Creativity is applied imagination which cuts across all disciplines from mathematics to dance. Setting the goal of increasing creativity in school is about increasing student engagement. Teachers want to know that their students will take away something of value, but day-to-day it’s sometimes hard to know whether lessons are having an effect.
I was speaking to my brother yesterday about this website and its goals. He is intelligent, patient and creative, a successful, risk-taking individual with strong political views. Despite these attributes, he never found school inviting. When I asked for his advice, he told me teachers should be aware that students have long memories. He will never forget that the most important part of a newspaper is the editorial section because it reveals the paper’s bias. He learned this from a teacher the class sometimes teased for being bald, but two houses, two kids and three decades later, my brother still remembers.
Students may not appear to be listening but they are, and some of the things you say, positive or negative, will echo in their minds for the rest of their lives.