Re:framing, Week 7
Week 7: Creativity & Innovation
Skill: Build Creative Confidence
Tool: Fast Idea Generator
Reading: Berkus, Myths of Innovation, pp. 36–52; 84–95
Today’s class was titled “creativity and innovation.” But it was really about play. Students learned to brainstorm by generating ideas about the best Westmont global program for 5-year-olds (in case you’re wondering, it would happen in a castle surrounded by a moat filled with marine creatures, while munching on lunches of dino nuggets and apple juice, and finger painting with puppies). They wrote captions for New Yorker cartoons (#internlife). They crafted greeting cards to commemorate George Washington’s oh-so-lauded Birthday. They giggled and pasted and bonded and played.
Education and play. We believe they should be integrated in kindergarten, but lack imagination for what play looks like in a college class. And yet, as study after study demonstrates, we do a major disservice to the learning process by excluding play. Playing gives us creative confidence because we can harness our imagination in ways that have been denied us on the path to adulthood. Indeed, the coveted state of flow, identified by philosopher and psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, is the marriage of play and work and love. There are no easy, or necessary divisions, in these categories; it turns out we learn much better when we love and we play and we work all at the same time.
Beyond what researchers say, I know that play is especially important for students on portfolio day. Today marked the culmination of seven weeks of soul-work during which students have reached into themselves to find their inner makers. They are rightfully exhausted and relieved. But they are also proud. Proud to recognize their fortitude, capability, and depth. Punctuating such meaningful work with play reminds us that we are creative creatures, designed in the image of the Maker who loves and works and plays. Our classrooms should model nothing less.
Weekly Questions
- Reflect on your own definition of creativity. How has that flourished, changed, or been challenged this semester in classes, at work, or in community? Why does it matter that you’re a descendent of makers? The Maker?
- How can you bring more play into your life? Where do your work or relationships need an injection of play? Make a point this week of carving out time for restorative, imaginative play.
Words for Reflection
See over there
A created splendor
Made by one individual
From things residual
-Patrick Kavanaugh
Extra Credit
To remind yourself that you are descended from makers, find the time to create something this week. For inspiration, use an assignment from one of your classes, a project for work, or something that is bringing you joy.
