Happy New Year
Originally Published September 2015
Happy New Year!
I realize it’s not January, and that we are now a couple of weeks into our new school year. But it’s still a Happy New Year!
The beginning of a new school year brings with it many emotions. Often we talk about the students and how they might be feeling starting a new year. But what about parents? What does a new year bring for us?
If you are like me, you might be worried about your child fitting in with friends. You may be concerned about the number of advanced courses they are taking. You might wonder if they are going to be challenged in their classes this year. Those are all good things to consider and to bring up to your child’s teacher. But I would like to ask you to consider another area: creativity. Is your child being challenged in such a way that he/she has to be a creative problem solver?
Last year a group of our dedicated teachers and administrators convened to talk about how we can increase our students’ skills as creative thinkers and problem-solvers. We understand that creativity is not only a life skill, but one that employers are constantly telling us they value. But being creative also leads to a sense of ownership, satisfaction, and according to some researchers, better health, greater involvement in community, and economic benefits.
However, even without scientific research most of us have experienced participating in a creative challenge and the engagement that experience can bring. Educationally, engagement is important for learning to take place. So it makes sense that as a district we are committing to helping our students to be thinkers engaged in academic endeavors which challenge them to find new ways to work, create, and solve.
The goal of a world-class education is not to produce students who can correctly repeat answers back on a test. The goal is to engage them in learning experiences which cause them to ask their own questions. So what can parents do to promote this type of learning?
When you hear of a teacher tapping into your child’s interests, thank them. When you learn how your child is being asked to struggle with some content to apply it in a new way, send the teacher an email and let them know you value that.
In our performance-driven culture, it’s hard not to focus on grades and scores. But I want to challenge us to expect more for our students. They will be our leaders, our researchers, our teachers, our builders, our doctors, our investors, our developers. And they will need to be creative thinkers and questioners if the problems and opportunities of their future will be met. The answers to the really hard questions aren’t found on the page of a textbook or a website; they are developed by creative thinkers.
