I don’t know about you, but I just looked up and the winter holiday season seems to bearing down on us in a big way. Getting ready for Thanksgiving and everything that follows is a signal that the school year is approaching its mid-point. I can remember getting to this time of the year growing up in Bloomsburg and feeling that sense of hope, a hope that school was turning a corner. I had some amazingly interesting and creative experiences at BHS, but there were too many times I hoped the year would come to a close.
With that said, I wanted to share with you a talk from the always inspiring TED series by Sir Ken Robinson. I hope you enjoy this as much I have and take inspiration from the embedded message. It is a moving and funny plea for us to rethink the very foundation of our educational system — that our schools should be embracing and promoting creativity and creative thought. Sir Ken’s argument is that many of our school experiences work to undermine the very nature of creative thought that are the the underpinnings of our growing knowledge-based economy. As an educator, I am always striving to engage students in new ways to push them to arrive at creative solutions to novel challenges. What Sir Ken asks us to do is to recognize that schools should be a place that fosters joy and engagement each and everyday.
Everyone (including us) moves pretty quickly during the week. On Sundays, it’s nice to take a little breather. The Sunday Slowdown column will feature links, stories, articles, videos, or other interesting things that our writers find during the week. We will all contribute and try to share things that we find interesting, thought-provoking, and sometimes even a bit silly. But remember: this is community journalism, so if you find interesting things to share, make your voice heard and share with us at info@thebloomsburgdaily.com.
