SACRED RULES OF CREATIVITY- Leslie Owen

[Mike]

Hi all... hope this finds you well.

An almost fall like day here in southern new jersey...
As we move into the fall.... we move toward the WEST of the medicine wheel..... the
"looks-with-in place".

Found this on a really great site for educators!!!
Dr. Owen has put together a really great web site!!!

Check it out: http://www.uwsp.edu/education/lwilson/index.htm

Here are her thoughts on the sacred rules of creativity..........

1. Often creativity flourishes in places of safety and acceptance, and is born in an atmosphere of generosity, support, and nurturance.

2. Creativity grows among friends and celebrations, and withers among enemies and confrontations.

3. Creative ideas are often fragile -- like children creative ideas and people deserve protection.

4. Creative successes are often preceded by failures -- for explorations, musings, daydreams, flights of fancy, trial and error are the natural companions of creativity.

5. Creating is a distinctly human trait. Exploring and fulfilling one�s creative spirit is a sacred trust -- a potential given not just to selected individuals, but to all humans.

6. Violating someone else�s creativity is an assault on the very essence of another�s inner being.

7. Feedback on creative ideas and products should be supportive, and should build on strengths, never concentrate solely on weaknesses.

8. Often born from internal or external chaos, dissonance, strife, or disequilibrium, creative production can be a way of creating order, dealing with anger or grief, or solving problems as individuals seek to regain balance.

9. Being creative can be exhilarating, even addictive, and the creative spirit can be wonderfully contagious.

10. If one wishes to observe, appreciate and encourage creativity in oneself and others, one must learn to be quiet and still, to listen, and to watch, and see with the heart as well as the eyes.

Perfect find for me as we all move toward fall....

be well.... mike

[Ian Carmichael]

Thanks Mike,
An encouraging post, except for moving towards fall. Us antipodeans are going to be stubborn, and head for spring!

[Connie Weber]

Ian, are you being contrary? ;-)

Mike, thanks for the post. I think creativity is one of the most important things to nurture in ourselves and in our classes. I actually think people avoid carving out or opening up time for creativity, perhaps especially in school. Shouldn't we should be conveying to students that it's something of value?

I can see why creativity often doesn't "fit" within the school structure. It's messy, unpredictable, full of mishaps and failures, and not easy to box into specific time-periods.

But in my view, it's the life blood of learning. It provides the fuel, the power for the adventure of learning.

I think of how when students are asked to complete the sentence "School is _________") you know what they say? "Boring." And I think of how in the early grades if you ask students to raise their hands if they're artists, most everyone does... and how that number decreases dramatically as students get older. In sixth grade, not too many students feel they are artists. Those are just a few indications that a solid injection of opportunity for creative work would be beneficial.

Parents often ask me, "Can you really teach creativity?" I always answer in the affirmative. Some people think it's a "have or have not" sort of thing, but that's not my belief. I think it can be nurtured and brought out in people of any age. And I think we'd do best by keeping it strong from early development on.

[Ellen Pham]

I think I've asked this one before Connie - maybe I asked and then didn't listen for the answer : )

How do you consciously go about teaching creativity in the elementary classroom? I'm very curious to hear more about your own practice on this one, for my own edification!

[Connie Weber]

Hi Ellen,

Yes, I remember you asking the question before; I think we only talked a little bit about it. How to teach creativity?

I think the MOST important thing is to create a climate in which creativity is safe and valued. Now I know that I've endorsed the view that creative people are robust and often unaffected by failure, they're spontaneously experimental and courageous... But society seems to work to "tame" the creativity, and it behooves us to counter that in our classrooms, allowing the creative sides of people (especially the more tender and tentative people) to blossom. The learning climate plays a key role in fostering creativity.

Can students speak their thoughts aloud, comfortably? Can they switch modes of thought on the spot, jumping from disciplined mathematics to playful metaphor? Can physical movements be added in? Gestures? Sound effects? Will the learning climate support a variety of expressions of the learning that's going on? Can the learning climate rock back and forth between highly disciplined (self-disciplined) study and exploratory play? The teacher has to model creativity. The teacher has to help students provide for each other a climate that's tolerant, supportive, open.

In some classes it's as if the students are in an old and dreary version of a zoo: the animals are in cages and expected to be contained, obedient. There's also a scarcity of attention and access to resources, which makes the animals competitive with each other. NOT the setup for nurturing creativity.

