By Karen Faass
Creativity + Social Change
University of
Connecticut
The Respect Quilt idea was brought to Cromwell Middle School to make an
awareness of how some people are treated and that all individuals want to be
accepted. This was a “hands-on” activity involving every 8th grade student. It
was the intent from the beginning to make this project student-driven. We
wanted all students to feel important and special in creating a piece of art
that brought a very serious message…respecting others. The students needed to
see that out of nothing (a blank quilt) so much can be accomplished if everyone
works together. Much beauty can occur and positive changes can happen ... they
are the leaders and ... they can “make a change."
This very concept was used as a medium in promoting another project entitled
Olweus. This program is designed to stop bullying and to bring an awareness of
the devastating effect it has on individuals. Implementing this program is a
continuation of the solidarity in our school community to “make a change."
The programs do not stop there…conversations are taking place to have
students make a video with regard to the Respect Quilt and “bullying” program.
Everyone is a part of this school community and, when working together, it
becomes healthier, stronger and cohesive for all. We can “make a change."
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Community as Creating Together
By Kathy Glass
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut
In my neighborhood there is a group of children ranging from the ages of 4 to 10 years old. My husband and I call them the posse – a gang of “wild” kids. They’re never accompanied by adults or their parents. The group is composed of 8 to 9 members on any given day, and they’re always together. On many occasions they congregate in my backyard whether it’s to play, to create, to learn, to talk, to visit my dog. They come for a variety of reasons, but they always come together. Their presence is one of the things that makes the neighborhood unique – it’s a community of children – and their voices fill the streets day after day. I am so lucky to be a part of their community, even if I’m just the lady who lets them play in her backyard.
This group has taught me that community is defined by its members and their individual gifts, talents, quirks, uniqueness. The members of this community include:
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut
In my neighborhood there is a group of children ranging from the ages of 4 to 10 years old. My husband and I call them the posse – a gang of “wild” kids. They’re never accompanied by adults or their parents. The group is composed of 8 to 9 members on any given day, and they’re always together. On many occasions they congregate in my backyard whether it’s to play, to create, to learn, to talk, to visit my dog. They come for a variety of reasons, but they always come together. Their presence is one of the things that makes the neighborhood unique – it’s a community of children – and their voices fill the streets day after day. I am so lucky to be a part of their community, even if I’m just the lady who lets them play in her backyard.
This group has taught me that community is defined by its members and their individual gifts, talents, quirks, uniqueness. The members of this community include:
- The leader, age 10, (sometimes she’s considered a little bossy, but boy does she keep everyone on task!) and the performer. She sings, she dances, and she’s amazingly talented at wiffle ball. She wants to throw the Frisbee constantly and she’s loud and full of life, brimming you might say. She is a leader in the sense that she leads the group in their discussions, activities, play and time spent in the yard.
- The nurturer and best friend to Fester (my dog), age 5. She was afraid of Fester, a 15-pound Chihuahua mix, when she was younger. She would stand on one side of the yard where Fester couldn’t reach her and scream every time he looked her way. This lasted for about a year until she finally worked up the courage to come from the other side of the yard to pet his tail: “Can I hold his tail?” she’d ask. After months of tail holding, she and Fester bonded. She decided that Fester was no threat and that he would listen to her if she wanted him to. This blossomed into a friendship and now when the kids come over to play, she spends her time holding Fester’s lead and petting him. One of the little boys in the group is afraid of Fester so she has taken it upon herself to help make him feel comfortable when in his presence. Just the other day, she said to me, “It’s okay if he is scared of Fester now. I was when I was his age, so when he grows up like me, he won’t be afraid anymore.”
- The mother-figure and caregiver to the little ones, age 10. She always has the youngest member of the group in her arms. She is attentive and tapped into their needs. She has a brilliant memory and cares deeply about her peers. At times she is quiet and reserved, not interacting but observing. She seems to internalize everything.
- The free spirit and artist, age 7. She is always in her own head. She connects with the group when they are part of her vision, whatever that may be. Her interests include eating herbs from my garden and learning about what they are, how they’re used, why you can eat them and not other plants, and she also enjoys watering all of my plants daily. She regularly leads the group in the garden about what you can and cannot eat and what each item is. Many times she branches off from the group to do her own thing. She often begins talking and then in the middle of a phrase she’ll trail off and begin to mumble, lost in her head. She becomes frustrated easily when the other members of the group do not understand her, or are not connecting with her. A picture of her art is below.
- The daughters of our new neighbor, ages 6 and 8. The family just moved in this summer so I’m not sure of the girls’ names, but they too are a part of the community. The youngest is outgoing and tenacious. She demands to be heard and is quick to bring her own contributions to the group. The oldest is enthusiastic about almost everything. If there is something happening, she’s a part of it. She enjoys being engaged and with the rest of the group.
The baby, age 4. The youngest member of the group, he is terrified of Fester. He is constantly in the arms of another member and enjoys being the baby. - The inquisitive thinker, age 9, asking questions constantly. She moved just over two months ago, so the community has lost a member. She loved helping us plant our garden. We planted peppers, tomatoes and bean plants over the summer together. She was fascinated by the process of growth, monitoring the plants’ progress along the way. Nature seemed to excite her. She once made a neighborhood of houses out of white computer paper for the ants near my garden and called them ant houses. It rained the day after she made the ant houses (little tents of paper), but when she came over the next day to check on them, wouldn’t you know there were ants under the paper.
There is never any parent supervision when the kids come to play in my yard. The only adults present are either me or my husband. In the uninhibited play I’ve witnessed and been a part of, I’ve learned so much. It’s taught me that to maintain a strong community the members must ...
Care about each other.
Explore together.
Experience together.
Play together.
Help each other overcome our fears.
Grow together.
Teach each other and learn from one another.
Dream together.
Scream together.
Eat together.
Laugh together, and often.
Consider all possibilities.
Celebrate individual expression.
Move together.
Explore together.
Experience together.
Play together.
Help each other overcome our fears.
Grow together.
Teach each other and learn from one another.
Dream together.
Scream together.
Eat together.
Laugh together, and often.
Consider all possibilities.
Celebrate individual expression.
Move together.
This community has taught me that we must continue to adapt, engage, wonder and, most importantly, laugh. They have taught me that community is most importantly a group of people creating something together, whether a shared goal or experience. That it breathes based on the passions of its members and that it can do great things for the individuals it is composed of. Community helps us to grow as only we can with the help from each other. It teaches us an honest true sense of belonging.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Artist Lily Yeh on Using Art to Transform and Build Community
This week for the Fall 2011 Creativity + Social Change class, we read "Warrior Angel: The Work of Lily Yeh" by Bill Moskin and Jill Jackson, a paper on hartist/activist/educator Lily Yeh's methodology of using art to transform and build community. Below is a presentation by Lily Yeh at the Bioneers conference, where she spoke about and shared examples and pictures of her work. She has a new book out, as well, called Awakening Creativity: Dandelion School Blossoms, which documents her methodology as implemented at the Dandelion School in Beijing, China, a school for the children of migrant workers. I am honored to be interviewing Lily on Creativity in Play at 12 p.m. EDT on Thursday, November 10. Listen live or download the podcast after it airs.
Video streaming by Ustream
Monday, December 20, 2010
By Maria E. Zapata
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:
This is an amazing story and I really like the way she is using the word contagious. We need to be contagious with education, setting it up as priority for the new generations. Education is the number one key to succeeding in life.
