Schools and creativity

Castle Cove's A Day Assembly for Term 1 recognised creativity in many different areas, but Sir Ken Robinson claims that most school systems around the world do not promote creativity.  

With its excellent music program, art lessons and dance groups, Castle Cove shows schools can find a balance, but I think it's also true that there are many wonderfully creative approaches to teaching and learning in literacy, science, and even in mathematics!

Nonetheless Sir Ken is an excellent speaker and the online video is worth watching.  I find it difficult to resist an entertaining speaker who makes an important point well.

What does creativity mean to you?

The Mouse and the Motorcycle - by Beverly Cleary

This book is a lovely tale, which combines gentle, humourous real world observation (hotels, vacuum cleaners) with just enough fantasy to keep younger children tantalised (a talking mouse! who rides a motorbike!)

But most appealing of all, especially for the adult reading aloud, are Cleary's fully three-dimensional characters - which for me echoed down the decades from my own earth-shattering discovery of Ramona Quimby decades ago.  

You can't help but relate to a mouse who feels envy, shame, and guilt - and has a real-world humanity absent in so many other books written for this age group (5-8). More than adding to our enjoyment of the story, I loved seeing the young listeners reflecting (I like to think) on the universality of their foibles, and the ever-present possibilites for redemption.  

Or maybe I was just projecting.  

What I am sure they enjoyed was the action. The machine-centric obsession, the necessity of speed and bravery, the heroic climax to the story and the hair-raising near misses - all the theatrics close to many young boys' hearts, but in just the right doses so it didn't give them nightmares.

We're looking forward to the sequels.