funny story about creativity

Some teachers were doing a research on creativity. They claimed that no matter how hard the task you put was, students would fully engage if it was attractive and creative. They decided to go to a metro station where a camera would record people going up and down the exit stairs. There was an automatic esclator and regular stairs. Of course the camera recorded day after day people getting on the automatic escalators. On very few occassion commuters would use the regular stairs. Mostly people on a hurry impatient to stand in line.

Another interesing fact was to look at the people faces. Even though they were doing no effort, and the job was done for them, almost everybody looked tired, disconnected and mind absent.

The researches then decided it was about time to act and give it a change. During the night they ask for permission to run their experiment and with the help of two more maintenance workers, these teachers painted the regular stairs as if it was the keyboard of a piano. More increadible yet, they installed a system that would create the actual sound of the keyboard when you step on it.

To the amazement of the security gards, the next day everybody wanted to go up the piano stairs. Everybody was jumping and playing melodies. Complete extrangers would be playing along songs, laughuing and connecting in an espontaneous yet authentic way. None of them thought about getting the escalators, even elderly people would get a hold on the bar and jump to play something fun.

The conclusion of the experiment shows several truths about creativity.
1) Be creative entails a hard work. I am sure it was not easy for them to prepare the entire scene in just one night. Also, it is not easy to come up with ideas.
2) Creativity when purpuseful has the true bonding potential. These people on the stairs have never met before, yet they were playing like kids, improvising together, laughing and forgetting about their adulthood and excess of responsability.
3) Creativity makes people want to do hard work. It was obliously harder to claim the stairs than take the escalators, however if you paint the difficulties of a nice color students would jump to it.
4) The results of creativity are rewarding. The teachers said that they would have paid to record the gards faces as well. They were beaming of joy and they were so excited to see a new person discovering the piano stairs. There were even people who would play for a while, claim out and come back with a friend to show him/her the piano stairs.
5) No matter how easy technology makes it to you and to your class. It is not always going to engage your students.

I want to encoursge you to start a new fire in your classes. Use your creativity to make your activities attractive, engaging and fun for you and for your students. Don´t take the easy way. Paint what you lesson of a brand new color and despite the effort you will feel rewarded in the end.

Respectfully

Javier Marin

CREACTIVITY

CREATIVITY

• Creativity is an inner impulse without interferences from emotional hindrances such as fear, anxiety, embarrassment or shyness. Creativity promotes the development of our abilities to the full potential. It is more an attitude than a mechanical learning. Creativity requires skills such as flexibility or improvisation and a good plan becomes an essential part of it.

• Creativity is then the ability to create in our live surroundings. The origin of the word reveals a deeper truth. In Spanish “Crea” (create) “en ti” (within yourself) “vida” (life). But there are actually two meanings: “crea en ti vida” (create within you life) and “crea-actividad” (create-activity).

• Therefore, according to the origin you are going not only to create life in your classroom, but also in your life as a professional. You will get your fire back. You will be excited to put a new activity into practice. The other thing you are doing is create you own activities. You are now in control of what happens in class. You might have a syllabus to follow and contents to accomplish. That is undeniable. However, you, and only you are in charge of what happens in class. You get to choose to put meaningful activities to students and get them engaged. You will be independent and free from the bondages of the external requirements.

• The opposite of this is to get stuck, fossilized. You are not feeling like teaching a lesson that is predictable and that is perceived by children as well. You are pressed upon, therefore you press the students. In such an environment, no one is going to really enjoy the process.

• Creativity in the classroom gives you and your students the opportunity to show their real identity. Students can talk about themselves, and you become the reflection of the whole class environment. I always say that you could see the inside of a teacher by observing his relationship with his/her students.


• “Creamos lo que creemos y creemos lo que creamos. Cada uno crea y/o re-crea su propia vida, y…..a menudo, la auto exigencia de ser geniales, bloquea el genio que todos llevamos dentro”.

• “we create what we believe and we believe what we create”. Each one of us creates and recreates his/her own life. And often times, the desire to be perfect or excellent, blocs the creator we have within.

• Do not try to be genius creator over night. Reactivating your own creativity is a process of trying, experiencing, learning and improving. I know my best class has not yet being taught. I know I have so much more to offer.

• Creativity is the quality you imprint to the things you do. One can be creative in doing the day to day things. Being creative does not be to be extravagant, disorganized or a little bit crazy. Being creative implies reacting creatively to the events you face in every situation as well as to have the ability to create from an inner place, in which nobody else but you have access.

• We all have access to that creative place. And it is nothing similar to anybody else´s. You are unique, your creativity is unique, and your class is unique. You have the key, but you need to reach for it. That key might have been lost somewhere along the way. There was some time ago, where you had it and you felt you have the ideas, the ability and the power to create.

