Advocate the Arts and Creativity by Providing Feedback to Your State’s Education Department
“With this bill [ESSA], we reaffirm that fundamentally American ideal—that every child, regardless of race, income, background, the zip code where they live, deserves the chance to make of their lives what they will.” — President Barack Obama
In the constantly changing climate of “educational reform,” the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) signed by President Obama in December 2015 is the latest “flavor” of educational law to come down from Congress, serving as the re-authorization o
f the 50-year-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Each state must now develop and adopt their own “plan” of ESSA implementation. For example, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is considering some very broad topics for inclusion in its state plan, and is currently asking for feedback from the general public on the following (source – Pennsylvania Music Educators Association – PMEA – http://www.pmea.net/specialty-areas/advocacy/):
Assessments
- Can we reduce the amount of time students spent on statewide PSSA testing (grades 3-8)?
- Is it feasible to test students at multiple times across the school year instead of only once?
- Can we eliminate double testing for middle school Algebra I students? (Would need to add advance math test in high school for those students.)
Accountability – Measures
- Future Ready PA Index – a proposed tool to measure school success
- Increased weight on growth in test scores versus point-in-time achievement
- Local options for additional assessments
- Career ready indicators and meaningful post-secondary student engagement
- More holistic measures of student success
- Measures of both inputs (i.e., course offerings) and outcomes (achievement scores)
Accountability – Interventions
- Tailored to local context and school based needs assessment.
- Intervention for lowest performing schools to include BOTH academic and holistic strategies
- Level of state intervention to be responsive to student progress over time.
Educator Preparation and Evaluation
- What are the best strategies to ensure effective, diverse educators and school leaders for all students?
- What changes in teacher preparation do we need to consider to improve the readiness of new teachers?
- How to promote alternative pathways to teacher certification?
Mark Despokatis, Chair of the PMEA Council for the Advancement of Music Education, says that music teachers and parents “don’t have to respond to every suggestion, but please feel free to respond to those on which you can provide opinions and feedback.” Comments should be shared directly with the PDE at RA-edESSA@pa.gov. Also, PMEA members should submit their feedback to PMEA via email to Mark Despotakis at mark.despotakis@progrmusic.com.
PDE has provided a PowerPoint presentation about the public listening tour and with a little more background on the above listed suggestions on their website at http://www.education.pa.gov/Pages/tour.aspx#tab-1.
This blog-series on “creativity and education” maintains the position that a focus on the development of self-expression and artistry in the schools should be at the top of the critical “big four list” for satisfying “the real purpose of education” – personal discovery, self-improvement, and developing the building blocks for success and happiness in life:
- Creativity
- Literacy
- Logic
- Global understanding
“Talk is cheap! Educational research, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills movement, and other leading-edge groups, company managers, HR Directors, and the general employee job market have known for a long time what is best for kids and the economy… in a nutshell, the need for more exploration, teaching, and mastery of student creativity, including inquisitiveness, ingenuity, inventiveness, flexibility of thought, and inquiry-based learning! In this era standardized testing, the Common Core revolution, and relentless “teaching to the test,” are we embracing the best practices of “whole child” learning? True customization, individualization, and personalization of education dictate a change in emphasis from not relying purely on lesson targets and assessments of simple objective, one-answer-only, convergent thinking, but moving towards the more complex (and richly meaningful) higher-order, multiple-pathway, divergent thinking – greatly valued skills of analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing.” — Paul K. Fox in “Creativity in Education” https://paulkfoxusc.wordpress.com/creativity-in-education/
Here is your next installment of research and resources on rationale and application of helping our students become more creative. However, do not be shy in vocally expressing your own views and support of the arts to your state legislators and and governor. For the future of education, this is probably the most important role a music advocate can play!