For starters, I don't even think it's about creativity per se, it's about the learning climate being supportive of people being able to be (allowed to be) their full selves in class. Some people will show a lot of creativity, some will just show a little. The idea is to accentuate all sorts of creativity as they arise, show that creativity is valued, just as other forms of being are valued.

I'm notorious for pushing the edges of ordinary ways of doing schooling... Students in my class get used to the phrase "This is an open-ended assignment," even those who at year's beginning are inclined to break out in a cold sweat when they hear that. We become metacognitive about what "open-ended" means and requires; we frequently discuss the skills and ways of being that promote creativity and investment in self- (or group-)guided exploration.

But I'll tell you, the broad sociocultural climate for learning in this era has made creativity more rare. Today's students arrive in class with a more restricted, constricted view of school-learning. That isn't necessarily a function of parenting or previous classes. I think it's a complex multivariate equation with social worry being a big factor, probably themed by fear. Will I (or my kids) be able to "get ahead," how can we get students to "gulp up" more knowledge, what skills can be inserted, how can we "give" young people "the most." (Notice how so many suburban k-12 students are whisked off to enrichment classes and activities, often several a week, providing great opportunities but leaving out free time and self-directed exploration time.)

Rare or not, there are plenty of ways to bring creativity alive. After the learning climate is set up for support of full-being of selves in class (and of course this has to be an ongoing thing), there are specific ways to set up the "opening of the animal cages." Drama is great, particularly in elementary school. "Performances of Understanding" from the Teaching for Understanding approach work extremely well. And Problem-Based Learning activities bring out a huge amount of creativity--and bring out the interconnection of many different learning styles, both within and between individuals.

You got me going, Ellen, and I'm happy to expound (and ramble) further as we get the chance. Let's continue this discussion (I'd love to work with somebody on creativity in the classroom in the ementoring program)--there's a lot we could investigate.

[Ellen Pham]

Thank you, Connie! Your post is inspiring. Please keep going as much as you want and as the spirit moves you. I really like hearing what you have to say on this one. It feeds me.

Sorry I didn't reply right away. Somehow I missed that there was a response here, and wasn't alerted til the email came about Anna's reply.

It is not surprising to me that you two are sisters!!

[Anna Billings]

Hi Ellen,

Yes, I recall your question also and finally tracked it down (at least one place where it appeared) — in the Metacognition discussion, Feb 15 this year. Here is the response I posted then:

"I believe creativity is inherent to each of us, so creativity itself isn't necessarily taught, but the conditions for and/or principles of creativity that allow it to flourish can be taught. Such as letting go of judgment and the urge to control; paying attention to subtle cues from within; getting out of our own way; releasing our attachment to specific outcomes; being willing to be surprised; risking; playing. I think it's more about teaching and cultivating ways to free up our natural creativity." Anna

And a response from Ian also:

"I'd turn the question around, Ellen. (Of course!) How do we stop teaching dull conformity? If we can avoid that, then creativity remains free to flow!" Ian

It's fun how our discussions weave and resurface as our thoughts find there way into the cracks and crevices of various topics. :-)

Great response from Connie here also.

And from everyone. Great discussion topic, Mike!

[Ellen Pham]

Thanks Anna for taking the time and attention with this, and reminding me of the replies to the previous discussion. It seems that all you said provides the emotional foundation that Connie builds in her classroom : )

I adore hearing about the practical applications that can spring from this foundation.

I know I've been saying it for two years, but I gotta get me a real classroom soon! (I am subbing at the moment... a different animal most days! Where are those cages when I need them??)

[Nathan Lowell]

That Ian. Always going antipodeon on us.

Makes me wanna go to Tazmania and visit him! :) There's people I'd like to visit in Australia and NZ too.

Someday.

I like the list. Very positive and upbeat, but I have to put on my Curmudgeon Hat and point out that in my own efforts at creativity, I've *never* felt safe, *never* felt protected. I always have the sense that I'm putting myself at risk in some real way with each new effort. By itself, that's not terribly significant but speaking from my own experience as an adult trying to restore the artist within, I think I need that adversarial perspective to force me out of the comfort zone, to make me toss the "good" ideas because I know they can't stand up. It enables me to be creative in ways that "safe" and "protected" and "nurtured" never have.

Your mileage may vary, but there's a reason for the "starving artist" cliche.

:)

[Mike]

Hi All.... hope this finds you well.