• How to recover it? The key is to awake it up again, reactivate it. But how? By reading material that builds you up. Studying what others are doing. By studying the model of excellence in others we discover our own excellence. Recover the passion for learning and become disciplined with it. Many people have something against the word “discipline”. It actually comes from the Latin “discipluli” (student). You need to become a student again. The last words uttered by the famous Spanish painter Goya at 72 years old were “I am still learning”. You need to acknowledge that there are many things still to learn and that you are available to learn them. Make a habit and get some material that will build up you creative skills and stick to it. Becoming a student puts you in a position of humility and it gets you closer to your students vision.

• Whatever you do, do it with joy and passion, enthusiasm without expecting approval from students or colleagues. Do not get disappointed if an activity does not work. Learn from it!!. The essential thing is not WHAT you teach, but HOW you teach it. The bottom line of all this is that you fall in love again with your job again, that you recover faith in what you do. Turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, routine into adventure, impersonal into personal. Give a twist to your class, to your life, to your approach to your relationship with your students. A teacher that is not excited about teaching it is not going to make his/her students excited.

• Teach creatively, live creatively and the more your skill grows, the more you will be in control, connected, fulfilled and satisfied with your profession.

Respectfully
Javier Marin, Renata Bevilacqua and Melanie Gauthy

ADVENTURE

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go”
(Abraham Lincoln 1809-1865)

Too many students are sitting in classroom day after day watching at the clock and feeling bored. As teachers we must find a way to get these students motivated and excited about something in their lives.
By creating adventure we are not only teaching them a great deal, but we are also building their confidence fostering trust and encouraging them to become better students.
1) Teachers and parents should call upon their youthful sense of adventure:
• As teachers we should create an environment where students feel that they can be themselves to laugh and be free. The best way we can do this is to lead by example.
• Teachers can apply that attitude in many different ways. Something as simple as dressing up during homecoming week, School Spirit Day, or other special occasions such as Twin Day or Halloween.
• Sometimes we need to remember what it feels like to be young and re-create that sense of daring. We need to take a few risks and show our students we are still able to laugh and experience a little adventure in our lives.

2) Finding trust and forming bonds:
• I always recommend teachers to join with the students in the school´s adventures. Whether it is rock climbing, rappelling, paint ball, a rope course…Those type of activities tend to bond those who participate together and provides memories that will last a lifetime.

3) Adventure is taking the risk:
• As a teacher we need to put a fire, courage and determination in the hearts of Children. Help them face their fears, teach them when taking a chance is worth the risk, and give them the desire to follow their dreams.

4) Realistic adventures:
• There are limits to what adults can or can´t do when adding adventure to a child´s life. Each teacher has a different reality, personality and expectations. However, there are always simple things that can be done to add some excitement and break up the monotony of the day-to day routine.
• On beautiful whether days I would tell my kids to line up and we would go outside under a tree where I would teach my lesson. That takes little effort, but in the eyes of students it´s heaven.
• Adventure in the classroom can be anything that brings the lesson to life. Some teachers bring food from other countries, dress as famous people in history or recreate a historic battle, assign scavenger hunts. Activities where students feel they are actually living the stories.
• Adding an exciting activity, something different and something stimulating, to the classroom experience will help students to have a better grasp of the material. They will become more interested in the learning process and for the years to come they will remember what has been taught. In order to truly reach all students we must find a way to create that spark and motivate them to love learning.

5) Being smart with adventure. The benefits of organization:
• One of the best ways to bring your lesson to life is through field trips. However, they require a lot of organizational skills as well as a good amount of time and preparation.
• If new teachers think about the whole picture of the necessary steps that takes to get a field trip going it will seem overwhelming. But the rewards of a well organized, rich and purposeful field trip will pay off by far the initial time invested on its organization.

6) Through adventure we discover a lot about ourselves:
• When we are placed in a situation where we are challenged or pushed to our limits we discover untested parts of ourselves and learn a great deal about what we are truly made of.
• Experiencing adventure reveals strength within ourselves that we might never have realized was there.

7) Adventure builds anticipation and foster improvements:
• Travelling excites us all. Experiencing something different, seeing a new place and being in new surroundings is challenging and exhilarating. When you use that motivation to get kids to learn, not only do they retain information at a faster pace, but they also want to learn because it is something they see relevant and something they will be using and experiencing in the near future.

ENTHUSIASM

I´d like to share with you some very essential ideas that Ron Clark highlights in his book "The Excellent 11" (Qualities Teachers and Parents use to motivate, inspire and educate children). I will be putting together some conclusions and quotations from the book so we can have a clear reference. It is my desire that this will help us, teachers, to remember how important these qualities are. We should always look at them and honestly ask ourselves if we are doing our best to bring them into our job, and to our lives.

