Finding the balance between allowing students opportunities to be creating and teaching the required curriculum can be difficult. It can be a stressful situation for any teacher! Currently I am in this predicament myself. This year our grade level has been asked to implement a new math program and text books. Before this program came to our school our kindergarten team was given the free range to create our own lesson plans that we felt met the standard course of study objectives we were teaching. This year we have felt very much like our ability to create has been taking away. This has been a difficult learning curve that we are still trying to work through. After reading the article by Adams it is clear that finding a balance between creativity and standards is a lot like trying to find a balance between using a text book verses not.
To be honest hearing what Adams had to say was just what I needed to hear this week. "Each type of learner is valuable (p. 59, 2007). Many times as teachers we often write off those students who are distracted as those who are having difficulty learning. Rather than pushing them to think deeper we take the easy road and allow them to complete basic assignments. Adams challenges us to create free thinkers who have "imaginative intelligence and are curious to discover what lies beyond the given boundaries (2007).
Another point I found enlightening from the reading this week was the part where Adams discusses how we must teach students HOW to be creative. Even though many students are truly gifted, creative thinkers, we are not all born this way (myself included). Adams states that "teacher behaviors influence creativity. Teachers that realize creativity is multidimensional, not an ability or personality trait, will nurture the concept within their classrooms (p. 60, 2007). It is time for us as teachers to stop believing this type of behavior will happen naturally on its own. We must begin facilitating it within our classrooms.
Providing opportunities for creativity in a classroom can be challenging. Finding the necessary time for these activities can be difficult in our already very busy schedules. However, if we begin making creative thinking a part of our daily routines (i.e. Daily 5 tasks, math talk, free writing/journal time, etc.) we may begin to see our students surprising themselves (and their teachers)!
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