Google’s Most Cited Sources for Creative Teaching and Learning
- Creativity in Education edited by Anna Craft, Bob Jeffrey, and Mike Leibling (Continuum 2007)
- Creativity and Education by Robina Shaheen (Scientific Research 2010) http://file.scirp.org/Html/3369.html
- Creativity and Education by Hugh Lytton (Routledge 1971/2012)
“Throughout the world, national governments are reorganizing their education systems to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. One of the priorities is promoting creativity and innovation. In the new global economies, the capacity to generate and implement new ideas is vital to economic competitiveness. But education has more than economic purposes: it must enable people to adapt positively to rapid social change and to have lives with meaning and purpose at a time when established cultural values are being challenged on many fronts.” — Ken Robinson in the Preface of Creativity in Education
Creativity in Education provides insightful essays by Margaret A. Boden, Ken Gale, Laura Haringman, Susan Humphries, Dame Tamsyn Imison, Mathilda Marie Joubert, Jenny Leach, Bill Lucas, Bethan Marshall, Kevin McCarthy, Susan Rowe, Leslie Safran, and Peter Woods. The book is divided into two general sections and thirteen chapters:
Part One: Creativity and Individual Empowerment
- The Art of Creative Teaching
- Creative Teaching, Teaching Creativity, and Creative Learning
- Little “c” Creativity
- Creative Literacy
- Creativity as “Mindful” Learning: A Case from Learner-Based Education
Part Two: Creativity and Pedagogy
- Creativity and Knowledge
- Teacher Education within Post-Compulsory Education and Training: A Call for a Creative Approach
- Creating Danger: The Place of the Arts in Education Policy
- Poised at the Edge: Spirituality and Creativity in Religious Education
- Creative Leadership” Innovative Practices in a Secondary School
- Effective Teaching and Learning: The Role of the Creative Parent-Teacher
- Creating a Climate for Learning at Coombes Infant and Nursery School
- A Hundred Possibilities: Creativity, Community, and ICT
Although conceived more than ten years ago, this set of comprehensive articles are a “must read.” As Sir Ken Robinson endorsed, these contributions provide arguments that “educating for creativity is a rigorous process based on knowledge and skill; that creativity is not confined to particular activities or people; that creativity flourishes under certain conditions and, in this sense, can be taught.”
Creativity and Education comes to us via Scientific Research Open Access of “Creative Education” 2010, Vol. 1, No. 3. Robina Shaheen shares interesting research focused in her three sections of her paper:
- The Link Between Creativity and Education
- Changing Role of Education
- The Inclusion of Creativity Within Education
She cites numerous authorities in support of the essential rationale for promoting creativity in schools.
“Fostering creativity in education is intended to address many concerns. As a summary, this includes dealing with ambiguous problems, coping with the fast changing world and facing an uncertain future ( Parkhurst, 1999). Perhaps the most dominant current argument for policy is the economic one. The role of creativity in the economy is being seen as crucial (Burnard, 2006) to assist nations for attaining higher employment, economic achievement (Davies, 2002) and to cope with increased competition. It is for this reason that creativity cannot be “ignored or suppressed through schooling” (Pool e, 1980) or its development be left to “chance and mythology” (NESTA, 2002). It is predominantly for this reason that there is a call for its inclusion in education as a “fundamental life skill” (Craft, 1999) which needs to be developed to prepare future generations (Parkhurst, 1999) so that they can “survive as well as thrive in the twenty–first century” (Parkhurst, 2006). Developing children’s creativity during their years in education is the start of building “human capital” upon which, according to Adam Smith and successive commentators, depends the “wealth of nations” (Walberg, 1988).” — Robina Shaheen
Shaheen discloses the new focus of the Foundation Stage Curriculum and National Curriculum for schools in England, with the aim that the school should “enable pupils to think creatively and critically, to solve problems and to make a difference for the better. It should give them the opportunity to become creative, innovative, and enterprising.” The key points on the National Curriculum website are:
- What is creativity?
- Why is creativity important?
- How can you spot creativity?
- How can teachers promote creativity?
- How can heads and managers promote creativity?
She concludes that there has been a recent upsurge in “creativity and education” in most European, American, Australian, and East Asian countries, as reflected in their policy documents. She cites the example of what UNESCO now proposes should be taught to Asian students:
- Rather than “learning how to learn” – “learning how to learn critically”
- Rather than “learning how to do” – “learning how to do creatively”
- Rather than “learning how to work together” – “learning how to work constructively”
- Rather than “learning how to be” – “learning how to be wise.”
Another excellent reading, the book Creativity and Education rounds off the third most cited online reference on this subject.
Author Hugh Lytton (1921-2002) was a distinguished scholar in the field of developmental psychology. His table of contents displays an amazing wealth of thought-provoking material:
- The creative process
- Imagination and intuition
- Creative moments
- The poet’s inspiration
- The scientist’s insight
- “Convergent” and “divergent” thinking, or how intelligent is a creative and how creative is an intelligent person?
- Origins of intelligence tests
- Mechanics of intelligence tests
- Theory of intellect
- “Intelligence” and “creativity”
- Do “creativity tests” measure creativity
- What are creative people like?
