must be willing to engage deeply in the creative process. We must explore new ideas, ask new questions and try new ways of doing things.  We must see our ideas through if we are to be innovative and responsive to our students' needs. We must not worry that our ideas are too different or haven't been tried before. We must be courageous.

This summer my commitment is to make time to think creatively. To not just recharge and go through the steps of starting up the school year, but to really explore what we are doing, why we are doing it and what could we be doing differently to make a greater impact on kids. I will deeply explore what it means to be an educator in a rapidly changing society.

Here are some of my action steps:
-To finish reading Creative Schools by Ken Robinson...there are lot of thought provoking ideas in his book.
-To continue to explore the creative process both in and outside of education to avoid getting stuck in "school think". I love how easy it is to explore with Twitter, blogs and podcasts.
-To inspire creativity in others by planning a staff retreat at a local art studio. I want to push us out of our comfort zone, to get everyone's creative juices flowing and to keep us thinking about the importance of the creative process for ourselves and our students.

With the help of my colleagues, we'll dream up more creative ideas than we will ever need and see which ones make it to the show.

The Journey

What gets monitored gets done. It's a phrase I hear in education a lot. But what if it's true?

If it's true, then we had better be careful when selecting what to monitor. When we spend our time monitoring standards, the best we can expect is "standard". A fixed endpoint within a very specific timeline and a list of pass or fail.

Children deserve to have an engaging, individualized, creative and authentic learning experience. When we focus our learning primarily on obtaining standards like a checklist, we can easily miss opportunities for learning outside these boundaries.

When I started reading Making Learning Personal by Barbara Bray and Kathleen McClaskey, I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea of a different end goal for each learner--of not just a differentiated learning journey, but the possibility of an entirely different learning outcome for each student.

My worlds are colliding. On one hand I know the effectiveness of aligning, prioritizing and teaching high impact standards. On the other hand I know the sheer joy that kids exude when they are on fire about a project. They surprise us by showing more depth and creativity than we could have imagined and they don't end up at a fixed endpoint.

Can we have the best of both worlds? What if we put our efforts into learning journeys instead of just learning outcomes?

There would be more opportunities for adventurous learning. Students and teachers alike would be energized by authentic projects, problems and ideas. Students would be doing real work and the teachers wouldn't have all of the answers. We would be celebrating the creative process of learning, honoring individuals and developing habits of mind.

To ensure we are focusing on the right work, my staff and I have:
-Designed lessons that involve creativity, personal exploration, student choice and critical thinking. It is through these lessons that students practice the standards and our goal is not the standards alone
-Maintained a belief that our role is to develop the whole child. Our learning goals include habits of mind and character development.
-Started implementing project based learning. The whole school designed and carried out community service projects-it was powerful.
-Carefully chose priority standards and their prerequisite standards. Our priority standards are higher level, critical thinking standards.
-Empowered students by involving them in knowing their learning targets. We have found this doesn't limit them, but rather helps them focus on the skills they are practicing during their learning journey. They set goals and celebrate the small wins along the way.

A shift in thinking and practice must occur if we are to fully engage our creative learners. This unpredictable adventure seems scary for those of us who have lived by the standards...even if we have pushed their boundaries and have done great teaching within them.

How are you focusing on the learning journey? How do you still remain accountable to the standards? How do you get the best of both worlds-or do you think that's possible?

Out There

I have been afraid.

I have always loved connecting with others by hearing their stories. For me, hearing the stories of others helps me make meaning of my own journey. It helps me to be more empathetic and compassionate. We have all walked a journey that contributes to who we are. We are all complex, feeling beings. Years ago a professor challenged me to "suspend my beliefs of others" so that I truly get to know them. In doing this, we don't make assumptions or judgements. We are able to connect on a deeper level and truly hear what others are telling and showing us. This past year, I met an inspriational leader, George Couros. George encouraged us all to get out there--to Tweet, to blog, to connect online, to grow in ways that we haven't been able to before. I've reflected on George's challenge. I've stalked people on Twitter. I've rid myself of Twitterphobia, forcing myself to Tweet. I've started reading blogs, amazed at how connected they make me feel.

Now, one year after meeting George, I'm getting myself out there.

I have been an administrator in public education for ten years. I know enough to know I don't have all the answers. But I do have a desire to connect, learn and inspire. I am energized by constant growth. I will remain relevant. So here it is, my first blog post.