The kids are spontaneous and they have fabulous ideas and creativity but most of the time we burn those ideas and creativity because we set up a pattern for them, always telling them the way to do things. We need to trust them, letting them explore and follow their curiosity. Like Kiran Sethi said: “ We need to trust the kids. They will take the power and they will do much better."
We have to spread out the creativity, letting everybody use his or her own way, ideas, curiosity and the new world will be better and happier.
"It is possible to organize cities to teach usefulness, social responsibility, ecological skill, the values of good work, and the higher possibilities of adulthood." (Kiran Sethi)
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:
TED: Kiran Bir Sethi teaches kids to take charge
Kiran Bir Sethi shows how her groundbreaking Riverside School in India teaches kids life's most valuable lesson: "I can." Watch her students take local issues into their own hands, lead other young people, even educate their parents.
This is an amazing story and I really like the way she is using the word contagious. We need to be contagious with education, setting it up as priority for the new generations. Education is the number one key to succeeding in life.
The kids are spontaneous and they have fabulous ideas and creativity but most of the time we burn those ideas and creativity because we set up a pattern for them, always telling them the way to do things. We need to trust them, letting them explore and follow their curiosity. Like Kiran Sethi said: “ We need to trust the kids. They will take the power and they will do much better."
We have to spread out the creativity, letting everybody use his or her own way, ideas, curiosity and the new world will be better and happier.
"It is possible to organize cities to teach usefulness, social responsibility, ecological skill, the values of good work, and the higher possibilities of adulthood." (Kiran Sethi)
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Commentary: On Creativity and Food
By Todd Gabriel
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:
Read Jamie Oliver's challenge: How can we raise kids' awareness of the benefits of fresh food so they can make better choices?
Jamie Oliver explains very simply how most of the food we eat in America is nonnutritious and highly processed. His focus is on children, stating that every new generation will lose 10 years off their lives through obesity because of the bad food they eat. His mission is to raise awareness of the processed foods we eat as adults and feed our children, not only at home but in schools around the country as well as places of work. He wants to get good, local, whole foods back into our homes and schools.
Processed foods are usually made up of two products -- corn and soy beans. These crops are extremely cheap and can be grown in huge quantities in this country. Most large scale farmers in the United States produce three things -- corn, soy beans and animals that can be ground into processed meats, such as turkey (not the kind you eat at Thanksgiving) to make “turkey products” such as turkey bacon, turkey sausage, etc. The corn and soy beans can be refined to make fillers for a plethora of foods. If you look at the label of processed foods, you will find one if not both of these two ingredients in some form, such as corn syrup, corn starch, corn meal, soy protein, corn oil and hydrolyzed corn gluten, to name a few. They are added because it keeps cost down and adds a flavor of one or more of the three things that the food industry has learned we respond to -- sugar, salt and fat. We crave these things, so if they can some how get these things into the foods they sell us in a cheap way than they have succeeded. What they don’t realize or don’t care about is that it is killing us. And not only through weight gain but by using man-made products that our bodies can't metabolize properly and can lead to many unknown effects.
Jamie Oliver states three major things we can do. First, raise awareness about the foods we eat. Second, to get money and resources to the people who will help change the food environments from processed to whole foods. And third, start cooking at home. He states we lost our traditions of cooking real foods at home and passing down to next generations recipes and the know how of cooking. Children are a focus because they can change and stop the cycle before it continues.
I believe in Jamie Oliver’s cause. I personally look at food as a link in a long chain of fundamental change. If we can learn to understand the importance of sustainable, local foods and environments in our neighborhoods it will benefit us greatly in many ways. Jamie is creative in the way he took a passion for food and turned it into a way to change a country or countries for the better. He’s also creative in his execution. For example, he shows the kitchen he opened that took local, healthy food and distributed it to schools using local people. He put into action what he is speaking about. It takes many creative ideas and ways of thinking to be able to change conventional ways. Jamie is demonstrating this here with his food movement.
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:
TED: Jamie Oliverhttp://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jamie_oliver.html
Read Jamie Oliver's challenge: How can we raise kids' awareness of the benefits of fresh food so they can make better choices?
Jamie Oliver explains very simply how most of the food we eat in America is nonnutritious and highly processed. His focus is on children, stating that every new generation will lose 10 years off their lives through obesity because of the bad food they eat. His mission is to raise awareness of the processed foods we eat as adults and feed our children, not only at home but in schools around the country as well as places of work. He wants to get good, local, whole foods back into our homes and schools.
Processed foods are usually made up of two products -- corn and soy beans. These crops are extremely cheap and can be grown in huge quantities in this country. Most large scale farmers in the United States produce three things -- corn, soy beans and animals that can be ground into processed meats, such as turkey (not the kind you eat at Thanksgiving) to make “turkey products” such as turkey bacon, turkey sausage, etc. The corn and soy beans can be refined to make fillers for a plethora of foods. If you look at the label of processed foods, you will find one if not both of these two ingredients in some form, such as corn syrup, corn starch, corn meal, soy protein, corn oil and hydrolyzed corn gluten, to name a few. They are added because it keeps cost down and adds a flavor of one or more of the three things that the food industry has learned we respond to -- sugar, salt and fat. We crave these things, so if they can some how get these things into the foods they sell us in a cheap way than they have succeeded. What they don’t realize or don’t care about is that it is killing us. And not only through weight gain but by using man-made products that our bodies can't metabolize properly and can lead to many unknown effects.
Jamie Oliver states three major things we can do. First, raise awareness about the foods we eat. Second, to get money and resources to the people who will help change the food environments from processed to whole foods. And third, start cooking at home. He states we lost our traditions of cooking real foods at home and passing down to next generations recipes and the know how of cooking. Children are a focus because they can change and stop the cycle before it continues.
I believe in Jamie Oliver’s cause. I personally look at food as a link in a long chain of fundamental change. If we can learn to understand the importance of sustainable, local foods and environments in our neighborhoods it will benefit us greatly in many ways. Jamie is creative in the way he took a passion for food and turned it into a way to change a country or countries for the better. He’s also creative in his execution. For example, he shows the kitchen he opened that took local, healthy food and distributed it to schools using local people. He put into action what he is speaking about. It takes many creative ideas and ways of thinking to be able to change conventional ways. Jamie is demonstrating this here with his food movement.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Testing Hope - Grade 12 in the New South Africa
The South African government struggles to remedy inequity and substandard education. Minimize ... DOCUMENTARY: Testing Hope - Grade 12 in the New South Africa ... The South African government has been struggling to remedy years of inequity, particularly regarding substandard education. Testing Hope - Grade 12 in the New South Africa chronicles the lives of young people facing their future in the evolving democracy of South Africa. The film follows four students as they work towards their crucial Matric exams which one student calls the decider. [September 2010 - Colorado Public Television - Find out more about "Testing Hope"]
Watch the full episode. See more RMPBS Specials.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Commentary: On Child-Driven Education
By Teley Quarshie
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:
Commentary:
I logged onto Ted.com and clicked inspiring and ingenious and on one of the pages, the title "The child-driven education" stuck out to me. Children are the most creative and alive. Full of thoughts, ideas, eagerness. Education is a huge issue in this world, yet such a tool to change one's social-economic status. He has found the “child-driven” solution to education though children, along with the help of technology that is everywhere. A little strange that there is high-speed Internet in these Indian and African villages walls. Yet we all walk around with mini-computers in our pocket or on our ear. Society is very technologically driven. The global world connects via the Web. Teaching is a profession respected by many but very underpaid. Leaving teachers to pick and choose and neglect where the money is close to nothing. Leaving the children to teach themselves.
