Classroom Creativity Killers [part 3 of 3]
# 7. I Kill Creativity when I give Freedom without Focus
Good lessons provide some specific learning goals, practice objectives, and so on. If I ask students to do whatever they want to do, they often do whatever they already have learned in the past. The amount of creative thinking may be zero. When there are limits, there is a better chance of having a challenging task. The teacher's challenge is to make the limits seem compelling and interesting to the student. My job is to make the hard stuff easy and to make the easy stuff hard. There should be student choices that require genuine thinking and decision making, but never choices to avoid innovation and problem solving. A good lesson creates a focus that requires modification of an entrenched habit of thinking and working.
# 8. I Kill Creativity by Making Suggestions instead of asking Open Questions.
Too often I am so glad I have what seems like an intelligent answer that I blurt it out without thinking. When I do this I am taking away several important things. I make my students more dependent on me and less self-reliant. I teach them not to think for themselves. Would it not be better to bite my tongue - to pause long enough to phrase a question or two that helps students realize that what they think is important. I can often simplify the problem by asking them to solve a smaller problem that helps with the larger question.
My Open Questions - What would happen if I would ask those who observe my teaching to help me overcome my tendency to give answers when I could be teaching thinking and self empowerment? What would happen if I ask our students do this for me? What if students learning to be teachers when observing other teachers giving an answers, would jot down alternative ways to revise these events into empowering teaching moments rather than a spoon feeding events? Hmm. How could I have stated these questions better?
# 9. I Kill Creativity if I Give an Answer instead of teaching Problem Solving methods.
How can help students learn to set up experiments to find answers? What are problem solving strategies used by artists? Some move things around until they look "right". How do artists use intentional accidents (often a series of accidents) to find ideas in the accidents that are impossible to develop by force of will? Some know that they need to simplify. Some need to work at creating new kinds of order from chaos. Some want to point out the problems of the world. Some want to search for more perfect beauty. There are many methods of working aesthetically. How can I get students to practice using as many ways as feasible? It is not my responsibility to answer the students' questions. It is my job to help the students learn how to formulate questions that the students find compelling. It is my job to make sure they learn to devise ways to test their ideas experimentally. In this
sense we are teaching both art and science.
African-American Youth Leadership Program
The African-American Youth Leadership Program, a division of the Research and Policy Institute of California, is seeking applicants for its 2005 African-American Youth Leadership Conference. All California high school students currently in the either of those grades are invited to apply. The conference will be held July 10-16 at Sac State.
OBJECTIVES: Enhance leadership skills; strengthen understanding of state and local government; promote financial awareness; and provide avenues for career explorations and development
ACTIVITIES: Attend thought provoking presentations on critical leadership skills; explore diverse backgrounds and ideas in group discussions; participate in interactive workshops promoting good mental physical and fiscal health; gain firsthand legislative experience through mock hearings; and enjoy a tour of the State Capital and a reception with legislators.
COST: Housing, meals, program materials and transportation to, from, and during the conference site provided at NO COST to the participants.
ELIGIBILITY: Students are selected based on students must be inn 10th or 11 grade and in good standing as of Jan. 1, ’05, minimum GPA of 2.75, demonstrated leadership potential (i.e. involvement in student government, community leadership or similar activities.)
APPLICATION PROCESS: Provide the conference committee with a resume, a recent trancscript, two letters of recommendation; and complete essay. DEADLINE FOR POSTMARK IS MARCH 15. Application is available in room 143.
For more information and application materials: Contact 916-441-3967
Health Idol: Round 1
The competition this year started out with a feud between last years top two, Will Morthole and math teacher Kenyatta Scott. At a recent bowling event, Will won again and Mr. Scott made a public statement that he will triumph over Will in Health Idol at any cost.
The first challenge was for the contestants to wear a pedometer for a day and three contestants dominated, Mr. Scott and sophomores Alex Mogannam and Winfield Ye. All 3 scored above 30,000 steps in 24 hours. Overall, the senior contestants performed the poorest. Out of 20 contestants, all 4 seniors were in the bottom 6. Meanwhile another rivilary was brewing between PE coach Hugh Stickney and his student Ryan Mallman, who he contemplated to sit out of gym class during the pedometer event. This however, did not stop Ryan from ending the first round of competition with one of the top 3 scores.
The other element tested in the first round was the responsibility of the contestants. They were given an essay to complete by a deadline, a photo release form to submit, and the pedometer to return after 24 hours. In the end, only six contestants made responsibility violations and it cost two of them the title of health idol.
Normally, the Health Idol Emergency Room will feature the three contestants in danger of elimination. Due to a four way tie, we had six contestants face possible elimination. First seniors Will Griffith and Heba Elsakkar were asked to step forward, despite the poor pedometer scores of all seniors only these two found themselves in the Emergency Room. Will had the highest pedometer score among all the senior contestants and Heba had the lowest overall score. Fortunately for both of them, they only got a health warning this round and will remain in the competition. Both freshmen girls were also in the emergency room. This demographic did the poorest last year as well. Rebecca Choi was given a health warning, but Lesley Sanders is the first eliminated. The last two contestants in the emergnecy room were English teacher Sara Falls and sophomore Michael Yao. The second elimination
turned out to be Michael, who was only a few pedometer steps away from staying in the game and eliminating Rebecca Choi instead!
So the first round closed with the elimination of a freshman female and sophomore male. Interestingly, both freshman males and sophomore females composed the top 4 of the competition at the end of the first round. With four health warnings released, will we see 3 of them next week or can they turn the tides and stay out of the next Emergency Room. Stay tuned...
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Wellness Center
Christy Parsons (Wellness Coordinator) is available daily.
Ian Enriquez (Youth Outreach Coordinator) is available daily.
Sheening Lin (psychologist) is available daily.
Emi Koga (Japanese speaking counselor) is available from Tuesday to Thursday.
David Thompson (psychologist) is available Mondays.
Kory Okun (relationship counselor) is available Tuesdays.
Wayne Hayes (counselor) is available Tuesdays.
James Guay (therapist) is available Wednesdays.
Rebecca Peng (Mandarin speaking counselor) is available Tuesdays and Fridays.
Jane Steiner (Tobacco Intervention Coordinator) is available on Tuesday. Lincoln no longer has a school nurse.
Derek So, Pauline Ong, and Henry Ha (Cantonese speaking counselors) are available on Thursday.
Peer Tutoring available 7th period and after school in Bungalow A.
Reasons Not to Fear the SATs
7. YOUR SCORE, WHATEVER IT IS, PROVIDES A USEFUL GUIDE
TO WHICH COLLEGE SUITS YOU BEST: A major study of
graduates from both selective and non-selective colleges
by Stacy Berg Dale and Alan B. Krueger suggests that
getting into a name brand school will not make much of a
difference to your success in life. Students who had the
character traits mentioned in reason 6 and went to
colleges with lower average SAT scores were making just as
much money 20 years later as those who went to the schools
with the highest SAT averages. But your SAT score can help
you decide which college suits you best. All the major
college guides provide the mid-range of SAT scores for
each school's freshman class. If your score falls in that
range between the 25th and 75th percentile, or is above
it, you have a good chance of getting in. No matter what
your score, you are likely to find a college that suits
you. And if the whole idea of dealing with the SAT or the
ACT makes you feel like a psychometric galley slave, there
is an escape hatch. Go to the Web site of FairTest, The
National Center for Fair & Open Testing, and look at their
list of fine colleges that de-emphasize or ignore the SAT
and the ACT altogether.
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