The Power of Creativity Ep.21

Listen to this episode to find our why creativity is a much needed skill and how you can nurture creativity.

Show Notes: 

Episode Summary: 

What is the world’s most desperately needed skill and one that no one is talking about? Creativity! Creativity is wildly misunderstood but needed now more than ever. In this episode, we’re talking about why we need creativity and how you can get more of it.

In this episode:

Introduction:

Have you ever said something like, “ Oh, I’m not creative?”

Most people think of creativity as skills in art, music, writing, or drama. If you have a broader perspective, you might see that there is creativity in home design, architecture and landscaping.

But have you ever considered that you need to be creative in plumbing, or in medicine?

And what does creativity have to do with schools?

We all have the potential for creativity inside of us, and we need it now more than ever.

What’s the big deal about creativity?  Why do we even need it?  If you are starting to tune out because this topic is for teachers in the arts- stick around.  In the next 20 or so minutes, we will make our case for the importance of creativity!

Quote: 

“Art is seeing the world that does not exist… Civil rights activists are artists. Athletes are artists- People who imagine something that is not there.”

Ava Du Vernay, Film Director and Producer 

Why we need creativity

Albert Einstein, a very creative thinker and innovator once said, “We cannot solve problems at the same level of thinking that we were at when we created those problems.”

• Creativity is the ability to see things in new ways and bring together knowledge and experience to create things that haven’t existed before.
• It is a skill, and one that we can all get better at with practice.
• It involves being open to asking big questions- what if?…how could we?…how? What’s the purpose? What is the end result we need?
• Creativity is the key to problem solving and innovation.

Our world has plenty of problems that need solving. So do our schools.

We need to be able to envision new ways to approach things, new, innovative ideas that can change our problems for the better.

The Expression of the arts is only one form creativity, the one we usually think of first.

Oscar nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay said,

“Art is seeing the world that does not exist…Civil rights activists are artists. Athletes are artists- People who imagine something that is not there.”

Let’s take a look at a couple of real world examples of creative skills in jobs we would not ordinarily think of as “creative.”

Consider a plumber who skilled at diagnosing potential problems in a 100 year old house and overcoming them. He doesn’t know what is behind the walls until he gets in there. He needs to be able to combine old parts and new ones to make everything work correctly. He needs to understand the architecture of houses in different eras, and adapt as needed to what’s behind the walls. He also needs to understand the sequence of the work, and understanding the timing of it, for example who needs to come in first- the electrician or the carpenter?

Or consider medical professionals. They diagnose complex medical issues. It seems to be very scientifically based, with years of college work and residency and a lot of different facts and the use of data. But in the end, all the medical professional has is a bunch of different data points. Diagnosis is not always a simple thing. Medical professions have to sift and sort through data, get the patient’s experience and understanding of the problem and then make a diagnosis. That is very much critical thinking. It involves creativity.

Future jobs are going to require new types of work and new skills.

Future work will be more about being able to make complex decisions and use critical thinking.  Technology and AI are already doing much of our work that does not need human technical skills. We have machines and robots that do many things, but we need skilled workers to creatively design them and to be able to program them.

Why is there such a lack of emphasis on creativity?

In one of the most watched Ted Talks ever, Sir Ken Robinson talked about the lack of creativity in schools.

1. Creativity is often associated with the arts, and as a rule, we don’t support arts as a necessity in this country. When the budget requires cutting, the arts are often the first to go.
2. We like our rules and procedures and benchmarks, steps and standards. Those things are not all bad, and they offer rigor, but we need both rigor and creativity. Creativity is often the opposite of those kinds of things- open ended, inquiry based and intuitive. These things tend to be collaborative, which tends to be difficult measure.

Think of making a cake. You need some established ingredients- such as flour, baking powder, and salt.  The recipe gives us rigor, it is safe and offers a tried and true procedure.

But making a cake also involves creativity. What flavors can you use? What form will the cake take?  What kind of frosting? How will you package, wrap or serve the cake?

The best bakeries invent new flavors and combine ingredients in novel ways. If you have ever watched baking shows on TV, you’ve seen the incredible artistry in cakes. There are 1000’s of Instagram accounts devoted to baking cakes and it is not all about the rigor, it is about the rigor plus the creativity.

What are some reasons why creativity is stifled?

1. We’ve been taught that there is one right answer- it is on the test and measured.
2. We encourage compliance in education, be quiet, do your work, don’t challenge the status quo.  Children who ask too many questions or who argue against the rules or procedures are often considered disruptive.
3. Creativity takes time and exploration of ideas. We have too much to do and not enough time.
4. Creativity often involves being vulnerable. New ideas are often ridiculed. Or followed with “ We’ve tried that before.”

New ideas challenge us because it means change, and many people struggle with change. It is safer to stick with the status quo, do what you have always done.

In times of extreme change which requires more creative and innovative solutions, people often want to revert to some prior practices. Let’s just go back to the old ways- the ways we used to do it in the good old days. Let’s get rid of technology. Let’s go back to requiring the same books for every student. Let’s require a lock step curriculum so that every teacher will conform to the standards in the same way.

