“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions.”

Albert Einstein

"Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties."

Erich Fromm

Creativity

Creativity is the third of the eight traits (engagement, risk-taking, creativity, perseverance, critical thinking, collaboration, daily preparation and organization) that Dr. De Jarnett wrote to parents about before the spring break and how they are important for our children’s success.
This year all of our preschool through Upper School teachers have had the opportunity to discuss the trait of creativity in depth both in divisional and cross-divisional settings. At the most basic level we agree that creativity is best determined by asking - 

How well is the student able to: 

• think about how something might be done differently, 
• change perspective, 
• generate new ideas and alternatives, 
• consider novel suggestions from others?

To foster creativity we must:

• create a non-judgmental atmosphere guided by example toward associating different ideas, trying new paths, using multiple perspectives and processes 
• encourage study of others’ creativity 
• provide exercises at different levels that have many different approaches and different outcomes

Raising Children Whose Creativity Will Change the World 
(a Lower School Perspective)

Get ready to witness students' creativity expressed
 on newly repainted outdoor benches. The fresh white
base coat of paint provides a blank canvas for
wonderful collaborative art!

In any school, mastery of facts, concepts, operations, processes and procedures is essential for the education of students. In good schools these are always presented in contexts that are relevant, meaningful and compelling so that students do not need to ever wonder why they are learning what is expected. In great schools, while students are mastering what they will need to know, they are also encouraged to view themselves as creative individuals, capable of original thinking and expression.

It is important to "lift up" the creativity of some
to be appreciated by others.

Although students do need to understand and build on the work of those who have come before, we never want them to think that all they have to do is simply do a good job at plodding along in the footsteps of others. It is important to instill in children the notion that they do not have to wait until they graduate from college or graduate school before they can begin to have original thoughts or make a difference to those around them.

As children’s confidence in themselves is their most valuable possession, helping a child to view him or herself as a creator, a leader, a solver of problems and a helper of others can be one of our greatest gifts to them. Engineering challenges, leadership opportunities, student-directed community service projects and creating an original opera are all examples of activities that allow students to take the kind of risks that enable them to feel the power of what they can individually and collectively initiate and accomplish.

Creativity can be expressed in different languages, as is the
case in our April Spanish Lower School calendar.

For most of us, the ability to simply follow the direction of our teachers was valued more highly in our schooling than the curiosity and creativity that is a natural driving force for all preschoolers and kindergartners. Don’t get me wrong, it is important for students to be able to take the direction of their teachers. However, it is vitally important that our teachers continually nurture the caring, the curiosity and the creativity of their students.

Creating music together: our Lower School String Ensemble
playing at last week's assembly.

With that in mind, I want to share some student responses to a second-grade writing assignment several years ago about what you would do if you were president. “I would stop the wars.” “I would send food and medicine to poor people.” “I would stop pollution.” “I would make the world a better place.” “I would close all the unhealthy food stores.” “I would be a generous president so everyone would look up to me.” “I would have people recycle paper instead of cutting down trees.” “I would reduce the price of vegetable-oil cars by half.” “I would make everyone pick up trash around the world.” “I would not allow smoking.” “I would make the world a peaceful place.”

Creating a program that makes a robot do
what you want feels good!

In one sense, these could be seen as naïve and childish ideas, but in reality it can be these very same children, armed with their caring, creativity and confidence, who will find the solutions to many of our world’s most challenging problems. Children who have organized and instituted a recycling program, begun a composting initiative, planned and built a garden, or directed community-service projects possess experiences that can convince them that there are no bounds to what they can accomplish if they, often with the help of others, self-confidently apply their creativity and ingenuity.

Students used their creativity in Spanish class to expereince
 the word disguise (disfraz).

Creating things with others is particularly rewarding.

Sewing a dress from scratch for a doll requires imagination, creativity 
and determination.

Students created a solar powered fountain in the garden.

Preschool 3 students  together created this train because of their interest in transportation. It is also a cool place to play.

Creating a garden means screening compost with a friend.

Fourth and first-grade buddies created beautiful things together.

What can parents do to foster their child’s curiosity and creativity?

• Look for activities that provide open-ended challenges where success is not always measured by a score.
• Encourage an exploratory approach to mastery activities like dance, martial arts or playing an instrument.
• Foster a playful approach to thinking.
• Avoid giving children a sense that there is a single right answer to a question or problem.
• Model how it is important to explore and weigh different approaches to solving problems.
• Share with them your thinking about what is going on around you and in the news.
• Help them understand that there are always different, often many, points of view.
• Allow them to take things apart, even if they can’t always put them back together, so they can learn how things work.
• Involve them in planning family events, activities and trips.
• Encourage them to take risks and allow them to fail, for this often provides the greatest learning opportunities.  
• Listen to their questions; take them seriously; consider their ideas; allow them to make decisions and feel ownership; and discuss, discuss, discuss.

Raising children whose creativity will change the world is a time-consuming process that is worth every minute invested by all the adults in their lives.

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In this Sunday's NYT Sunday Review section there was a wonderful opinion piece, Raising a Moral Child, by Adam Grant.

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Opera Update

Hello, my name is Salmaan and I am a pr officer.  I am here to talk about one of the most important jobs in the opera, the production manager!  Our production manager is Lauren Kim. I asked her a few questions:

“How did you feel when you were chosen to be a production manager?”
“I was very surprised, and I was also very happy.”

“How does it feel being a production manager?”

“It’s kinda fun, but sometimes it’s REALLY hard and not much fun.”

“What are you most excited for?”

“I’m excited to see the opera! Since my job is to take account of everything that is happening, I will be excited to see all of our company’s work come together.”

“What are you doing currently?”

“Now since we all have opera together at the same time, I get to visit every job.  I deliver messages to them and observe their progress.  Sometimes they ask me for my opinion.” It seems very hard but very amazing to be a production manager. Lauren keeps everything in the opera together, and I’m sure thanks to her and with her leadership we are going to be great.

The opera is on May 1st at 7:30 PM in the Hajjar Auditorium. We hope to see you all there!

Historians 

By:Ellie

Hi, this is Ellie from the 5th grade public relations officers. Today I’m here to talk about the historians. There are two historians: Brian and Colin. “So far we have been taking pictures and interviewing people.” said Colin and Brian. The historians learned a few things too. “I learned how to use a video camera,” said Brian. “I learned how to set up a tripod,” said Colin. I then asked Brian and Colin why they chose this job. “I chose this job because I wanted to take pictures and interview people.” said Colin. “I liked all the jobs,” said Brian, “but I thought I would enjoy this one the most.”  

Since the opera is still a work in progress, Colin and Brian have many things to look forward to. They are responsible for documenting everything that happens in the process of creating the opera during the whole year.  “I’m looking forward to actually seeing the opera,” said Brian. “I’m looking forward to creating the exhibit for the opera that everyone will see that night,” said Colin.

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