He is using the creativity that the child has to figure out problems. He questions machines they’ve never used and in languages they are unfamiliar with. It's also a very creative way to educate. Yes, it would be best if these children where in the classroom learning with a teacher and a desk ... but in this case, this is all they have and they should be lucky to be apart of such a study.
By working together to figure out the answers, they are processing the information more to find a solution instead of on their own. Makes you wonder if people should be taught in groups, not one on one. You vs. the paper. Open education seems like a better way for people to learn. Yes, there may be that person who really doesn’t know the answer or how to solve it, but by being apart and paying attention they will figure out why whatever it is is such. (That was a side thought I just discovered thinking about the children working together.) I feel working together is a better guide for how to work in a professional social community. We spend our whole lives in school progressing on our own. Maybe we wouldn’t loose so many students if it was a group effort. If we all succeed, the better off we can make things on a larger, societal level. Thinking not for just the "Me" but the "We."
Children love to learn, but not all the same way. If they learn how to learn outside of the box, they will be able to think and know outside the box. Creativity and innovative ideas will follow. I consider open environments with some structure the best support for such learning styles. The idea of the "grandmother" is brilliant. All grandparents do is love and encourage. Having someone like that there, but actually not there, while still being surrounded by your peers seems to be a great idea to the world's grim education issue. A lot of money is needed, but not much help. People are needed to help. The outcome can only benefit us as a society. Sugata Mitra's creativity is creating tomorrow's creative minds.
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:
TED - July 2010: Sugata Mitra: The Child-Driven Education
Sugata Mitra tackles one of the greatest problems of education -- the best teachers and schools don't exist where they're needed most. In a series of real-life experiments from New Delhi to South Africa to Italy, he gave kids self-supervised access to the web and saw results that could revolutionize how we think about teaching.
Commentary:
I logged onto Ted.com and clicked inspiring and ingenious and on one of the pages, the title "The child-driven education" stuck out to me. Children are the most creative and alive. Full of thoughts, ideas, eagerness. Education is a huge issue in this world, yet such a tool to change one's social-economic status. He has found the “child-driven” solution to education though children, along with the help of technology that is everywhere. A little strange that there is high-speed Internet in these Indian and African villages walls. Yet we all walk around with mini-computers in our pocket or on our ear. Society is very technologically driven. The global world connects via the Web. Teaching is a profession respected by many but very underpaid. Leaving teachers to pick and choose and neglect where the money is close to nothing. Leaving the children to teach themselves.
He is using the creativity that the child has to figure out problems. He questions machines they’ve never used and in languages they are unfamiliar with. It's also a very creative way to educate. Yes, it would be best if these children where in the classroom learning with a teacher and a desk ... but in this case, this is all they have and they should be lucky to be apart of such a study.
By working together to figure out the answers, they are processing the information more to find a solution instead of on their own. Makes you wonder if people should be taught in groups, not one on one. You vs. the paper. Open education seems like a better way for people to learn. Yes, there may be that person who really doesn’t know the answer or how to solve it, but by being apart and paying attention they will figure out why whatever it is is such. (That was a side thought I just discovered thinking about the children working together.) I feel working together is a better guide for how to work in a professional social community. We spend our whole lives in school progressing on our own. Maybe we wouldn’t loose so many students if it was a group effort. If we all succeed, the better off we can make things on a larger, societal level. Thinking not for just the "Me" but the "We."
Children love to learn, but not all the same way. If they learn how to learn outside of the box, they will be able to think and know outside the box. Creativity and innovative ideas will follow. I consider open environments with some structure the best support for such learning styles. The idea of the "grandmother" is brilliant. All grandparents do is love and encourage. Having someone like that there, but actually not there, while still being surrounded by your peers seems to be a great idea to the world's grim education issue. A lot of money is needed, but not much help. People are needed to help. The outcome can only benefit us as a society. Sugata Mitra's creativity is creating tomorrow's creative minds.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Commentary: On Creativity and Food
By Michelle DAiuto
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:
Was there cooking in my local elementary school? No, they just reheat what was being sent from a central warehouse.
I remember as a young girl going to the cafeteria and watching the big machines mix the food. It wasn’t exactly homemade but better than today’s fare.
Food feeds the body. The body holds the mind. How can we as parents send our children out to eat things that are both toxic to the mind and body?
As we left the public school system and entered the private sector, we noticed a difference in the food being served. Foods were freshly prepared and a salad bar was offered. Even if our school system couldn’t afford great cuts of meat for everyone, fruits and salads should have been standard fare.
Only now do I realized what a disservice I was doing to my child, as well as my community. With the hurried life of Americans, we must stop and observe what our children are putting in their mouth. The school my son eventually went to for sixth grade had mid-morning snacks of apples and milk and a 15-minute break to burn off excess energy and that was the norm up to ninth grade. Sometimes kids get hungry and restless. When this happens, how are you to engage a child.?
Some parents might not believe it, but your child’s education does depend on the food that we feed them, whether its breakfast, lunch or dinner. We, as parents, need to speak up and affect change because a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:
[CLIP]Occasionally, I would show up at school and eat lunch with my child. What did I find? Pizza, chicken nuggets, fruit in a cup, and his favorite, French toast sticks and sausages.
Was there cooking in my local elementary school? No, they just reheat what was being sent from a central warehouse.
I remember as a young girl going to the cafeteria and watching the big machines mix the food. It wasn’t exactly homemade but better than today’s fare.
Food feeds the body. The body holds the mind. How can we as parents send our children out to eat things that are both toxic to the mind and body?
As we left the public school system and entered the private sector, we noticed a difference in the food being served. Foods were freshly prepared and a salad bar was offered. Even if our school system couldn’t afford great cuts of meat for everyone, fruits and salads should have been standard fare.
Only now do I realized what a disservice I was doing to my child, as well as my community. With the hurried life of Americans, we must stop and observe what our children are putting in their mouth. The school my son eventually went to for sixth grade had mid-morning snacks of apples and milk and a 15-minute break to burn off excess energy and that was the norm up to ninth grade. Sometimes kids get hungry and restless. When this happens, how are you to engage a child.?
Some parents might not believe it, but your child’s education does depend on the food that we feed them, whether its breakfast, lunch or dinner. We, as parents, need to speak up and affect change because a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Imagination Conversation Set for Connecticut, April 19 in Hartford
CONNECTICUT TO EXPLORE CRITICAL ROLE OF IMAGINATION AS KEY TO FLOURISHING SOCIETY ... Connecticut Imagination Conversation is Part of 50-State Effort to Raise Awareness of Imagination: Why It Matters and How to Develop It in Our Lives and in Our Communities.
On April 19, 2010, the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination and the University of Connecticut, in affiliation with Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education (LCI), will hold an Imagination Conversation at 7:00 p.m. at the University of Connecticut Greater Hartford Campus.
The Conversation will bring together leaders from an array of fields -- government, business, science, education, and the arts -- to explore the ways they experience and promote imagination in their work and communities. The goal of the Conversation is to present imagination as a key cognitive capacity, one that leads to creativity and innovation; and to help build awareness of imagination as a key skill in work and in life.
