Summer Reading

Just before beginning summer vacation, I elected to bring home several education-related books from my school collection.  These included Kathy Richardson's Understanding Number Concepts, Number Talks: Helping Children Build Mental Math & Computation Strategies by Sherry Parrish, my personal collection of Debbie Diller books (Literacy Work Stations, Math Work Stations, Spaces & Places), along with a few other books.  I really enjoy going back through these books and reflecting.  (Obviously, this is something that takes place when Sydney is napping or down for the night.)

The summer offers great opportunity- I have time to read!  I didn't want to limit my reading selections to what I already had either in my personal collection or borrowed from the school collection, so I often ask my friends and family (or scour the NY Times Bestseller lists) for recommendations.  This recommendation came to me by way of my neighbor.  She was reading the book Imagine, by Jonah Lehrer, in May and highly recommended that I read it keeping my experience as a public k-12 educator in mind.

I am fortunate to have access to a wonderful public library, with a branch located a few miles from my home.  I hopped online and searched the catalog to see if the book was available.  It was a newly published book at the time.  I found multiple copies that were all checked out.  I got on the waiting list (as number 17).  I thought I'd never see the book...

Until 2 weeks ago.  My turn had arrived!  Lehrer makes this book very easy to read.  He puts some very scientific knowledge into the hands of readers with vocabulary that isn't beyond the average reader.  The examples of creative moments in real life, creativity-icons such as Bob Dylan, the folks at 3M and creators of the Post It note, the Silicon Valley, Keith Richards, William Shakespeare, artists of Florence, philosophers of Athens, and others, hammer in the absolute importance of cultivating creativity.

As an educator, the sections of the book that spoke to me were those specifically education-oriented.  These were located in the Chapter The Shakespeare Paradox.

• "The point is that the typical school isn't designed for self-expression; the creative process is often regarded as a classroom failure." p. 231  
• Lehrer spent time visiting NOCCA, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, a program for teens around the New Orleans area.  The students that attend are highly creative, highly motivated, and show great perseverance.  Kyle Wedberg, CEO of NOCCA, was interviewed by Lehrer and said the following:
•  "Everyone agrees that creativity is a key skill for the 21st century.  But we're not teaching our kids this skill.  We've become so obsessed with rote learning, with making sure that kids memorize the year of some old battle.  But in this day and age that's the least valuable kind of learning.  That's the stuff you can look up on your phone!" p. 231
• Another facility of education that Lehrer visited was High Tech High, a San Diego charter school.  The school emphasizes "learning by doing."  Lehrer interviewed the CEO of the school who said the following:
• "[John] Dewey said it best: 'Understanding derives from activity.' Kids don't learn when they're consuming information, when someone is talking down to them.  They learn when they're producing stuff." p. 234
• Lehrer summarizes by saying "That's why the best schools ensure that unstructured play- what happens when the child creates and explores on her own- is an essential part of the classroom experience." p. 236

After reading Imagine, I am very thankful.  As a kindergarten teacher, I believe that I have the power to cultivate creativity in my students.  I don't have the pressures of high stakes testing, although I still consider myself to be accountable for student success.  May the 2012-2013 school year be a year of cultivating creativity in Room 39!