- Creative men
- Young creatives
- Madness and genius
Nurturing creativity
- Home background
- Pre-school education
- Developing productive thinking
- The creative child at school
- Is education biased against creativity?
- Teachers’ and pupils’ attitudes
- Achievements
- A propitious school climate
- Teaching for creativity
- Specialization in arts or science
- Retrospect
Although a little pricey, the book is currently available for purchase on Amazon, which provides the following description.
“The author provides a lucid account of creativity and its educational context. He discusses the creative process, the character of different kinds of creativity, creative people, developing creativity, and the creative child at school, to give his readers an understanding of the issues that home or school have to face in fostering a creative, non-habit-bound child. The book should be particularly welcome to all concerned with education in view of the present stress on child-centerd education and on the development of individual children’s abilities, especially their powers of original thought and search to the full.” — Amazon re: Creativity and Education by Hugh Lytton
Politically, very little is in the forefront on nurturing creativity in education. Our legislators, administrators, and curriculum revisionists continue to be more concerned about standardized tests, the Common Core, and the “basics” of math, reading, and writing. Most states (PA included) do not embrace the recently revised and released National Core Arts Standards, for which “creating” has three major essential targets:
- Anchor Standard #1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work
- Anchor Standard #2: Organize artistic ideas and work
- Anchor Standard #3: Refine and complete artistic work
As stated in the first “lessons in creativity,” we should all venture out on our own expedition… to find additional strategies to implement teaching and learning creativity. As you can see, there is a lot of material to review, at least on the rationale of creativity in education, if not the “how to” of bringing it into the classroom. Happy hunting!
PKF
© 2017 Paul K. Fox
Music is one of life’s greatest treasures! 
Your joy of creative self-expression and “making music” will sustain you through almost anything… and will transfer to your students’ success in life.
r mistakes (and there will be many) will be forgiven. Besides, there are usually no “single right answers” in music and art – only opportunities for divergent and flexible thinking, adaptability, and personal expression.
Music For All: 
someone else, or sing solos at a local nursing home or senior center.
Spend a lot of time sight-reading… especially on the piano. To take your ear-training training a step further, pull out your old folk-song sight-reading series or Hindemith’s Elementary Training for Musicians and practice musicianship exercises.
Here is your next installment (part three) on a collaborative exploration of “teaching more creatively and teaching creativity.”
Catmull, Ed (2014). Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming Unseen Forces in Way of Inspiration. Random H. From Ed Catmull, co-founder (with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios, the Academy Award–winning studio behind Inside Out and Toy Story, comes an incisive book about creativity in business and leadership.
Robinson, Sir Ken (2013). Finding Your Element: How to Discover Your Talents and Passions. The Element gives readers an inspirational and practical guide to self-improvement, happiness, creativity, and personal transformation, introducing the concept of self-fulfillment through the convergence of natural talents and personal passions. Among the questions that the book dives into include:
The authors have made an online version of this work available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. For details, go to
While she suggests new ways to “activate your students” developing neural networks of skill-sets for “cognitive flexibility,” she defines several new opposing concepts: “inattentional blindness” vs. open-minded vision, and divergent thinking vs. the factory model of education. She provides excellent examples of lesson activities as she sums up her thoughts on learning transfer: “When you provide learners with opportunities to transfer their learning to novel applications, you’re extending their cross-brain connections and creative potentials.”
My “soapbox” in this forum has always been that we need to do things in education intentionally – in the classrooms, written/posted weekly lesson targets, and curriculum. In school, we have spent an inordinate amount of time developing convergent thinking, a.k.a. one-answer-only principles/laws/inarguable facts.What is needed is MORE divergent thinking – multiple solutions or pathways to the resolution of a problem, open-ended “out-of-the-box” proposals – generating fresh views and novel solutions. Best practices in education would be a combination of both convergent and divergent thinking techniques – the ultimate role of our profession – mastery of the essential 21st century learning skill of critical thinking.
I stumbled on a free ASCD webinar for July 28, 2016 that will “detail ways to foster student curiosity through novelty and play; questioning and critical thinking; and experimenting and problem solving.” Based on Dr. Wendy Ostroff’s book, 
The “power” of journal writing and brainstorming is so essential to the creative process. Author and educator Julia Cameron has written a series of books on the subject of “unblocking your inner artist.” The Artist’s Way, the title of one of her international best-sellers, has been transformed into a movement of artists helping other artists, a program she says is “used in hospitals, prisons, universities, human potential centers, and often among therapist doctors aids groups in battered woman’s programs, not to mention fine art studios, theological programs, and music conservatories.”