It is LCI's contention, as well as that of numerous scientists, government leaders, and educators, that imagination must be taught to children in our schools and nurtured in our communities. Applying imagination is crucial if Americans are to not only compete in the 21st-century marketplace, but create positive, flourishing communities that continually engage every citizen's creativity, imagination and ideas.
The Imagination Conversation will be in the auditorium of the Library Building at the University of Connecticut Greater Hartford Campus, 1800 Asylum Ave., West Hartford, Conn., 06117. The event begins with networking at 6 p.m. and the Imagination Conversation at 7 p.m. More details, along with parking and registration information, are available at:
http://www.appliedimagination.org
The Imagination Conversation is open to the public and will be recorded for broadcast on WNPR's Where We Live on Friday, April 23, at 9 a.m. WNPR's John Dankosky will moderate the Conversation with guests Steven Dahlberg and Scott Noppe-Brandon. Dahlberg is head of the New Milford, Conn.-based International Centre for Creativity and Imagination (ICCI) and teaches "Creativity + Social Change" at the University of Connecticut. Noppe-Brandon is executive director of Lincoln Center Institute and author of "Imagination First: Unlocking the Power of Possibility." Artists John O'Donnell and Ted Efremoff will visually map and document the Conversation while it happens. Students from the "Creativity + Social Change" class, invited participants from diverse sectors across the state, and the general public will also be involved in the Conversation.
This Conversation will focus on the role of imagination in education, creative community and economic development, and creative leadership in organizations. It seeks to build a relevant imagination-fueled agenda for the state to pursue. ICCI will coordinate follow-up action that emerges from this conversation, as well as additional future conversations.
“Creativity and imagination matter in every aspect of society,” says Dahlberg. “Imagination matters for engaging students and teachers in meaningful education. It matters for bringing new ideas into reality to improve the economy. And it matters for helping people express their creative capacities in their work and their communities. We hope to help connect people who want to tap into more of their imagination and apply it for creating positive change across this state.”
Imagination Conversations are expected to take place during the next two years in each of the 50 states. All of the Conversations will be documented and final proposals for nationwide educational reform will be made at a national Imagination Summit in New York in the summer or fall of 2011. At the Summit, Imagination Conversation findings and an action agenda will be presented to public policy makers, educators, legislators and the media in an effort to make cultivation of imagination a key element in our schools.
"Imagination can be described as having the ability to visualize new possibilities and the ability to ask, 'what if ...?'" says Noppe-Brandon. "Developing students' imaginations and teaching them to proceed from imaginative thinking to creative action is vital if they are to meet the challenges of today's world. If the United States is to maintain its position at the vanguard of innovation, it needs a workforce capable of finding fresh solutions to challenges and inventing groundbreaking products and services. LCI understands that imaginative learning in schools will produce such a population."
ICCI is dedicated to applying creativity to improve the well-being of individuals, organizations and communities. It promotes imagination and creativity through public events such as the monthly Creativity Networking series; professional development training for educators and business people; advocacy for creativity topics in local, national and international conferences; dissemination of creativity ideas through writing and commentary in various media; and teaching and guest lecturing at various universities.
The University of Connecticut's Bachelor of General Studies Program encourages imagination, collaboration and democratic participation through its Public and Community Engagement-themed courses in Storrs and Hartford and online.
Having recognized the global importance of imagination early on, LCI has established itself as a leader in the implementation of a method by which imagination is introduced into classrooms and used across the curriculum. Through the hands-on study of works of art, students develop their capacities to think imaginatively and critically, which serve them in all subject areas. With its programs reaching an estimated 390,000 students per year through its partnerships with schools across the U.S. and abroad, LCI is making an impact on the direction of education not just in New York but all over the world.
ABOUT THE HOSTING ORGANIZATIONS:
About Steven Dahlberg and the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination:
Steven Dahlberg is director of the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, which is dedicated to applying creativity to improve the well-being of individuals, organizations and communities. He teaches "Creativity + Social Change" in the Public and Community Engagement theme at the University of Connecticut. He has nearly 20 years of experience in this field, and has worked with Yale University, Guggenheim Museum, Yahoo!, Americans for the Arts, Danbury Public Schools, UNESCO, Louisiana's Office of the Lt. Governor, New Economics Foundation, Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, World Knowledge Forum, City of Providence, 3M, Aldrich Museum, State of Connecticut, and Rhode Island College, among other organizations. He has helped toy inventors launch a creativity consulting business, directed an international creativity conference, and taught an undergraduate creativity course for incarcerated men. Dahlberg edits the Applied Imagination blog, authored the foreword to the book, Education is Everybody's Business. He is particularly interested in creative community building, creative education, local food and sustainable agriculture, and creative aging.
About Lincoln Center Institute (LCI):
LCI is the educational cornerstone of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc., and is the model for arts education programs across the U.S. and abroad. Founded in 1975, the Institute is known for its inventive repertory, and brings music, dance, theater, visual arts, and architecture into classrooms in the New York City area, across the nation, and around the world. In more than three decades of outreach, LCI's approach has reached more than 20 million students, teachers, administrators, parents, community members and professors of education worldwide. The number is projected to increase in the next few years, thanks to LCI's highly successful professional development programs and Internet presence.
On April 19, 2010, the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination and the University of Connecticut, in affiliation with Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education (LCI), will hold an Imagination Conversation at 7:00 p.m. at the University of Connecticut Greater Hartford Campus.
The Conversation will bring together leaders from an array of fields -- government, business, science, education, and the arts -- to explore the ways they experience and promote imagination in their work and communities. The goal of the Conversation is to present imagination as a key cognitive capacity, one that leads to creativity and innovation; and to help build awareness of imagination as a key skill in work and in life.
It is LCI's contention, as well as that of numerous scientists, government leaders, and educators, that imagination must be taught to children in our schools and nurtured in our communities. Applying imagination is crucial if Americans are to not only compete in the 21st-century marketplace, but create positive, flourishing communities that continually engage every citizen's creativity, imagination and ideas.
The Imagination Conversation will be in the auditorium of the Library Building at the University of Connecticut Greater Hartford Campus, 1800 Asylum Ave., West Hartford, Conn., 06117. The event begins with networking at 6 p.m. and the Imagination Conversation at 7 p.m. More details, along with parking and registration information, are available at:
http://www.appliedimagination.org
The Imagination Conversation is open to the public and will be recorded for broadcast on WNPR's Where We Live on Friday, April 23, at 9 a.m. WNPR's John Dankosky will moderate the Conversation with guests Steven Dahlberg and Scott Noppe-Brandon. Dahlberg is head of the New Milford, Conn.-based International Centre for Creativity and Imagination (ICCI) and teaches "Creativity + Social Change" at the University of Connecticut. Noppe-Brandon is executive director of Lincoln Center Institute and author of "Imagination First: Unlocking the Power of Possibility." Artists John O'Donnell and Ted Efremoff will visually map and document the Conversation while it happens. Students from the "Creativity + Social Change" class, invited participants from diverse sectors across the state, and the general public will also be involved in the Conversation.
This Conversation will focus on the role of imagination in education, creative community and economic development, and creative leadership in organizations. It seeks to build a relevant imagination-fueled agenda for the state to pursue. ICCI will coordinate follow-up action that emerges from this conversation, as well as additional future conversations.
