Creativity, "Free Play," and Integrating the Arts into Teaching

Ray Bradbury once said, "We never sit anything out. We are cups constantly and quietly being filled.  The trick is knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out."

I feel this is the definition of creativity.  Creativity is a dynamic process, something living, a way of life. An interplay between inner and outer.  And so begins a conversation on how creativity is important in teaching and my work with children.

Sometimes I feel people are so stuck on doing what is "right" or "expected." Sometimes, I feel everyone is walking around in their own little bubble and everyone's bubble is exactly alike.  I dare to burst those stereotypes.  To step outside of what is expected.  To teach children to be themselves.

With high stakes testing it's no wonder we aren't always successful in cultivating creativity in students in our schools.  The number one rule is this:  We must teach the individual students in our classrooms.  We never teach to a single unit of a "classroom."

When we integrate Art into our classrooms we empower students to make meaning in the process, to make meaning of their experience.   This gives me hope for the future of education.

Dr. Marilyn Narey, author of Making Meaning a book on multi-modal literacy, defines Art and that meaning-making process as one rooted in critical thinking, inquiry, and problem-solving.  It is like John Dewy's reflective and scientific approach to learning.  We must learn to explore, to search for new connections and outlets for those insights.  We must engage in "free play" ourselves as educators if we ever want to share this beautiful process with our students. 

"Free play" means that we can connect in to our thought process, to our feelings and arrive at meaning in this lovely process.  Awareness is key in all of this, though, but it is a relaxed awareness.  Ray Bradbury also keenly discerned that "Self-consciousness is the enemy of all art, be it acting, writing, painting, or life itself, which is the greatest art of all."

I believe that curriculum specialists, administrators, and policy makers may have missed a simple yet crucial concept here: the value of art in our schools.  Students who are empowered want to learn and will always find a teacher.  Students who receive positive encouragement in creative environments will never hunker down due to criticism or because they "didn't do something right."  Students who learn through the arts in core content areas, such as reading or math will know who they are as individuals and will surely know how to tip themselves over and let all the beautiful stuff out.

Much Peace,
MEGAN

My Impetus

Some of you may be wondering where I am coming from with all this talk about the "Monkey Mind" and a "beach meditation."  You may be questioning what any of this hippie stuff has to do with me being a school teacher or training in my Masters of Arts in Teaching for Early Childhood Education.

Know that there is nothing mystical here.  It is not my mission to teach what my friend +Christine Claire Reed calls "Woo Woo."  You all know what I'm talking about.

It is simply my mission to help children learn academic success but also emotional and social success, as well.



It is my hope that I can help many children live BOLDLY, by listening to an inner guiding voice.  It is my hope they do not allow fear to paralyze them at an early age.  So many of us live our lives feeling we make so many "mistakes," when often our greatest mistake in life is not living at all, because we live in fear.  "We will never be good enough," "we could never do something like that for fear of what others think of us, and" BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.

So it is in this light I am here working with children and studying teaching in our current state of affairs.  I believe that aesthetic education --or the development of these soft skills--such as character, social, and emotional learning is just as important as academic learning. 

*For those of you who like hard cold, scientific proof, there is a lot of research out there which suggests that the arts enhance learning, not to mention the health and well-being of a student.  See for yourself.*
 

I will leave you with this:
A physicist, Morton Tavel of Vassar College exclaims: "the future of the sciences is dependent on the arts."

Much Peace,
MEGAN

A Beach Meditation: For One and All

This is a great meditation for children and adults, alike!!! Created by your truly.  I like track 4 on this album for this meditation.



Lying on your back, imagine you are at the beach.
It is a warm day; the sun is shining down on you.
 You hear seagulls chirping over a piece of bread.
The waves gently ebb and flow towards the shore.
Place your hands on your belly, notice, like the waves coming in and out, your breathe moving in and out of you.  Feel your belly filling up and emptying.
Now, go to your feet.
Imagine the sand passing over your feet and ankles.
Your feet and ankles are heavy, relaxed.
The sand moves up your legs, over calves, your knees, and thighs.
Your calves are heavy and relaxed.
Your knees are heavy and relaxed.
Your thighs are heavy and relaxed.
The sand moves up over your hips and your low belly.
Your hips are heavy and relaxed.
Your low belly is heavy and relaxed.
Now, that sand moves up over your ribs, and stops at the heart.
Your ribs are heavy and relaxed.
Take a deep breath.
You feel the sun shining down on your heart and you feel relaxed.

*Teachers can stop the meditation here or continue as they feel appropriate.*

The sand moves up over your shoulders and down your arms to your fingertips resting.
Your shoulders are heavy and relaxed.
Your arms are heavy and relaxed.
Your elbows are heavy and relaxed.
Your head is heavy and relaxed in the sand.  You find just the right place for your head, so your neck isn't tight and your shoulders stay relaxed away from your ears.
Your lips are relaxed and the tongue in your mouth is heavy and relaxed.
Your eyes are heavy and relaxed, floating back into your head, like in warm pools of water, and down towards the heart.
You are relaxed.  You can even repeat this to yourself in your head, "I am relaxed."

