Having a Hand in the Creation Process

I see no reason why I wouldn't be involved in the creative process of my students' work. First of all, I'm going to be coming up with the assignments for things they're working on. And in shows, I will have the final say on what show that we're doing. I think the public school educator absolutely has to try to foster creative assignments/activity or it just won't happen. It won't happen in the classroom, at least. Earlier in the semester we talked about using different media communities that your students can utilize in class. I mentioned that I'd like my class to be a creative outlet and safe space for kids to share because if a kid wants to do it and they don't have an opportunity in school, they will still do it. They will still blog, play online games, participate in forums and chat rooms, etc. How much better for that to start in my class. As we know creativity exists outside of media, but media is also a great tool we can use. Especially at this time in history when students are so deeply tied to all the new technological developments. I'm a true believer in the fact that creative drama in the classroom helps students learn better, and helps them own material better. We teach drama in the elementary school classroom in 352 and 377D because we believe it engages the students more, and helps them remember concepts far longer than if they were learning it through pure lecture. I love the science teacher allowing his students to make documentaries. It can also lead to important discussions, like when they had to decide if it was okay or not to add contrived footage. What a fun, creative activity that students can really own. It makes research so much more interesting, and lets them be proud of a final product that can really make a difference to the world. I believe documentaries are truly some of the most important and influential work created today.

Hobbs talks about a lot of problems that can come in a high school setting when working on creative projects. This happens in college, as well. And I'm sure it sometimes happens professionally, but these are not reasons to decide against creative activities. The cost is too great. She mentions some great ideas to help combat these issues, but I think the best way is just to stay in touch with your students. Monitor their activity and progression. Ask them questions. Ask for updates: i.e. where is your group at so far? What have been the greatest challenges? I like how she mentions clear expectations and a rubric so that students know exactly what to expect. If you explain the project as something that's very simple and then grade very hard you will have a lot of very upset parents and students. If your expectations are clear then you will have significantly fewer problems. I think it's vital that we allow students to screen/present their work and get feedback from their peers.  I also think that giving students a checklist or something really will make it easier for them to divide work. Unequal share of group work is the earliest challenge known to man. I don't know that there's a solution to it, but I think that is a great way to help. I think it's important for them to be able to see the reaction that everyone has to their work. I think students want this opportunity unless they feel they've done a poor job. In which case this is a great motivating factor for them do try to make something they are proud of showing. These were the biggest challenges to me. Everything else wasn't that big of an issue for me. If students try to challenge your authority or ask you provocative questions then I think you should just have a discussion with them! Just like Amy did with her students in Illinois when they had an issue with her race. Don't try to skirt the issue or act like you're afraid of the student. If there's some things you can't discuss, just tell them so. Refer them to people they can talk to about the issue.

Last, I loved the Seeing and Writing excerpts. I think it's important for kids to write about things that are happening to them right now; things that are currently important to them. I also think some great activities involve having the kids take a few pictures and bring the ones to class they really like. Have the class analyze them. What are the photos saying? What are they saying in relation to each other? What types of things happen to us every day that seem ordinary, but really could be extraordinary  I feel like this was the theme/spirit of the Seeing and Writing reading. I think they get us thinking about creation because it shows that there are almost no limits. Anything can be studied as art. They don't have to study 19th century art or paint something to have a provocative discussion about society/art/media/culture today. I think photography is a great access point as one of the writers mentioned that it's something that literally everyone partakes in. Why not utilize something students already do?