“Creativity and imagination matter in every aspect of society,” says Dahlberg. “Imagination matters for engaging students and teachers in meaningful education. It matters for bringing new ideas into reality to improve the economy. And it matters for helping people express their creative capacities in their work and their communities. We hope to help connect people who want to tap into more of their imagination and apply it for creating positive change across this state.”
Imagination Conversations are expected to take place during the next two years in each of the 50 states. All of the Conversations will be documented and final proposals for nationwide educational reform will be made at a national Imagination Summit in New York in the summer or fall of 2011. At the Summit, Imagination Conversation findings and an action agenda will be presented to public policy makers, educators, legislators and the media in an effort to make cultivation of imagination a key element in our schools.
"Imagination can be described as having the ability to visualize new possibilities and the ability to ask, 'what if ...?'" says Noppe-Brandon. "Developing students' imaginations and teaching them to proceed from imaginative thinking to creative action is vital if they are to meet the challenges of today's world. If the United States is to maintain its position at the vanguard of innovation, it needs a workforce capable of finding fresh solutions to challenges and inventing groundbreaking products and services. LCI understands that imaginative learning in schools will produce such a population."
ICCI is dedicated to applying creativity to improve the well-being of individuals, organizations and communities. It promotes imagination and creativity through public events such as the monthly Creativity Networking series; professional development training for educators and business people; advocacy for creativity topics in local, national and international conferences; dissemination of creativity ideas through writing and commentary in various media; and teaching and guest lecturing at various universities.
The University of Connecticut's Bachelor of General Studies Program encourages imagination, collaboration and democratic participation through its Public and Community Engagement-themed courses in Storrs and Hartford and online.
Having recognized the global importance of imagination early on, LCI has established itself as a leader in the implementation of a method by which imagination is introduced into classrooms and used across the curriculum. Through the hands-on study of works of art, students develop their capacities to think imaginatively and critically, which serve them in all subject areas. With its programs reaching an estimated 390,000 students per year through its partnerships with schools across the U.S. and abroad, LCI is making an impact on the direction of education not just in New York but all over the world.
ABOUT THE HOSTING ORGANIZATIONS:
About Steven Dahlberg and the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination:
Steven Dahlberg is director of the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, which is dedicated to applying creativity to improve the well-being of individuals, organizations and communities. He teaches "Creativity + Social Change" in the Public and Community Engagement theme at the University of Connecticut. He has nearly 20 years of experience in this field, and has worked with Yale University, Guggenheim Museum, Yahoo!, Americans for the Arts, Danbury Public Schools, UNESCO, Louisiana's Office of the Lt. Governor, New Economics Foundation, Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, World Knowledge Forum, City of Providence, 3M, Aldrich Museum, State of Connecticut, and Rhode Island College, among other organizations. He has helped toy inventors launch a creativity consulting business, directed an international creativity conference, and taught an undergraduate creativity course for incarcerated men. Dahlberg edits the Applied Imagination blog, authored the foreword to the book, Education is Everybody's Business. He is particularly interested in creative community building, creative education, local food and sustainable agriculture, and creative aging.
About Lincoln Center Institute (LCI):
LCI is the educational cornerstone of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc., and is the model for arts education programs across the U.S. and abroad. Founded in 1975, the Institute is known for its inventive repertory, and brings music, dance, theater, visual arts, and architecture into classrooms in the New York City area, across the nation, and around the world. In more than three decades of outreach, LCI's approach has reached more than 20 million students, teachers, administrators, parents, community members and professors of education worldwide. The number is projected to increase in the next few years, thanks to LCI's highly successful professional development programs and Internet presence.
Friday, April 9, 2010
In What Ways Might Imagination Improve Society?
206 IDEAS GENERATED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT 'CREATIVITY + SOCIAL CHANGE' STUDENTS ON 6 APRIL 2010 - HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT
What's YOUR idea for how imagination might improve society? Add your ideas in the comments section below. And plan now to participate in the Connecticut Imagination Conversation on Monday, April 19, in Hartford, Connecticut ... or host your own Imagination Conversation in your community.
What's YOUR idea for how imagination might improve society? Add your ideas in the comments section below. And plan now to participate in the Connecticut Imagination Conversation on Monday, April 19, in Hartford, Connecticut ... or host your own Imagination Conversation in your community.
What's YOUR idea for how imagination might improve society? Add your ideas in the comments section below. And plan now to participate in the Connecticut Imagination Conversation on Monday, April 19, in Hartford, Connecticut ... or host your own Imagination Conversation in your community.
- Communicating
- Open communication between groups
- Stop cancer
- Stop juvenile diabetes
- Stop crimes within the same community
- Feed the world
- Improve living conditions
- Respect people's sexuality
- Discover or create new ways to safely and effectively mass produce food and other products
- Lead to more openness, diversity, tolerance and integration of differences
- Encourage creative conversations
- Invest in creative education
- End child abuse
- Education will become an adventure that children will crave - no more dropping out
- Tell them that you are happy with imagination, then they will join you
- Teach the youth manners and morals so that they can grow
- Create tolerance
- Stop hunger
- Celebrate diversity
- Neighbors of the community care for each other more
- Stop poverty
- Be positive
- Stop hate
- Appreciate or accept people stepping out of the norm
- I can use my imagination to encourage prisoners
- Think before you act
- Treat one the way you want to be treated
- Providing ideas with individuals in society to solve problems
- Teamwork or brainstorming in a group
- Clarity of mind and soul
- Respect life as a whole
- Read other people's minds
- Work with other people's strengths
- Help those who need us the most
- Fight racism -> open mindedness
- Peace with others
- Improve self-esteem
- Encourage more active, positive citizen engagement
- Encourage others to join organization
- End homelessness
- Creative ways to be healthy, maintain health, regain health, defeat disease
- Show the society how important they are, then they will accept it
- Through education
- Team work
- Talking things out
- Appreciation of different types of beauty
- Fly to new, livable planets
- By laughing
- Build a healthier place for my kids and other kids
- Open-mindedness
- Make a commitment
- Love the curvalicious
- Travel to new dimensions
- Travel through time and space
- I can use my imagination to help my own community
- End frivolous spending in government
- To infinity and beyond - explore the universe within and without
- By coming up with different solutions for different issues
- Helping neighbors, taking care of each other's children, watching out for one another
- Allowing expression through art, music, theater and dance
- Reading books
- Give importance to all animals
- Have a moment of silent (regrouping)
- Live life ... one life, one blood, one love
- Make batteries that never have to recharge for my cell phone and laptop
- Make batteries that are environmentally friendly when disposed or recycled
- Eliminate existing regulations against farmers in Connecticut
- Open new doors
- Greater-good technology
- Warm, nurturing environment to support the development of great ideas
- Through education, broadcasting
- Through billboards
- Playing a game on team building
- Promote trust among individuals
- "The world can live as one"
- Live forever - never die
- Don't be afraid of death
- Stop discrimination among us
- Say no to Botox
- Play
- Get kids to be more physically active and healthy
- Move
- I can use my imagination to improve the unemployment rate
- Creative community building - creating jobs
- Build magnificent cities - buildings, gathering places, parks, museums, schools, etc.