These things give a false sense of stability while ignoring that new challenges need new solutions. The genie is out of the bottle, and you can’t put it back.

Remember the first computers in schools? We needed to figure out how they could help us with instruction beyond Oregon Trail and Where in the World is Carmen San Diego. It was more than a novel amusement.

Then came cell phones in schools, do we find ways to use them? How? For the most part, we have not used what we know about problem solving and innovative ways to address students’ use of phones in the classroom.

For example, old cell phones can be used with QR codes to give students directions at learning centers. They can be stripped down and used with school wi-fi. That is using creativity to solve a problem.

Without conscious decision making around how we use cell phones in schools, the result is students’ unbridled use of phones at odds with classroom needs.

Now the new “threat”  is AI in schools. The first reaction is, “they will cheat!” In many places the first instinct with new technology is  “Let’s ban it.”  Then we rethink how we could use the new technology. The real challenge is, how can we use these new technologies responsibly, ethically, and with critical thinking? That requires creativity and innovation.

Almost every school and business will say they value innovation, but they do not devote time and energy and learning into doing the kinds of things that innovation requires.

 What are some skills and aptitudes that could help increase my creativity?

In his book, A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink explains the six high concept, high touch senses we need to dig into to develop creative synopsis in our brains so we can, as he says, “reap society’s richest rewards and share its greatest joys.”

These aptitudes are as follows: Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play and Meaning. We all have these aptitudes, but in today’s world many of these muscles have not been used to their fullest capacity.

1. Design- consider moving beyond just the function of something, to the design of something. He suggests not just thinking about creating a product or a service but to also consider creating something that is beautiful, whimsical, or emotionally engaging.
2. Pink challenges us to move beyond just making an effective argument to telling a story. Nothing beats a compelling story.
3. Symphony- think about Symphony as putting all of the pieces together.  Consider looking at the big picture and you may find a new way of seeing things.
4. Empathy- in a society that relies heavily on logic you can build upon your creativity by figuring out what makes your peers, friends, family, and students tick. Forging relationships and caring for others allows you to see things you may not be able to see if you only look at the world through a logical and analytical lens.
5. Play- we don’t always need to be so serious. Laugh, be lighthearted, play a game, explore your sense of humor. Yes, there are times to be serious but that does not need to occur as often as some of us think. Play makes us more relaxed and open, reduces stress and calms us, all things that lead to creativity.
6. Meaning- we live in a world where we accumulate lots of stuff. That often stifles our creativity because we don’t need to think of creative solutions. We don’t have to, the world has already given us thing that solve many of our problems. Take some time to look for true meaning. Whether that is in exploring your values, your spirituality, or your purpose, give yourself the gift of taking some time to find meaning to what you do.

How can we unleash our creativity?

We can all become more creative and that creativity is the key to the future. Here are some  ideas:

• Try new things. Encourage students to experiment without the need for perfection. Expand your horizons and broaden your world which exposes you to new ideas. Get out of your silo- talk to teachers of different ages, in different schools. Talk to people in other professions.
• Use brainstorming. Allow all answers and in the initial brainstorming, encourage quantity or quality. Do not be quick to shut down new or outrageous ideas.
• Use movement to facilitate thinking. Walk and talk. The body activates the brain to make ideas better. Physical movement can change the way we think. Take a lap around the school.
• Get into flow. When we are involved in an activity and in the moment, we not only lose track of time and space, but we often open up magic. We see larger possibilities and we open up different parts of brain. Flow requires time and opportunity. It involves having choice of what you do and being allowed time to be in the work.
• Engage with the work you are doing. In his book, Creative Schools, Ken Robinson says “Great teachers understand that it’s not enough to know their disciplines. Their job is not to teach subjects; it is to teach students. They need to engage, inspire, and enthuse students by creating condition in which those students will want to learn.”
• By really engaging with the work you are doing, and the students you are doing the work with, you will see your creativity soar.
• Challenge the status quo with real questions. Why are we doing this?  Is there another way we could do this?  What would happen if?… Listen and consider the questions. Don’t automatically shut down ideas.

 Conclusion

We end our discussion on unleashing your creativity with his definition of creativity from Sir Ken Robinson:

“Creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value.” He further states, “in this world, there are many great schools, wonderful teachers, and inspiring leaders who are working creatively to provide students with the kinds of personalized, compassionate, and community oriented education they need.”

We hope you will take away these key points from today’s podcast: Creativity is a process. You have original ideas. Now you know to use your creativity to give value back to the world.

Recap: 

Creativity is vital to not only the arts, but to problem solving and innovation. We can all become more creative and teach our students to become more creative as well. Our creativity may very well be our gift to the world.

Resources mentioned in this episode: 

Do Schools Kill Creativity?  TED Talk Ken Robinson

A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink

Creative Schools by Ken Robinson

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