ENTHUSIASM
"Your enthusiasm will be infectious, stimulating, and attractive to others. They will love you for it. They will follow you and go with you” (Norman Vicent Peale)

1) Enthusiasm is contagious:• Students will be excited about learning if you are eager about teaching them.
• Enthusiasm is a powerful thing. It is contagious to students and teachers. When you use that spark to motivate others you are affecting more people than you ever know.
• Children are impressionable. When they look to adults for guidance we must inspire them and motivate them to want to learn. We need to light their desire to achieve and to want to be the best person they can be.

2) Enthusiasm is best when it serves a purpose:
• It´s one thing to have a lot of enthusiasm and energy, and it´s another thing to use that spirit and attitude to make a difference.
• One thing I remind myself constantly about teaching is that I must focus on the educational purpose behind everything I do. I have to make sure that it´s not only motivating to my students but challenging.
• I believe that as a teacher we must set the bar as high as possible. If we aren´t setting our expectations extremely high, students aren´t going to perform extremely high.
• Teachers should always clearly outline their objectives and set educational goals that are challenging and beneficial.

3) Enthusiasm is fueled by our surroundings:
• A teacher might spend a quarter of an entire year in his/her classroom. We should do whatever it takes to make that room a place where we are comfortable, inspired and enthusiastic about teaching.
• Having a good working area in you classroom ,including plenty of light, resources such as dictionaries, pens, pencils or colors as well as other elements such as classical music, plants and nice paintings, will help students become more engaged in their class work. They will enjoy the time they spend there, and so will you.

4) Placing enthusiasm in the hearts of unmotivated students:
• Children are excited and enthusiastic about learning when they are confident, see that they can be successful, are having fun and are praised. These four components will light a fire in the hearts of students and it will get them to perform better.
• It´s my hope that in every classroom out there teachers will work with passion energy and enthusiasm, but at the same time I hope that teachers will provide a little extra attention, compassion, and confidence building to those students who are struggling and so often fall between the cracks.

5) Effects of enthusiasm on others:• When you show that you really care about something and that it means a lot to you, even the most challenging students will tend to get on board and help achieve that goal you have in your mind
• When we engage in activities we enjoy and have an occupation that excites us, we feel better about ourselves, have greater self-esteem, wake up energized, laugh more and live longer. Having enthusiasm is self sustaining and it can affect our outlook as well as our environment more than we realize.

Aprende para enseñar

Antes de empezar a escribir en este blog me gustaría un poco clarificar el por qué de el nombre, el objetivo que me propongo con la creación de este espacio, asi como el compromiso que quiero adquirir con su desarrollo.

El otro día hablaba por teléfono con mi buena amiga Elisa. Ella me preguntaba qué tal me iban las cosas. Le dije que todo iba muy bien a pesar de que las semanas pasaban con una gran intensidad de eventos y trabajo. Continúe diciéndole que lo más importante es que me sentía tan agradecido por poder trabajar en un lugar dónde cada día aprendo algo nuevo. Tener una profesión que me apasiona y que me enamora de diferente manera cada vez. Ella con una sonrisa me dijo "siempre estás aprendiendo cosas nuevas...yo también quiero eso en mi vida". Le conté entonces cuan impactado al conocer la biografía de Goya. En su lecho de muerte pronunció estás últimas palabras "sigo aprendiendo".

Aprender es sinónimo de vida. Aquel que pasa sus días y continúa igual que el anterior, y prosigue así uno tras otro, va ceciendo a una muerte interior. Hay algo en el alma de esa persona que deja de respirar, que deja de tener sed por beber. El mundo deja de tener misterios, la vida deja de tener campos insondables por explorar, es más el corazón termina por no hacer hueco a nuevas experiencias y la mente termina por acomodarse, resignarse, endurecerse y en última instancia identificarse ferreamente con unas firmes sólidas e inflexibles creencias.

Es más, no importa el conocimiento que uno adquiera, el principio de la transitoriedad nos afecta a todos. Un día posees una idea, y las palabras que le dan forma y aldía siguiente lo has perdido. Ni siquiera somos dueños de los conceptos. Y aclaro esto porque uno de los motivos por los que creo este espacio es para recordarme a mi mismo las palabras que en él escriba. Entre mis otros propósitos está el de lanzar mensajes que probablemente todos ya sabemos pero que son necesarios recordar. Soy de la creencia de que el ser humano padece de amnesia crónica. Necesitamos recordarnos las cosas importantes cada día. neceitamos encontrar la inspiración y las palabras en los días que nos falla la fe.

Finalmente quisiera dejar por escrito que mi compromiso con este blog es el de escribir al menos un articulo por semana. En el cual discuta algún aspecto sobre la enseñanza, la educación y la vida del profesor/maestro. Tu participación, tu contribución y feedback es siempre bienvenido y recibido con gratitud.

Sin más me despido con un afectuosos abrazo. Proximamente comenzaré a escribir sobre un libro que estoy leyendo de Ron Clark que se llama "The Excellent 11". (cualidades que los profesores y los padres usan para motivar, inspirar y educar a sus hijos.