- Make sufficient information available to the community
- Visiting the sick
- Helping those in need (homeless)
- Believing in yourself
- Make veggies taste better
- Build places that encourage creativity, instead of limiting it (i.e., Billings Forge and the G. Fox Building, respectively)
- Encourage kids to continue with school and get educated
- "Imagine there's no hunger, I wonder if we can"
- Plant a tree
- By communication
- Travel to the past
- Help third world countries
- Bring out technologies that do not already exist. Similar to how real technologies can follow the imaginative, fiction-based technologies proposed in science fiction. How culture and arts can "invent" technology.
- I can help the youth thing critically and explore their creativity
- Creating meaningful jobs, reducing unemployment
- Create/implement ways to care for and preserve the earth for generations to come
- Make creativity a learning tool for society
- Live Love Laugh
- Have a social gathering
- Love your neighbors
- Less serious
- Downloadable intelligence and knowledge (like in the Matrix)
- It could give us new games to play
- Share more with people in the community
- Living for today
- Spread the word by gathering with others or making a Web site for a fundraiser.
- Interact with others more
- Imagination can improve society through additional ideas being deposited into the "idea bank" and when there are more options, it can lead to more solutions to problems
- Decrease the crimes among teenagers
- Increase ideas among everyone (not just children)
- Educate children to be creative
- Spread the love
- Encourage uniqueness
- Marketplace of ideas
- I can bring peace to the world
- End drug abuse
- Life will be interesting, stimulating, purposeful and a delight
- Involve some stipends; it will bring people's interest
- Ignite idea that would improve the community
- Having dinner together - everyone likes to eat
- Love like you haven't been hurt before
- Humor - entertainment
- Comedians will have better jokes and can make us laugh in different ways
- Help people in the community to be more humble and to care for others
- Open communication
- Get some fresh air and fresh ideas
- Live Love Laugh for a better me
- Improve self-esteem and community confidence
- I can use my imagination to create a farm
- Improve or encourage people to eat healthier since one of my imaginings is about promoting organic food
- Stop judgment
- Improve the environment
- Improve economy
- Lead to healthier school lunches
- Lead to healthier planet and humans
- I can spread love throughout the world
- Proper treatment of animals
- Crime will decrease as there is openness, acceptance, a place for all
- It will create jobs; many will participate
- Share ideas
- Hand shaking and hugging each other
- Peace and love for every creature in the world
- Stop greed and pointless want in society
- Lead to society being more collaborative as opposed to individualistic -> solve problems together
- Increase mental capacity about a problem
- I can join different organizations within the community and help them resolve issues
- Decrease unemployment
- Accept each other
- More advertisements/commercials
- Through prayers
- Listen to others
- Less technology and more free play (outside)
- "Imagine all the people, living life in peace"
- Birth control that is 100% effective
- Guns that are truly idiot-proof
- Decrease healthy activities in kids in our community
- Go shopping
- By maximizing its potential
- Establish better problem solving skills to introduce to children in school
- By fostering problem solving potential in students and society's youth
- My imagination can help encourage others
- I can bring a sense of joy to others
- Reduce teen drug abuse
- Harmony and connectedness and unity among all cultures
- Do it in many different ways, even in different languages, others will enjoy
- Create something to challenge the community
- Don't be judgmental
- Challenge everyone to be the person they were meant to be; no judgment if that person turns out to be different than you expected
- Open minded
- Growth
- Defer judgment
- Improve existing ideas
- Keeping a smile on people's faces
- Decrease homelessness
- Develop spirituality
- Make known to the society why it is important
- Be creative in arts and music
- Develop strategies as a team or group
- Dance
- "No need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man"
- Never have traffic jams on the highway
- Exploring new areas and investing tourist dollars in them
- Focus on those young kids forgotten by parents and provide them with the love their parents don't give them
- Free spirit
- New ideas
- Globalization
- Defer judgment
- Engage students more in their learning experience
- Defer judgment
- I can create a community organization to improve the community
- Creative after-school programs
- Being there for each other in neighborhoods
- Keep kids out of trouble
- Purpose and work for all
- Do it with others, you will succeed
- Go hiking with kids
- Bring more family togetherness
- The world is your family, embrace your diversity
- Stop hate and war
- Help globalize an economy while preventing the fall of local business
- Care more for our elderly
# # #
67 IDEAS GENERATED BY THE RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE 'THE AMERICAN NONPROFIT SECTOR AND PHILANTHROPY II' STUDENTS ON 7 APRIL 2010 - PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLANDWhat's YOUR idea for how imagination might improve society? Add your ideas in the comments section below. And plan now to participate in the Connecticut Imagination Conversation on Monday, April 19, in Hartford, Connecticut ... or host your own Imagination Conversation in your community.
- By creating a bike trail that goes through the whole town
- Clean-up crews for the community
- Neighborhood closeness to reduce crime/increase community
- Help community to produce better housing for diverse people
- Imagination could show people parts of the place they live like they've never seen them before
- Dig a deep, underground housing complex
- Build better buildings
- Make environment of community
- More conducive to green technology - less polluted
- Could add beauty to community art projects, music, opportunities to participate
- Imagine ways to be more energy efficient
- Have a community-wide BBQ
- Creativity in finding solutions to health problems
- Create dams and levies
- Think out of day-to-day procedures -> fill someone else's shoes for a day (i.e., public/union workers and laymen)
- Space travel
- Off to civilization (arts, theater, etc)
- Better public welfare systems
- Improve different fuel sources
- Renewable energy
- New ways of communication
- Improve transportation
- Make community more fun to live in
- Create another system in some part of space (zoning)
- Better government system
- Better transportation system
- Better schools
- Better cars
- More ways to share resources
- Increase social interaction
- Thinking outside the box for creative solutions to common problems
- Better land use
- Imagining a better community - like better schools - imagine what we wanted schools to be filled with when we were kids - putting it into action
- Children govern the adults as they have better grip on imagination
- Offer community-wide movie showings
- Improve arts
- Find different resources - imagine possible venues
- Better ways to share resources
- More accessible buildings with less technology handprint
- Provide creative ways for people to make social connections - community projects
- Find new uses for the resources/food sources near you
- Have a community garden to grow food
- Improve environment
- Create a center for the arts
- Community cooking classes - take garden product and put in school lunches
- To expand people's minds to new things
- To expand the local business base of the community
- Provide opportunities for people to be things they've imagined - musicians, painter, teacher ...
- Have a town-wide pajama day
- Improve opportunities for high school graduates
- Healthier consumer products/food
- "Own" a block for clean up and community pride
- Time travel
- Imagination can give a community a different perception of old things
- Recycle old things into props; or add areas in parks with toy boxes or props
- Have playgrounds on every block
- Better ways toward health care
- Create climate of creativity to problem solve as community
- Get out of our houses and interact with people
- Better transportation for people with mobility problems
- New social interactions that are authentic, unplugged and involve storytelling
- Have a community clean-up day
- Creative activities in classrooms
- Create a community center
- Recycle end products to use waste in different ways
- Just go clean up a neighborhood without asking for anything
- Involve more people in volunteer projects for community
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Commentary: On Playing for Change's 'Stand By Me'
By Josefina Tiburcio
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:
Commentary:
This class is about exploring “Creativity and Social Change,” which is why the video, “Stand By Me,” captured my attention from the minute I watched it. The people that had the bright idea of putting this video together are very creative and are making positive social changes in society, as well as in communities all over the world. Furthermore, the name of their Web site speaks for itself -- Playing for Change.
