To Quote Sir Ken Robinson
“All kids have tremendous talent, and we squander them, pretty ruthlessly”.
“…My contention is that creativity now is as important in education as literacy”
If you haven’t watched this video; I highly recommend you to.
As one of the future teachers of Australia, and of the world. God I hope we don’t kill creativity! And personally I know I won’t kill it!
With the current Australian Curriculum being developed and used in schools, there is not expressive arts as a learning area. However, does that mean we can’t teach our students that in schools. Of course not!
I small word can make such a difference – Integrate!
For example you are teaching science does that mean you can only focus on Science. NO! Math, English & The Arts can be integrated into the unit, not only to integrate but to help engage the students on a deeper level. You can use Role Playing (drama), still drawing (visual arts), story writing (English) to make the Science unit as exciting as possible.
If you think about it.. Would you like to be sitting at a desk writing in tables, measuring liquids and looking down a microscope.. Or would you like to be doing these things as well as for example writing a story of the life of a plant, from the plants perspective.
Knowing your content and the curriculum is key, so many learning areas can be integrated to make learning that much more exciting. As well as knowing what you are teaching you need to know HOW you are teaching. What pedagogical strategies will you use in your classroom? And yes they will change, depending on topic area and students.
Knowing your students is just as vital.. Have you catered for all learning styles in your classroom, do you know how your students learn best? Making your students fee safe in the classroom can greatly help in their willingness to engage and learn with the rest of their classmates.
So integrate, engage and inspire your students to be creative! There are so many way to gets creative today and so many resources which can help you along with the process, you cant be afraid to look and even ask for help.
