Bad behavior in schools can be really frustrating—especially when the bad behavior is among the adults. I don’t know if it is warmer weather or exhausted lack of patience, but I’ve heard more stories lately of teachers not-at-their-best. And most of these stories center around students who just don’t fit the mold–the creative ones with … Continue reading
Every family has sayings that stick with them forever. Some of these seem common to a lot of families: “If Johnny jumped off a bridge, would you jump, too?” Or, “If you can’t say anything nice about someone, don’t say anything at all.” In my family, one of my mother’s classic sayings had to do … Continue reading
One of the challenges and delights of creativity is that things often don’t turn out the way we plan. A year (or was it two?) ago, I made gingerbread houses with some of my favorite children. The houses were pretty impressive, given the ages of the architects, surrounded by green jellied-leaf trees. One child used … Continue reading
Lucky me. I just had the chance to spend the weekend with a houseful of energetic and imaginative young people. Since I’ve known them all since birth, it has been an amazing journey to watch them grow from toddlers who one day decided it would be fun to pretend to be soup, to children creating … Continue reading
Have you been bored recently? What was the problem? Were you listening to a speaker who droned on and on? Were you in a meeting discussing the same topic for the 100th time, or matching the 100th pair of socks? Or, perhaps, were you confused, distracted, or stressed? Canadian researchers Eastwood, Frischen, Fenske and Smilek … Continue reading
Have you ever been in a situation when you really needed a new idea and your brain seemed to freeze? Or maybe you’ve tried to solve a problem and every idea seemed like a bad one? You are not alone. Creativity and anxiety—or even small amounts of uncertainty—don’t necessarily mix well. Researchers Mueller, Melwani and … Continue reading
How do creative students fare in schools? Sometimes well. Some students are able to use their imaginations and flexible thinking to their advantage, particularly in classrooms where such things are recognized and valued. But, sadly, that is not always the case. Not long ago I had a depressing conversation with a friend, whose bright creative … Continue reading
How would you like to spend 20% of your time doing something creative, just because you think it is interesting? Sound impossible? It’s not. Here’s one example. One of the most famous “perks” of working at Google is that for many employees, twenty percent of their time can be used on any project they choose. … Continue reading
I’ve spent a fair amount of time in the last few weeks exploring the web looking for writings on creativity and students with special needs. Guess what? Not much there. I can find examples of art activities to do with students with disabilities, which is fine, but the arts are only one area in which … Continue reading
Some of the brightest people I know have disabilities. I have a gifted uncle who is blind. I have friends—young and old—with exceptional intelligence and attention disorders. A professor-friend, a national leader at the top of his field, has trouble reading. I could go on. Sadly, as anyone in the field of special education can … Continue reading
creativiteach 