Based on what I experienced when I watched this, I strongly believe that the creativity in this video can touch our hearts and possibly awaken the feeling and emotions that many of us hide deep inside of us. It is amazing to see how all of the people singing in the video are connected by the same passion for the music and the sound of the different instruments. Some of them actually make very nice musical sounds with different objects they play -- possibly invented or created by themselves.
The possibility of being connected by similar emotional pains exists. These pains could be caused by different circumstances in life (homelessness, hunger, loneliness caused by separation or loss of loved ones, rejection from society, etc.), but in the end, lead people to feel similar emotional pain as reflected in this video.
Most importantly, this video can impact the viewers in a positive way by making them feel compassion toward other people in society, regardless of their origin, race, color, culture and social class. This compassion for others in society is what we need. It is the tool that can trigger our desires to make a change in the life of an individual, a community, society -- and mainly in ourselves.
For instance, the first person who sings in the video, Roger Riedly, seems to be a homeless person. At the end of the song, people from the community approached his bag and made a contribution. Also, there is a possibility that the doors to the music world open up for one or more people singing and playing in this video, as an individual or company seeking new artists may become interested in them either as a singer or instrument player.
Finally, I think the creative idea of getting all these people from different parts of the world together in a single video is amazing. There is no doubt that creativity can impact our lives a lot in a positive way. Creativity not only help us to be or become creative, but it also helps us to discover the gift of the creative mind some of us already possess, but have not yet discover. At the same time, it help us to better appreciate the ideas and creative thinking of others, as well as realizing that creativity can come from anyone and anywhere. After taking the "Creativity + Social Change" class, the term “underestimate others" becomes history for some or all the students that experience this class.
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:
Playing For Change: Episode 2, "Stand By Me"
Four years ago while walking down the street in Santa Monica, Calif., the voice of Roger Ridley singing “Stand By Me” was heard from a block away. His voice, soul and passion set us on a course around the world to add other musicians to his performance. This song transformed Playing For Change from a small group of individuals to a global movement for peace and understanding. This track features more than 35 musicians collaborating from all over the world. They may have never met in person, but in this case, the music does the talking.
Commentary:
This class is about exploring “Creativity and Social Change,” which is why the video, “Stand By Me,” captured my attention from the minute I watched it. The people that had the bright idea of putting this video together are very creative and are making positive social changes in society, as well as in communities all over the world. Furthermore, the name of their Web site speaks for itself -- Playing for Change.
Based on what I experienced when I watched this, I strongly believe that the creativity in this video can touch our hearts and possibly awaken the feeling and emotions that many of us hide deep inside of us. It is amazing to see how all of the people singing in the video are connected by the same passion for the music and the sound of the different instruments. Some of them actually make very nice musical sounds with different objects they play -- possibly invented or created by themselves.
The possibility of being connected by similar emotional pains exists. These pains could be caused by different circumstances in life (homelessness, hunger, loneliness caused by separation or loss of loved ones, rejection from society, etc.), but in the end, lead people to feel similar emotional pain as reflected in this video.
Most importantly, this video can impact the viewers in a positive way by making them feel compassion toward other people in society, regardless of their origin, race, color, culture and social class. This compassion for others in society is what we need. It is the tool that can trigger our desires to make a change in the life of an individual, a community, society -- and mainly in ourselves.
For instance, the first person who sings in the video, Roger Riedly, seems to be a homeless person. At the end of the song, people from the community approached his bag and made a contribution. Also, there is a possibility that the doors to the music world open up for one or more people singing and playing in this video, as an individual or company seeking new artists may become interested in them either as a singer or instrument player.
Finally, I think the creative idea of getting all these people from different parts of the world together in a single video is amazing. There is no doubt that creativity can impact our lives a lot in a positive way. Creativity not only help us to be or become creative, but it also helps us to discover the gift of the creative mind some of us already possess, but have not yet discover. At the same time, it help us to better appreciate the ideas and creative thinking of others, as well as realizing that creativity can come from anyone and anywhere. After taking the "Creativity + Social Change" class, the term “underestimate others" becomes history for some or all the students that experience this class.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Creativity in the Classroom Workshop at The Aldrich - Monday
CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM
A creative education workshop for teachers, administrators, and parents ... with Facilitator Steven Dahlberg, Director, International Centre for Creativity and Imagination
==========================
MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2010, 4:00-6:30 P.M.
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
258 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT 06877
$30 (members)/$35 (non-members)
.2 CEUs available
Register online:
http://www.aldrichart.org/events/?id=642
==========================
CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM
Creativity includes -- and is more than -- the arts. Creative thinking is a twenty-first century skill that applies to all subjects, all grade levels, and all ages. It is a skill that prepares students and adults for a rapidly changing world, where complex problems do not have pre-defined, easy solutions.
Creativity involves creative and critical thinking skills that can be taught, practiced, and applied in all curriculums. In this workshop, you will:
* Explore what creativity is, who has it, and how to unleash more of it.
* Think about thinking ... and learn how to think in new ways.
* Learn and practice applied creative thinking skills.
* Discover styles and types of creative thinking within the creative process.
* Connect creativity to the classroom.
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Steven Dahlberg is head of the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, which is dedicated to applying creativity to improve the well-being of individuals, organizations and communities. He works with the Public and Community Engagement program at the University of Connecticut,
where he teaches the "Creativity + Social Change" course. More info at:
http://www.appliedimagination.org
REGISTER NOW
For registration and further information please contact:
Suzanne Ryan
Museum Educator
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
seryan @ aldrichart . org
203.438.4519
A creative education workshop for teachers, administrators, and parents ... with Facilitator Steven Dahlberg, Director, International Centre for Creativity and Imagination
==========================
MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2010, 4:00-6:30 P.M.
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
258 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT 06877
$30 (members)/$35 (non-members)
.2 CEUs available
Register online:
http://www.aldrichart.org/events/?id=642
==========================
CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM
Creativity includes -- and is more than -- the arts. Creative thinking is a twenty-first century skill that applies to all subjects, all grade levels, and all ages. It is a skill that prepares students and adults for a rapidly changing world, where complex problems do not have pre-defined, easy solutions.
Creativity involves creative and critical thinking skills that can be taught, practiced, and applied in all curriculums. In this workshop, you will:
* Explore what creativity is, who has it, and how to unleash more of it.
* Think about thinking ... and learn how to think in new ways.
* Learn and practice applied creative thinking skills.
* Discover styles and types of creative thinking within the creative process.
* Connect creativity to the classroom.
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Steven Dahlberg is head of the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, which is dedicated to applying creativity to improve the well-being of individuals, organizations and communities. He works with the Public and Community Engagement program at the University of Connecticut,
where he teaches the "Creativity + Social Change" course. More info at:
http://www.appliedimagination.org
REGISTER NOW
For registration and further information please contact:
Suzanne Ryan
Museum Educator
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
seryan @ aldrichart . org
203.438.4519
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Ken Robinson ... Again on Creativity and Education
[15 March 2010 - The Bonnie Hunt Show] Sir Ken Robinson shares what isn't working with our teaching system in schools.
Commentary: On James O’Brien's PopTech Talk ... Hands-on Education
By Angela Hyde
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:
The current education system in the United States is failing many of the young people it is meant to prepare to take their places as responsible, contributing members of modern society. The system as it exists is archaic, focusing on teaching knowledge and skills that are no longer relevant in today’s knowledge-based global economy. Many students are being totally lost in the system, missing out not only on personal fulfillment and growth, but also on the ability to become productive, engaged workers and citizens. Is there another way to approach how we educate our youth so that they are truly prepared to enter the world after high school? Is it possible to nurture and develop their innate curiosity into a lifelong love of learning that provides the foundation to become the problem solvers and innovators of tomorrow?
