Often, the ideas that are most meaningful to me have multiple levels. Perhaps that is a function of aging. As the years go by, it seems more important to spend available energy and time thinking about things that are meaningful. Perhaps it is because leveled thinking appeals to my fascination with creativity, metaphor, and stretching … Continue reading
A recent headline in a Detroit paper read, “Change your outlook with the 100 Days Project.” Given how hard it can be to maintain a positive outlook while deluged with information from the news, social media, etc., I had to read on. The 100 Day Project, I learned, is a global art project that takes … Continue reading
Years ago, one of my friends, who had a houseful of teenagers, cried out in mock despair, “All these years I’ve worked to teach my children to be independent, and now they ARE!” Somehow the goal of self-directed children seemed easier before the children actually began choosing their own directions. Of course, her despair truly … Continue reading
Don’t you love it when you find unexpected treasures? It might be a first spring flower emerging, or maybe a coin needed for the parking meter appearing on the sidewalk. Sometimes (at least in the academic world) it is new research related to a question that puzzles you. For the last few weeks, I’ve been … Continue reading
I had a birthday last week. I had balloons, courtesy of a five-year-old companion, ice cream sundaes, and many greetings from friends. I even had presents. These included a small plastic glow-in-the-dark cat and two puppets, one a giant clam, complete with pearl, and the other a little girl who looks as if she could … Continue reading
For the last few weeks, I’ve been posting about leading for creativity within schools as a whole (as opposed to individual classrooms), whether that leadership springs from official school leaders or teachers working to support one another. Last post I mentioned a study by Stoll and Temperley, who examined the dynamics of leadership in educators’ … Continue reading
Over the last year or so, as I read research about leadership for creativity, one of the studies I found particularly interesting came from England. Researchers Stoll and Temperley carried out the Creative Leadership Learning Project over an 18-month period in 12 learning environments in the south of England. It was a complex project, including … Continue reading
Schools are complicated places. Building creativity at the school or district level means thinking beyond individual classrooms to include all the people and systems that make schools work. Just as in creative businesses, one of the key differences between individual and whole-school creativity is the role of leadership. Leaders in organizations working toward creativity are … Continue reading
I recently retired after 35 years at Eastern Michigan University (OK, I’m teaching again this semester, but that’s another story). Even this state of not-quite-retired has caused me to think back on my years at EMU, in roles from beginning assistant professor to interim dean, in times of near-explosive growth and periods of retrenchment. The … Continue reading
Here I am back. Again. It is true that, like everyone else, I’ve had my life rhythms disrupted by COVID. But I am among the fortunate in that my immediate family and friends have been spared major illness thus far, so that isn’t a great reason for my absence. I do have one good one, … Continue reading
creativiteach 