PME 811: Blog Entry 1

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“As leaders in education, our job is not to control those whom we serve, but to unleash their talent. If innovation is going

to be a priority in education, we need to create

a culture where trust is the norm.”

– George Couros, The Innovators Mindset

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I first came across this quote several years ago when I was idly flipping through the pages of a professional magazine. Nestled between ads for brass polish and clarinet reeds, this statement popped out and made me think more deeply about innovation and creativity in the classroom.

I have the privilege to work with teenagers at the high school level everyday and I love every minute of it. This age group is so full of life, excitement, hope, and all the forward-momentum of a runaway freight train. It's hard to channel that energy sometimes, but it's impossible to stop it all together and therein lies the magic - every lesson becomes an exercise in creativity as I try to guide their ferocious joy of life into meaningful learning tasks without slamming up a brick wall in front of them.

But creativity ad creative acts are a little different, aren't they? I'm not talking about innovation (which I consider to be more about problem solving) but true creativity - like expressing yourself through music in my band room. There, you have something to lose. There you have to put yourself on the line and risk your ego. You have to be comfortable enough (either with yourself or with your audience or, ideally, both) that you can pour out your soul through the mastery a skill set. Far too often, teens have the instrument "under their hands" (they know how to play) but feel unable to truly be creative with interpretation or composition because they are unwilling to risk the social implications of that creativity.

I'm no expert on the socialization of teens, and I know as well as anyone that expressing deep emotions can be terrifying for some students,. So: how do we as educators create a space so safe that even these runaway trains feel comfortable pulling into a station to express themselves through creativity? Before we talk about innovation or creativity in the classroom, this is a question we must answer.

What do you think? What practices do you use in the classroom to promote emotional and creative safety?