James O’Brien, principal and founder of the Brooklyn Community Arts and Media High School (BCAM), is building an environment at that school to tackle these challenges, employing unconventional methods and approaches. The mission at BCAM is to support and provide a relevant education to ninth through twelfth graders, preparing them for college and careers beyond high-school graduation. The challenge is heightened by the additional issues of daily urban life: student literacy capabilities that range from college-ready to third- and fourth-grade reading levels; a student population that feels alienated and unmotivated and that lives in an environment of violence, crime and gang affiliations.
To implement their goals, the innovative staff at BCAM developed a “21st Century Professional Preparatory Model Curriculum,” which uses a three-pronged approach to educating students: academics, creative arts as part of the core curriculum, and professional development. Mr. O’Brien discusses how the school meets students at their level and works with them to develop their talents and skills. Academics are steeped in the inquiry model, and students are taught to relate the lessons learned in academics with what is happening in their lives and to connect with their communities. Because in New York state all students are required to pass five Regent exams in order to graduate from high school, preparation for those tests is incorporated into the academics portion of the curriculum. Arts, which include fine arts and media arts, are required for three years to foster personal expression and creativity. To foster professional development, the school partners with professional organizations and businesses where students serve internships that involve them in the work world. Mr. O’Brien is pursuing paid internships, which would give the high school students added incentive to be truly “invested” in their work and futures.
While BCAM is still in its infancy, it is an example of how educators are going outside of the current education model to create vital, engaged education systems that address the needs of young people and their world.
For more information on the state of education in the United States and a look at how others are revolutionizing education, check out these Web sites/video clips:
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:
PopTech: James O'Brien: Hands-on Education
2009 PopTech Fellow James O’Brien assembled a staff of like-minded educators to create BCAM – Brooklyn Community Arts & Media High School. The fledgling educational-innovation tank combines performance-based academics and professional training in media and arts to prepare teenagers for success in the 21st century.
The current education system in the United States is failing many of the young people it is meant to prepare to take their places as responsible, contributing members of modern society. The system as it exists is archaic, focusing on teaching knowledge and skills that are no longer relevant in today’s knowledge-based global economy. Many students are being totally lost in the system, missing out not only on personal fulfillment and growth, but also on the ability to become productive, engaged workers and citizens. Is there another way to approach how we educate our youth so that they are truly prepared to enter the world after high school? Is it possible to nurture and develop their innate curiosity into a lifelong love of learning that provides the foundation to become the problem solvers and innovators of tomorrow?
James O’Brien, principal and founder of the Brooklyn Community Arts and Media High School (BCAM), is building an environment at that school to tackle these challenges, employing unconventional methods and approaches. The mission at BCAM is to support and provide a relevant education to ninth through twelfth graders, preparing them for college and careers beyond high-school graduation. The challenge is heightened by the additional issues of daily urban life: student literacy capabilities that range from college-ready to third- and fourth-grade reading levels; a student population that feels alienated and unmotivated and that lives in an environment of violence, crime and gang affiliations.
To implement their goals, the innovative staff at BCAM developed a “21st Century Professional Preparatory Model Curriculum,” which uses a three-pronged approach to educating students: academics, creative arts as part of the core curriculum, and professional development. Mr. O’Brien discusses how the school meets students at their level and works with them to develop their talents and skills. Academics are steeped in the inquiry model, and students are taught to relate the lessons learned in academics with what is happening in their lives and to connect with their communities. Because in New York state all students are required to pass five Regent exams in order to graduate from high school, preparation for those tests is incorporated into the academics portion of the curriculum. Arts, which include fine arts and media arts, are required for three years to foster personal expression and creativity. To foster professional development, the school partners with professional organizations and businesses where students serve internships that involve them in the work world. Mr. O’Brien is pursuing paid internships, which would give the high school students added incentive to be truly “invested” in their work and futures.
While BCAM is still in its infancy, it is an example of how educators are going outside of the current education model to create vital, engaged education systems that address the needs of young people and their world.
For more information on the state of education in the United States and a look at how others are revolutionizing education, check out these Web sites/video clips:
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Commentary: On Ken Robinson's TED Talk ... Schools Kill Creativity
By Brooke Smith
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:
TED Conference: February 2006
Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we're educating our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence. In this talk, he makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.
Background:
I watched a video presentation from the TED Conference. The ultimate goal of TED is to highlight, study, and show how one can use the gift of human imagination. The man giving the speech was Sir Ken Robinson. He grew up in England and moved to California later in life. The speech was easy to listen to and humorous. Sir Ken Robinson used to be a university professor but now writes and speaks about creativity and education. The speech took place in Monterey, California, in February 2006 during a four-day TED Conference.
Commentary:
This video relates to our class in many ways. Sir Ken Robinson spoke about the main goal of changing our education system and how we use this system to teach our young children. He believes that creativity is the backbone to every individual and that traditional education teaches children how to conform to become studious while losing their creativity. According to him, the definition of creativity is, "the process of having original ideas that have value." In class, we spoke about this exact concern with the educational system. I believe that teachers should modify the way they attempt to conduct their classrooms. According to the video, education was created before the 1900s to meet the needs of industrialization. The most useful subjects back then were reading, writing and mathematics. This time period began steering children away from things they enjoyed because there was no future in being a musician or a dancer. Instead, the goal was to force everyone to become academic and find careers that they may not enjoy but will obtain financial success.
Sir Ken Robinson said: "We have a huge vested interest in [education], partly because it's education that's meant to take us into this future that we can't grasp." I agree with this statement. Traditional education and the subjects it deems important have become outdated. The times have changed and it is time we revamp the goal, focus and purpose of education. If we do this, we can better prepare our children for the uncertain future and the necessary skills needed to be successful today.
The speaker believed that children "all have tremendous talents, we [adults and education] squander them." How do we create schools and education to stop dismissing creativity and talent? This question was asked in class. I do not believe that there is just one change that would fix the educational system. Instead, it is many little changes such as teaching style, use of technology, etc., that would help begin a new style of learning. Children are full of imagination and talent. This is the main reason I love my job. I go to work every day and learn more from the children than they learn from me. They may not know that they do this, but I love their innocence, imaginations, ideas and passion. Children are very passionate about most of the things they do. "Kids will take a chance, even if they don't know how to do something or why they are, they still try," Robinson said. It is only through our educational eystem and adults telling children "No" that we hinder and/or stop children's creativity.
I took down many interesting things that Sir Ken Robinson said. These are just a few of the quotes that stuck with me.
- Creativity is as important now as literacy.
- If you not prepared to be wrong we will never be original.
- The challenge is how to remain an artist, because we were all born as one. (quoting Picasso)
- Highly brilliant people and brilliantly creative people no longer think this way because of being STIGMATIZED in school.
This video was easy to watch and full of valuable information on why the need to change the educational hierarchy is necessary to adequately prepare future generations. Instead, we are setting children up for failure. A degree no longer holds as much value as it once did. Everyone has them now. Instead, you have to continue your education and obtain higher degrees like a master's degree or law degree. It is time for a change to our system. How can we as individuals begin this change? Will it help future generations if we do?
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