Welcome friends and colleagues to the Educating for Change weblog! Bonnie has gotten so many thoughtful and thought provoking responses to her online newsletter and website that we are way ahead of schedule in creating a conversational forum for the exchange of ideas. Please join Bonnie and hundreds of others who realize the importance of making change in the field of education, and ultimately, throughout the world.
POSTING DIRECTIONS: Click on the title of the thread (topic) in which you are interested. At the end of the thread, there is an option to post a comment. Click here and follow the prompts in the pop up window. Be sure to enter the security word.
Creativity in the Classroom
Author and educator Mary Kim Schreck is writing a wonderful new book on transforming classroom practice using creativity. At a recent retreat, she shared her research on the negative impact of high stakes testing over the long run. Tell her what you need to be creative and learn rigorous, new content.
6 comments:
Thanks Bonnie for plugging my up-coming book on Teacher Creativity... the more I learn about this, the more I believe that teachers need a nurturing environment with administrative support before they feel comfortable enough to "take a risk" and try new, creative strategies that will serve to engage their students...so that's my addition to your list: strong, nurturing administrative support for teacher efforts...
In addition to the wonderful "perfect school" list I would add, every child should have their own textbook and there should be a variety of supporting texts in the classroom to address the needs of students who read or comprehend at different levels.
Mary Kim hit the nail on the head with teachers needing "strong, nurturing administrative support for teacher efforts." I'll go a step further and add that administrations need not only support teacher efforts but also strongly encourage the risk-taking needed in developing new, creative strategies. And by the way, thank you, Mary Kim Schreck, for getting out there and working on bringing the sun back in the midst of our NCLB cloud with your coming publication. I anxiously look forward to, TRANSFORMERS: CREATIVE TEACHERS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY! We need this kind of book!
I like that you think outside the box when it comes to creativity. You see an object, and your mind creates cool things to do with it within the parameters of the lesson. I need your mind to come up with those things, and then my mind can implement them in my own style.
Bonnie
To continue the thinking outside the box theme.
A student wore a t-shirt with the following quote:
" Don't ask me to think outside the box, if you keep me in the box."
I thought this was a wonderful quote. How often do we, educators, keep our students in OUR box. How often do our administrators hold us captive in their box? Just some ramblings from one who has learned, from Bonnie Davis, the importance of thinking out of the box.
Post a Comment