As I read chapter 1 of the text, there were several points that were very eye-opening for me. Here is my reflection on just two
One can be creative without a great creative talent. This seems like such an obvious statement but it's one that I had not considered to be true. I enjoy arts and crafts that allow me to create things from scratch, to take something in its simplest form and combine/ modify/rearrange/remodel it into something new. My hobbies include sewing, crocheting, jewelry making, and sketching but I never considered myself to be a creative person because I wasn't 'great.' I clearly confused the meaning of being creative with having a special talent. Until now, I was one of the 'unfortunate' people that associated creativity with "the possession of extraordinary, distinguished, and highly visible talent" (6). I now realize that I am a creative person. When I think about the decisions teachers make on a day-to-day basis, I'd like to think that we are all expert problem solvers. Because of a variety of factors (funds, resources, time, room, environment, etc) we have no choice but to be creative in our line of work. 'How am I going to teach these objectives? How in the world am I going to teach this objective in this amount of time?' Teachers are able to take a set of abstract commands (objectives) and bring them to life in a concrete and meaningful way = creativity. We are able to make something from nothing.
Creativity is a lifestyle, a way of living, a way of perceiving the world, and a way of growing. Naturally, the art of creativity lends itself to decisions that must be made and actions that must be carried out in our daily lives. As different situations - finances, relationships, families, work, home - whether they are positive or negative, most decisions that we make require careful and creative thought before reaching a a final decision. We must be flexible in our thinking in order to feel happy and healthy, to garner value from different aspects, and appreciate the good times as well as 'probortunities.'
Oh yeah, and that intro to chapter one with Rickles and Dangergnome...that one through me for a loop! I just had to re-enact this script with someone and I was brought to tears!
Wow - you do all of those things and you didn't consider yourself creative???? I'm glad this first reading set you straight :) I too agree with you that we are in a profession which requires us to be creative on a daily basis. It's what makes us who we are as educators. Kaki's also discussed this in her posting this week and referred to the chart on pg. 8 in the text where teachers are listed with the Highly Creative/Low Recognition category. Happens all to often I'm afraid. But not one teacher that I can think of is in this profession for the money or recognition...I mean how excited do we get about a new pack of stickers.
ReplyDeleteGreat first post and thoughts as they relate to your own life.
PS- I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall as you acted out the initial skit...will you do that for all of us the next FTF session? :)