Monkey Mind: Working with our Thoughts

Dewey, one of my inspirations and a true innovator in the field of education, believed that reflection was a key to "intelligent experience."  An advocate of authentic experience, he believed that art, science, and public education "all bound together in a single organic whole," and in order for us to make meaning and arrive at true learning in our lives, experience must be guided from within.*  (taken from a quote by a colleague, Albert Barnes of the Art-Barnes Foundation).

As I venture further into the education world, I find myself drawing on my aesthetic and artistic experiences, more specifically, my experiences in Yoga.  I also find my mind acting CRAZY!  Like an angry monkey throwing rotten bananas and tomatoes at me....oh what to do with a crazy monkey mind???

Do we sit still and meditate in order to learn to "watch" our thoughts.  Do we use a lot of movement and flowing to break through and dissolve those thoughts?  What about when we can't get to a class or we don't have time to meditate (OR DON'T WANT TO MEDITATE, for that matter)?! 

There is no magical formula for anyone.  That is what I have learned.  What works for one person may not be good for another person.  I learned that the hard way.  What I realize in all of this is I want to help children work with their restless minds (if I can first get a hold of my own...haha). 

One children's Yoga Studio --Get Grounded--calls those worries, fears, and anxieties "quandaries."  A student there drew a lovely visual that sticks with me to this day: a "quandary" --a worry or fear--is a  green blob with a Viking helmet and a spade.  I love this image and this simple language!  When you see that "quandary" there's many things we can do:

1) MOVE! GET OUT THE WAY!  Go dance, run, exercise, walk, swim, spin, leap whatever activity works for you! 

Often, I find that challenging movement or physical activity kills my quandaries.  Dead.  On the spot.

So, in a classroom, perhaps we can get children to get up, take a stretch or even incorporate creative movement or dance into our lessons!!!

I love watching children express themselves through free flowing movement!  Free style dancing!  I also love getting them into their imaginations!!! For my friends taking "Integrating the Arts" this semester at Chatham, oh what fun we will have!!!

2) SIT STILL and just watch it go by! 

For the meditation lovers.  Breathe.  Watch the breathe moving in and out.  As a thought bubbles up, watch it too.  Don't feed it a lot of energy, like a cloud floating by in the sky, allow it to pass. 

For Yoga teachers, you will find a "beach meditation" for children at the end of this blog.  Even if you are not a Yoga teacher, you can try this simple and relaxing meditation on your own.  Have someone read it to you or record your own voice.  Created by yours truly, it is one of my favorites.  So effective at the end of a class or a hard day.




3) Third remedy for working with "quandaries:" As my Yoga teacher used used to say, "Don't go there!"

When you see the little "quandary" popping up in your consciousness, just DON'T...GO....THERE.  Don't feed any energy or attention to this little mean thought.  This practice is HARD!

Sometimes I am very successful and watching the thoughts or feelings go by, because usually, for me, it's a feeling before an actual thought bubbling up, and I have my arsenal ready.  I turn on music or go out for a walk.  I go clean or do something to "distract" my mind or take it away from those "quandaries," at least, temporarily.  I want to live my life, not worry it away.

A caveat:
Being the conscientious person that I am, (a curse?), sometimes I think that the "REFLECTION" thing is key.  You know, John Dewey, my man, suggesting that we find harmony in our lives when we can listen from within and ask those WHY questions in education.  Ok, I get it.  But we must be very careful that we are being MINDFUL and not stewing in our thoughts, spinning a web of evilness and self-sabotage.

All I can think of is the Wicked Witch, with her ugly green skin, and her mean-self, hunkering down, speeding away on that bike,  stealing the precious Toto from Dorothy. 

The Wicked Witch---that QUANDARY--STOLE the love of Dorothy's life.

Don't let the quandaries carry away what is truly important in your life.  Don't loose sight.

Are we really asking thoughtful and provoking questions?  Questions that bring energy to our life?  Questions that inspire us to do something new or see something from another perspetive?

Or are we asking self-deprecating questions in that state of anxiety/fear/doubt? 


Much Peace,
MEGAN

*Beach meditation is in a separate post!*

Rough and Tumble Play

I work in an after-school program with 2nd and 3rd grade students.  It is a wonderful job.  I have learned so much and had so much fun with them.  

We have a daily schedule: Free play; snack; "thinking lab" or homework lab; art/a workshop led by one of the staff/field day, games; and more free play.

One day during play time, something terrible happened, or at least I thought it was terrible at the time.

I was talking to some of the girls about all-things feminine, such as Russian art (very 3rd grade!) and Claire's boutique earrings, while out of the corner of my eye I saw a sky blue, uniform shirt go sailing through the air.  A boy's shirt had literally been ripped from his back.  Freedom at last?

Time froze or I froze time, as I was determined to "figure out" this whole situation.  

The third grader shuffled behind a door to get his shirt back on.  

The other boy involved could hardly tell me what happened.  I thought for sure it was an act of bullying.

As I learned, though.  It was not malicious, at all.  It was not bullying.

