Wonder Teacher

Time 2020-12-29 04:02:36

Web Name: Wonder Teacher

WebSite: http://wonderteacher.com

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Speaking and PDSponsorshipAboutResourcesHomewonderteacher.comCreative teaching designed to engage childhood wonderOct 2, 2014 Is Creativity As Important As Literacy? By Susan 4 Comments Creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status. Sir Ken Robinson, TED talk, 2006.That is a bold statement. The first time I heard Sir Ken Robinson say that in his 2006 TED talk, I was a little shocked. Really? Did I agree? I had to think about that one. Being an early childhood/ elementary teacher myself, I had always been made to believe that nothing is more important than literacy.However, over the years as I have learned more about the 21st Century workplace and the changing landscape of the future, I have begun to question my educational assumption. Is literacy still the most important thing? (Or, along with math, the only important things, as reflected by today s school practices.)  Is creativity something we should be explicitly teaching in our schools? Is it as important as literacy? Let s think about it this way:1- Literacy is crucial. No one (including Sir Ken Robinson) is saying literacy is unimportant. Obviously, if a child leaves school unable to read or write well, he/she is going to have a slim chance of success in today s world. Rather, he is saying that creativity is just as important.2- Literacy by itself is not enough. Today s high school graduate is entering a workforce that has changed drastically in the last 30 years. Think about what it takes today to run a successful business (or work within one):Fluency in technology and its applications.A working knowledge of effective social media and branding and how to leverage that to one s advantage. (Note: If you don t think businesses need social media, you probably aren t trying to sell anything or market a business!)Problem solving and critical thinking skills (to deal with problems and challenges, analyze data, develop action plans, revise systems and processes, etc.)Creative thinking skills (to generate new, original ideas that will propel your business and provide an edge over the competition.)Strong communication skills which falls within the   literacy skills category . I think being a strong writer is especially important these days. Graduates today need to be able to communicate their ideas clearly, write persuasively, write to inform, etc. The demand for strong writers has never been higher.Obviously, high school graduates need to be able to read all kinds of text for all kinds of reasons.As always, strong social skills are crucial. People skills have always been important but never more so than now. The number of jobs one can do in an isolated manner in a cubicle are dwindling. Many of them have been outsourced to other countries or turned into do it yourself computer software programs (such as tax software.) Successful companies expect employees to work collaboratively as members of teams.Here is the point: I believe that while most of our schools are generally doing good work with literacy, we are doing rather poorly with the rest.And I include technology as something we are doing poorly. Putting kids in front of computers and iPads does not necessarily mean they are doing meaningful and important work. In fact, I recently visited a school that had installed several brand new computer labs. ($$$$!) At first I was excited to hear what kinds of wondrous educational experiences they had planned for their students that would require so many computers. Had they found an engaging new software program that would help students research information and generate engaging presentations? Was it a multi-media lab where students could integrate photography, music, art, and design with content?I was so disheartened to hear the answer: students were going to visit the new labs several times a week to practice on math fact drill games. Basically, they bought a $100,000+ set of hi-tech flash cards. Womp, womp, womp ..Even when we make efforts to use technology effectively or integrate the arts, if we don t understand the creative thinking process, we are limited in our effectiveness. Creative thinking skills are vital for today s students who face a rapidly changing and unknown future. And here s the thing; creativity isn t about teaching different content. It s about changing the way we teach the content we ve already got. It s not about giving the children more work to do; it s about changing the kind of work we require.I ll be back to talk more about this process and how we can embed it into every subject we teach!How do you think we are doing with creativity? Do you see it as an important teaching point for today s children?Would you Like to Follow Wonder Teacher?Receive an email when there is a new post:: Follow on Facebook:: Follow on Twitter:: Follow on Pinterest:: Read in a FeedBurnerPhoto credit: This above photo, “Book Fotográfico_01” is copyright (c) 2014 Juliana Fernandes and made available under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 license.Filed Under: Arts Integration Tagged: arts integration, creativityAug 29, 2014 Book Review- Balloons Over Broadway By Susan 1 Comment I have a book to share with you and I love it so much I can t wait until the proper season. It s called Balloons over Broadway, written and illustrated by the wonderful Melissa Sweet. The story is about Tony Sarg, the man who is the creative father of the Macy s Day Thanksgiving Parade. (This sort of puts it in a Thanksgiving category except not really because it s just as much about creativity and puppetry and artistic problem-solving and general inspiration!) There are so many reasons to build some teaching time around this book! [Read more ]Filed Under: Arts Integration, Author Study, Book Making, Book Reviews, literacy Tagged: arts integration, Author Study, book reviews, literacyAug 18, 2014 What Works in Education? Let s Do That! By Susan 4 Comments It s an exciting day around here because it s the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! Oh boy!I love this time of year. January 1st means little to me. For those of us who call ourselves educators, the new year starts when the school buses start rolling again. Everyone is fresh-faced and full of excitement. For those of us who teach, it s a chance to reinvent ourselves and our methods once again.I m back to full steam with this little blog too- as usual, I have more ideas for you than time. As I sat down over the weekend to gather my thoughts, I filled a page with things I want to share with you; new research, puppet ideas, movement based lessons, arts integration concepts wowee!Ultimately though, I kept coming back to a little slogan that popped into my mind and wouldn t go away.It s nothing earth-shattering at all. Ready? [Read more ]

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