Whoops... Ian...forgot this device goes all over the world!!!
Happy Spring!!!

Nathan... i agree with alot of your points.

Here is another take......

Six-trait Snowflake Model of Creativity

This model of creativity was developed by Professor David Perkins and consists of the following steps:

1. A strong commitment to a personal aesthetic. Creators have a high tolerance for complexity, disorganization, and asymmetry. They enjoy the challenge of struggling through chaos and struggling toward a resolution and synthesis.

2. The ability to excel in finding problems. Scientists value good questions because they lead to discoveries and creative solutions, to good answers.

3. Mental mobility allows creative people to find new perspectives on and approaches to problems. Creative people have a strong tendency to think in opposites or contraries. They often think in metaphors and analogies and challenge assumptions as a matter of course.

4. A willingness to take risks and the ability to accept failure as part of the creative quest. These people also exhibit the ability to learn from their failures. By working at the edge of their competence, where the possibility of failure lurks, mental risk-takers are more likely to produce creative results.

5. Creative people not only scrutinize and judge their ideas or projects, they also seek criticism. Objectivity involves more than luck or talent; it means putting aside your ego, seeking advice from trusted colleagues, and testing your ideas.

6. The last trait is that of inner motivation. Creators are involved in an enterprise for its own sake, not for school grades or paychecks. Their catalysts are the enjoyment, satisfaction, and challenge of the work itself.

David Perkins is a professor at Harvard and one of the co-founders of Project Zero in Harvard's Graduate Degree in Education programs. He is the author of numerous books on education, schools, thinking, and creativity.

What do you make of these....

be well...mike

[Nathan Lowell]

Oooo.. I like this one. Less Pollyanna, more Andy Warhol.

[Connie Weber]

Hello Mike and Everyone,

Dave Perkins is so amazingly brilliant. That list seems spot-on to me. Howard Gardner also does a great list on the Creative Mind; I remember there's one page in Five Minds For the Future that seems like a character-analysis of me. That book's at home and I'm at school so I can't quote it now.

There are some other sides to being creative that aren't much discussed on these lists.

--It can be awkward or painful to be the one thinking creatively in a situation, if others aren't up to Big Questions (which just seem to pop out, of their own volition, honest, I'm really innocent) or if others think playfulness is frivolous (which it is, sometimes).

--The personal drive or need to be creative has to be honored; without finding time that allows creative thinking, people like me can become basket-cases, all jittery and restless.

--Having exact recipes or procedures for learning often incites rebellion; a creative person is most comfortable with a multiplicity of approaches to a topic. (But don't get me wrong, the highly creative people I know are also highly disciplined, and will learn things deeply, often with laser-focus. It's just that in the learning they don't want to be restricted, they bring in a broad constellation of knowledge, often overlapping several disciplines.)

--It can be embarrassing to look back and see just how audacious you've been. The boldness or courage that comes out at the time can afterwards (upon reflection) be so humbling. ("Did I really....?") Yes, creative people are risk-takers and follow their guts a lot of the time, but oh, how to live with one's self. Sometimes I think I need to invest some weeks in a "finishing school" to upgrade my social skills, particularly feminine demureness. (Oh wait, that would be acting class!) Gardner talks about the creative person being robust, and that is true some of the time--one just plunges forth with experimentation to see what happens--but there's that aftereffect, oh my gosh. There are the looks... I like one look that people give me at times like that, the look that dogs put on when they're puzzled, head cocked and all. I don't like the look that's the adult version of eye-rolling: lowering the head while gazing at the ceiling.

--It helps to bring a journal to meetings and settled affairs. Drawing, doing calligraphy, writing poetry, taking notes verbatim just for the exercise of it, all those things help with the entertainment-needs and energy-release needs when you're supposed to be quiet!

--Time for mindfulness is bliss. Or is it mindlessness? Both. Like potting plants, gardening, doing watercolors, taking pictures, observing nature.

Ok, that's my personal take on the creativity lists. Hope it's ok to respond with this. Hey, we should get some talks going on Csikszentmihalyi's ideas. Flow, all that.

[Ellen Pham]

Hi Everybody- I like all the comments given here, all ring true. Here is another addtion (very creative!)


If you'd like to download the video, here is the mpeg 4 file:

PS If you're looking for ABC resources, we have a great collection on EFL here. Fun, even if you don't use them in class : )