What are your smarts?

Schools kill creativity

I have been curious about creativity, using creativity in teaching. That is also the reason why I decided to take this doctoral level course in "effective strategies for college teaching". In this video, Sir Ted Robinson explains how the education system, in it's full hierarchy is killing the creativity of the students. He further illustrates this point by sharing a story of Gillian Lynne , a choreographer (Cats the musical) who, when she was a little child was suggested to have a learning disability because she could not sit still. Later, her mother finds out that she learns through movement (dance). I remember going to school in the what they call the "highest level" (yes, their is hierarchy in Education all over the world), meaning Latin! I believe I spent only a few months there before someone suggested to my mother that I could not sit still so perhaps I should go to a different school. It was not because I wasn't smart, it was because the teaching style used did not parallel my learning style. I tried but could not grasp many of the concepts used in class. I was a more conceptual learner, needed to understand why things worked the way they worked. But, I loved learning! I just could not learn the way "they" wanted me to learn (through memorization, not understanding). This video is interesting to me because it hits home! The bottom line is that all student have talents, and, how you can reach out towards the student in a way so they can use their talents/smarts to learn is a attribute every teacher must posses. It is creative teaching!

What are your smarts?