I recently had a disturbing conversation with a young teacher who is one of the brightest people I know. My friend has been teaching for six years in high-stress environments. Like many teachers, her life is very full. Because her teaching assignments seem to change yearly, she is constantly preparing for new classes. She takes … Continue reading
This was an awful morning. You’ve had those, right? In my case, the morning was one long meeting—the kind where people talk at you for hours, without even a bathroom break. Each presentation alone would have been interesting, but in total they resulted in a crowd of grumpy uncomfortable professors squirming in their chairs and … Continue reading
When I first started teaching, eons ago, the one piece of advice we were given for “setting the tone” in our classrooms was the infamous adage “Don’t smile until Christmas.” I don’t know anyone who actually tried to manage that feat, but I suspect it had a real impact students’ early experiences in classrooms of … Continue reading
What messages is your classroom sending? Is it telling students they—and their creativity—are welcomed? Being creative often entails risk. The kinds of creative risks we want to encourage in schools don’t entail jumping from great heights or other physical risks (at least I hope not!), but they can still be frightening. As the commercial said … Continue reading
So, when is failure not failure? When it is defined as an “iteration.” What does that mean? An iteration is a repetition, but not an exact one. An iteration is a repetition that changes just a bit, each one coming a bit closer to a goal. Think about times you’ve tried a recipe several times, … Continue reading
creativiteach 