As I began the process that day of letting the parent of the "poor" child who was de-clothed know what happened, and as I began writing school reports for this still inappropriate incident, I learned that things weren't as bad as they seemed. 

They were just rough-housing.  They were just "being boys."

Questions that I asked:

1. What is aggression?

2. Are boys actually being aggressive when they play?  Why? How do you know?

3. As a teacher, should I be worried when I see too much rough and tumble play?

4. When is it too much?

After some research, here is what I know:

Question 1:
According to Merriam Webster's dictionary aggression is "forceful action...the process of making attacks...hostile, injurious behavior...caused by frustration."  

Aggression can manifest in physical fighting and overt bullying.

We must consider "fantasy" play, here.

Psychologists maintain that "fantasy" play is not aggressive (source 1).  According to a PBS article entitled "Understanding and Raising Boys," one professor says of fantasy play: 

"A common boy fantasy about killing bad guys and saving the world is just as normal as a common girl fantasy about tucking in animals and putting them to bed."

Question 2:
Boys' play is really only considered aggressive when one child is continually trying to one-up or dominate another child (source 1).  Boys are naturally competitive, but when this becomes a hurtful pattern, a pattern in which safety is an issue, it is aggressive behavior.

So why are boys so rambunctious?  And what is the cause of aggression?

Many boys are naturally, physically active, especially compared to their female counterparts (source 1).  Some boys enjoy sports and fantasy play, while still other boys are more quiet and reserved.

Researchers believe boys are more active than girls, because it's hard-wired into them, that boys are predisposed to higher level of hormones than girls while inutero (source 1).

Sometimes boys like to rough-house, because it helps them release emotions like anger and frustration (source 1)

Research also shows that many boys are reaching puberty at earlier or later ages (source 2).  With this shift in the onset of puberty comes the gregarious, rowdy play and sometimes, yes, aggression.  More specifically, this shift in hormones can also cause poor impulse control and poor overall behavior (source 3).

Question 3: As a teacher, when should I be worried?
One teacher reports that after twenty-five years of teaching "boys behavior hasn't changed but school expectations of how long they sit, have (source 1)."

I think I should be worried when I can sense a real safety threat, physical or emotional.

Question 4: Where do we draw the line?
I think that this again goes back to if there is a real safety issue.  I must discern when a child is simply living in a bad-guys and robbers, fighting, fantasy land and when a child is intentionally trying to cause harm or bully.

Since this incident, I have closely watched the boys play.  They are always running and chasing each other.  They are always "fake" fighting and hitting.  They often try to save each other, though.  They are not being aggressive by definition of the term.  I suppose they're just keeping the world safe from bad guys.

Works Referenced

Source 1: PBS. "Understanding Boy Aggression." Retrieved 1 Jan. 2013 from http://www.pbs.org/parents/raisingboys/aggression02.html.

Source 2: Science Daily. 20 Oct. 2012. "Boys in U.S. Experiencing Early Onset of Puberty.  Retrieved 1 Jan. 2013 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121020162617.htm#UOMfillp3FPk.email.

Source 3: Science Daily. 3 May 2010. "Earlier and Later Puberty May Trigger Aggression in Boys, Researchers Find." Retrieved 1 Jan. 2013 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100503111750.htm#UOMfHR0hrv0.email.

Welcome to my blog!  This is a representation of the puzzles and questions I have from my experiences working with children and while training in my Masters of Arts in Teaching program at Chatham University.

When you think of the expression "P's and Q's" you probably think of "watching your behavior or manners."

"I" am the one watching "manners and behavior" of the children I work with in an after-school program and during my field observation and student teaching.  But "P's and Q's" also represents all the "puzzles" and "questions" that have bubbled up for me.  Puzzles and questions I want to solve in order to be most effective as a teacher.

I want to create  a safe and structured environment, one in which children feel free to ask questions and be themselves.

I do not want to be an authoritative teacher who yelps at every "i" that isn't dotted.

Like a bricklayer, I believe it is my work as a teacher to learn how to help children learn best, brick by brick, class by class, subject by subject, moment to moment.  And so, some big questions and puzzles:

          Puzzle: What environments and strategies are important in their growth and understanding?

         Question: How do I create a classroom discipline, a behavior management system without being too mean or too much of a pushover?

          Puzzling question: How do I build rapport with students and help them to learn social skills? And this perhaps is THE question that resonates most for me, because I think it is soooo important!

         THE BIG ONE: How will I set the stage for students so they can learn about themselves with joy and light-heartedness?  So they can share their gifts and talents, contributing to something larger than themselves?

Why do I write?  Why do I care about these issues? -Because it is my hope that students stay strong enough as they learn and grow to see both sides of an issue, to work collaboratively and with verve.

        School: An institution that perhaps is like no other, having seen so many children pass through its doors.

        School: a beautiful foundation where the groundwork of building character, academic success, and a child's sense of "self" emerges and evolves.

Thank you for reading this introduction.  I hope you continue to tune in as I post my insights and experiences, and as I figure out how-- like the mortar of the bricks--everything "sticks" together.  Perhaps you can even offer your experience and advice, as well.

Much Peace,
MEGAN