Creative Teaching

I have been pondering the place of Creative Teaching in education. Here are a few thoughts...

Creative teaching is…

A creative teacher puts on costumes
A creative teacher tries something new as often as possible
A creative teacher connects strange things together
A creative teacher tells jokes that are sometimes funny
A creative teacher laughs at unusual things
A creative teacher knows at least one thing that nobody else does
A creative teacher does not always try to be perfect (does not always know the answer)
A creative teacher wears many hats
A creative teacher collects student's weird ideas and shares them with the class
A creative teacher juggles
A creative teacher does not always know where he/she is going
A creative teacher is a good scrounger of "stuff"
A creative teacher asks open-ended or unanswered questions
A creative teacher sometimes trips or slips
A creative teacher is slightly bent
A creative teacher is just a little crazy
A creative teacher likes square pegs
A creative teacher believes in potential

So, what is creative teaching? It is a sense of knowing that only through a wondrous variety of educational opportunities will students maximize their learning. Being creative is very important for teaching in that all learners have different needs and backgrounds. A creative teacher of gifted students is no different, other than insuring that the creative opportunities provide appropriate challenge to the variety of gifts that each student may possess.

Pushing one slightly beyond the comfort level is often tantamount to the first step in the learning process. As the little birds are nudged farther out from the nest, they realize more about the world and their place in it. However, this process must be carefully monitored or some birds may get injured or fall prey to dangerous predators. Similarly, the creative teacher can provide many paths out from the comfort zone and still help students to choose those that will serve them best. As student confidence and learning styles increase, they will be more capable of accepting creative challenges and may even demand them in greater quantity from their teachers. By offering a wider variety of challenges and opportunities, a creative teacher may often be preparing students in more effective methods for what they could face in the future. Most all teachers want students to "fly" on their own, so the diversity of small previous moves makes the flight that more comfortable and joyous in the end.

However, creativity is difficult. It requires great knowledge, time, sacrifice, and often does not work as well as intended. The risk in being creative when teaching is great, but the risk in not being creative may be even greater. Creativity requires bravery and dedication. It also asks all of those involved to contribute their best. Humans seem to be both naturally creative and naturally averse to some types of new experience. Preservation instinct and social comfort may combine to make some less interested in creative ventures, however, the truly wise can see the intrinsic value inherent in creativity for the greater good of all.

So, who is the creative teacher?…A creative teacher is a person whose vision extends beyond the extraordinary.

Smiles, Tim