You can’t help but be a little romantic about the concept of creativity. It’s a little different for everyone and we know it when we see it. And while we can define it, there are multiple manifestations of it that defy description. Thus, it’s ethereal nature is quite romantic.
As such— and being an English-y type— this week’s HW was something of a joy. And can I just say this again before I get specific: Sir Ken Robinson is an absolute treat. Just a real pleasure to listen to. Okay, off we go with some takeaways: Brown and his discussion of cohorts was really interesting to me. He used World of Warcraft and surfing as examples— which is a perfect way to show the immense range of this idea. One idea: immersing yourself with a group of others absolutely raises the aptitude of all. Another idea is that this is really effective when it’s an area of interest. An area of interest... Which ties into my next thought. Pink talks about how some companies allow workers to have days/times where they exclusively work on what interests them. There are multiple variants of this but the data is clear: much of the best thinking comes from these sessions. Perhaps you take a day and work on a pet project. At the end of the day you report out. They were called “FEDEX” days because you have to deliver in a day. And deliver they do. Money doesn’t drive creativity. What drives our innovation is when we believe it matters and that we are interested in it personally. Gardner said an awful lot, and my takeaway is a simple one (but one I might turn into a debate with my class): Why NOT cheat? Instead of why one could benefit from dishonesty, perhaps attack this from a different angle. Hmmmm. If done right this could be great. Or, this could unlock ethical blocks from my nicest kids and turn them into a world of crime. Either way, a fascinating exercise. And of course, Sir Ken, and I paraphrase: we have no idea what the world will look like in 5 years from now (which feels REALLY accurate right now). Our current graduates will retire from their careers in 2065. We have no idea what that work will be. We must embrace creative thought and adaptivity. Oh, and he made a joke: “Shakespeare was once a seven year old. SOMEONE had Shakespeare in their English class growing up. Wouldn’t that be annoying.” (I’m not trying to attach this into anything. It was just an amusing thought. I would love to be able to know what that was like.) And my biggest takeaway from Mobley is that for creativity to thrive, there must be a culture present where one can fail and not be a failure. Mind blown. I mean we know this right? But how intentional do we focus on building that? I try— but in our current pandemic there are so many emotional issues that we are living amongst extreme fragility. More than ever this should be a driving force— that culture— so we can actually learn.
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AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2020
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