One of my “heroes” on the subject of instructional strategies in creativity, critical thinking, motivation, and collaboration is Professor Curtis J. Bonk, Indiana University (Bloomington) School of Education and author of 
For school music directors, I would suggest to offer a weekly “create a warm-up” opportunity run by student conductors. Many well-intentioned “school maestros” are guilty of setting up the rigid format of a “benevolent dictatorship” (“my way or the highway”) and not allowing the individual participants to share any input in running practices or interpreting the music. For the first five minutes of the rehearsal, ask student volunteers to choose the articulation or key of a scale, and even create a drill from the challenging rhythmic motives introduced by the music in the folder. Variations on tempo and dynamics can be lead by the student leaders.
As quoted on the back cover of the Cultivating Curiosity in K-12 Classrooms, “We learn by engaging and exploring, asking questions and testing out answers. Yet our classrooms are not always places where such curiosity is encouraged and supported.” As important as literacy and logic, how can we nurture creativity in the schools? For this forum, can you share your thoughts on additional lessons in creativity?
I submit there are basically three ways to learn something new by reading about it. One is the tutorial format, a.k.a. an instrument of “programmed learning.” Another approach is the comprehensive reference manual or user guide. Finally, many people prefer a narrative story, perhaps a fictitious account that features characters exploring and revealing insights on the topic you are studying.
If you were looking for the reference manual, I recommend Ernie Zelinski’s How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free (2016). The chapters are laid out by general concepts you need to understand. However, as in many user guides, you could turn to almost any page in the volume, jump around (in any order) to specific areas on which to focus, e.g. tips on travel (page 165) to health/wellness (page 109), and not lose the overall meaning.
The contents of It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again are divided into a weekly course of study:
The fictitious “Larry and Janice Sparks” share anecdotes of their experiences, modeling potential opportunities of retirees enhancing their relationships, stimulating their minds, revitalizing their bodies, growing spiritually… basically rekindling passion in every area of their lives.
You will notice that all three texts cover many of the same subjects, but are vastly different in methodology, style/design, and overall structure.
at the Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Pennsylvania on July 11-13, 2016.
Randomly check out what’s happening in the arts’ scene on the World Wide Web:
Curiosity
Creativity is about getting curious.
They take risks.
As soon as I posted these wonderful resources, several new ones popped up. Also, please look up the following:
unified county or state system. “Big Brother” does not dictate all aspects of what is taught.
needs of a very diversified clientele.
for success in today’s higher education and jobs. Sure, we want our children to excel at reading, writing, understanding and solving math problems, but now more than ever, we need to place higher priority and greater amounts of time and resources to the goal of teaching students to create and express themselves, and to learn originality, inventiveness, personal innovation, initiative, self-direction, flexibility, adaptability, openness to new and diverse perspectives, and ambiguity.
My first act as superintendent would be the planning and institution of several new teacher in-service programs.
Meaning – the purpose is the journey, giving more meaning to life from inside yourself.
Taking a page from the leadership philosophy of the current superintendent (Dr. Patrick O’Toole) for the Upper St. Clair School District, my former employer, I would install new administrative positions that foster creative self-expression and educational innovation. Our “customization” tagline (logo to the right) is ambitious, unique for most public schools, and articulates the USC organization’s core functions, culture and mission. However, I believe it needed the intentional assignment of extra managerial manpower and flexible foresight in staffing in order to fulfill the school district mission statement: “Developing lifelong learners and responsible citizens for a global society is the mission of the Upper St. Clair School District, served by a responsive and innovative staff who in partnership with the community provides learning experiences that nurture the uniqueness of each child and promotes happiness and success.”
Sir Ken Robinson says the studies show the longer students stay in school the less creative they become. It is all about the willingness to accept risk, instead of seeking conformity or the “one right answer.” We need to venture out from our “comfort zone,” be different, try new ideas or angles, and even fail miserably once in awhile along the way.
In our society, at times we do value risk taking. Steven E. Landsburg, author of Armchair Economist: Economics and Everyday Life says that the reason we pay CEOs so much money (in the millions plus stock options and golden parachutes) is to provide enough security for the company executive to take more chances and find new ways to make even more money. Quoted from his book:
Speaking of balancing “risk and rules,” just how creative are YOU? Have you heard about Chindogu, the Japanese concept that combines ingenuity and inventiveness with the absurb? 
