Time is of the Essence… 0
I live in a world of language. Writing, writing, writing. I am sustained by a world of images and objects, moving and still. I think in pictures and frequently use storyboarding to organize ideas.
As I’ve written about in other posts, digital imagery and video are a source of inspiration for me and something I have been keen to introduce into my own work and to the schools with whom I work.
Lately, I have been working in the creative arena, locating, developing and writing modules for the Artful Reading series. Artful reading is a series of lessons, using arts themed picture books to integrate the arts and literacy. My creative juices are flowing and I am consumed with brain storming and developing ideas. I am immersed in the land of picture book imagery and story. One of my favorite educational resources is the book, The Having of Wonderful Ideas, by Eleanor Duckworth. I am hoping to have some wonderful ideas and create work that will inspire teachers and students alike.
I am struck by the fact that whether I am making a painting or developing a series of lessons, it takes time to have the ideas and to flesh them out. How many times have I been in a classroom where students are asked a question and only given a few seconds to come up with an answer or a creative solution to a problem?
Because thoughts of creativity, inspiration, and the time necessary to engage with the arts and ideas are on my mind I would like to share a couple videos:
This first video, Deadlines, was developed by Café Creative, a Hungarian ad agency based in Belgrade. This video was short listed for the European Golden Drum award. In it, Café Creative responds to requests by clients to work faster/cheaper. The video is a great lesson for teachers and parents about the time necessary for the creative work of children.
The second video, Teachers Inspire Us, is created by students as a tribute to the ways teachers inspire. Another lesson on the power of creativity and the important role of arts education. On the technical side, the video is also a wonderful example of stop motion animation using drawing, a chalk board and music. For more information on stop motion animation see my post Creativity: A Stop-Motion Experience.
Let me know what you think of the videos. Take 10 seconds and complete the drawing starter from, Deadlines. How’d you do?




Late in 2011 I read The Happiness Project (by Gretchen Rubin, 2011), a New York Times Bestseller about a young woman’s journey to improve the quality of her life through fairly simple goals she sets for herself each month. It’s hard not to think about starting your own happiness project as you read her reflections, but I wasn’t sure I could pull off such a feat given everything I already juggle with work, school, and travel. Nonetheless, I made myself a little “Happiness Project” note on my phone with some goals that seemed reasonable. Nothing earth shattering, but things that I knew would make my life fuller or better if I could muster up the discipline and build some new habits.
The first seven words came fairly quickly, and lined right up with goals I had already made for my pseudo happiness project. But coming up with the remaining words took a lot of thinking. These words were meant to drive my entire year! I wanted words with weight and words that would challenge me as a person, worker, and artist. I asked friends for help, talked about it with family over the break, searched the thesaurus, and then finally one morning my list was complete.
While the “what” of teaching is critically important, so is the “how.” Even with higher quality and fewer standards, students will not be more successful unless classroom instruction does the following:
e same time can be invisible. It’s strong, but can be weak or unhealthy. It’s observable in the people, but also in the things. (See, it’s tricky?) What is it really?
Per an assignment for my “culture of high-performing schools” class, I headed out on a field trip to investigate this further. I’m on the road this week, so tonight I flopped down in a comfy spot in my hotel’s lobby and I prepared to soak up the evidence that would lead me to a more complete definition of culture. My assignment included guiding questions to steer my thinking: What do you suppose the mission and values of the organization are? What evidence do you see to support your hunch? Is there consistency in how employees and customers conduct themselves?