As a teacher, it’s our job to ask ourselves, what is a fresh way to present this information? What could get our kids attention today. Small things like teaching a lesson outside, as opposed to inside…having your kids make up a rap to remember important historical facts…using movie clips in class to emphasize a point, or asking students to act out their own commercial for a product that they design themselves…all of these things would be considered creative in a classroom, but…creative ideas aren’t always spontaneous. They require thought and specificity in order to really be meaningful for the children. It is not easy to come up with good ideas. It’s hard. Really, REALLY hard. Burgess goes into a section of the chapter where he talks about the ‘six words that got him unbelievably fired up’. I have to say, that once I heard them, they got me fired up too because I’ve heard them so many times as well!
I won’t tell you the six words…you’ll just have to read the chapter! ๐
BOTTOM LINE: ‘Commit. Start working. Then, be open’, says Burgess
Have confidence in your ideas! Implement them in your classroom and look for growth and deeper understanding in your students! Remember that it is okay to fail. Really, I think that the difference between creative people and non-creative people is that creative people sometimes are more willing to try something and fail…just for the thrill of trying and maybe succeeding. Be the kind of teacher who is willing to implement something new and see if you’re not invigorated by the change in your students engagement! ๐
For more thoughts on this chapter, please check out Kate’s blog!
If you would like to link up for this chapter, don’t hesitate to visit Gina or Jen! ๐