To improve the instruction, both in learning creativity and more creative teaching, let’s move towards practicing more divergent thinking. Teachers would be asked to post in front of their class the “innovative idea of the week” or “creative target for the day.”
assessments, often called authentic, comprehensive, or performance assessments, are usually designed by the teacher to gauge students’ understanding of material. Examples of these measurements are open-ended questions, written compositions, oral presentations, projects, experiments, and portfolios of student work.
Day one, there would be more rigorous high school graduation requirements of four years of music or art courses for every student enrolled at the high school. Yes, that would mean hiring a few more teachers… but the payoffs would be instantly evident and promote exponential growth in the creative quotient of every student!
Every administrator and teacher in my buildings would be expected to “practice what we preach” and develop their own artistry by participating in an instrumental ensemble, chorus, classes in painting or drawing, pottery or jewelry making, sewing, woodworking, acting, dancing, etc. Sure, as “the boss,” I would even allow some of this during school time. Can you imagine the positive effect it would have on the ensemble programs in all buildings if the teachers, principals, and other school staff also explored singing, playing in the band or orchestra, or performing on stage in the musicals?
According to CETA, “This approach to teaching is grounded in the belief that learning is actively built, experiential, evolving, collaborative, problem-solving, and reflective. These beliefs are aligned with current research about the nature of learning and with the Constructivist learning theory.” CETA outlined the following “best practices” of this theory that align with arts integration:
A lot more (ahem) innovative research is needed to merge both creativity and the Common Core (and other so-called “new” educational initiatives when they inevitably come down the pike). Below are a few additional resources. In my “administration,” it would be common practice to share these at faculty and staff meetings… and look for more ways to intentional bring creativity skill instruction to the forefront.
for NCASS on connections between the CCSS and the Next Generation Arts Standards.
Any discussion about creativity in education should begin with a thorough look at defining what it means to be innovative and original. As stated by the Partnership for 21st Century, essential factors in creativity are demonstrating originality and inventiveness in work, being open and responsive to new and diverse perspectives, developing, implementing, and communicating new ideas to others, and acting on creative ideas to make a tangible and useful contributions to the domain in which innovation occurs.
Another fantastically in-depth resource is the website of Linda Naiman, founder of “Creativity At Work” and a pioneer of arts-based learning as a catalyst for developing creativity, innovation, and collaborative leadership in organizations.
What Is Creativity? 
Land’s statistics concluding with “non-creative behavior is learned” show that the longer a student is in school, the lower he/she scores on a creativity tests. We teach our children “not to risk being wrong” and don’t go “all out” in finding an unique solution to a problem… only respond with “the one correct answer!” This reminded me of a insightful Sir Ken Robinson TedTalks video, filmed in 2006, with more than 36 million viewers: 
brings us to our next stop for a more penetrative discussion of creativity in education! Usher asks, “How do we jump start our creative process as adults? What does it mean to be a creative person? How do we follow through with our ideas and turn them into tangible outcomes?” These are the fundamental questions with which we must grapple in order to enhance the creative potential and self-expression of our students.
“Understanding By Design,” Grant Wiggins, who proposed a revolutionary framework for improving student achievement. Emphasizing the teacher’s critical role as a designer of student learning, UbD™ works within the standards-driven curriculum to help teachers clarify learning goals, devise revealing assessments of student understanding, and craft effective and engaging learning activities. Since his death in May 2015, I have noticed numerous postings (and variations) of his creative rubric:
Two years ago, I wrote a three-part series on the critical need, rationale of, and techniques for developing skills in teaching creativity as well as teaching more creatively. I based my compilations on the February 2013 issue “Creativity Now!” of the ASCD Educational Leadership magazine, and passed on the research and insight of creativity experts, self-expression advocates, and/or self-proclaimed ”right-brain” educational gurus 
The continued fixation on “error-free” convergent thinking, a priority of the one-answer-only mentality, baffles me. 1+1+1 does not always equal three. I can give you at least two alternative answers: 11 or 1 (the sum in a binary system for the former and the result of drawing the Roman numeral “I” with one vertical line and two horizontal lines for the latter). This is an example of divergent thinking (“process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions”), and sits at the top of the charts for higher order of thinking skills (HOTS) and depth of knowledge (DOK). Use of divergent thinking is much more valued in higher education circles, future employment, and especially research and development in a host of careers from medicine to engineering to technology innovation to consumer markets… probably the foundation of future success in our whole economy.
My next blog on the subject of creativity in education will explore additional resources, including new websites and books on the subjects of innovation, ingenuity, originality, and self-expression released over the last several years.
paulfox.blog 