Creativity

When I had a classroom, it seemed to be much easier to encourage creativity in language class than in math.  I think part of that was because students were so caught up with the desire - no the NEED - to be right.  They were and still are terrified to be wrong.  We fail, in education and as parents, to encourage and reward risk-taking.  We fail to teach them that without failure we do not learn.  This week's learning was a great reminder that we need to take time to teach students that failure is not just an option, it's a requirement.  We need to provide opportunities for students to explore, to try, to create, and to fail! 

As I reflect on this and courses I previously taught, I realize that I didn't take time at the beginning of the year to instill this concept.  We talked about it, had class meetings to discuss our thoughts and feelings, but I didn't truly instill the idea and provide ALL students with opportunities to fail.  In other words, I failed to provide enough challenge to all students so that they had ample opportunity to fail and learn from that failure.  This is my biggest regret for students I've taught.  I did't ask them to think outside the box enough.  I didn't give them puzzles they would take days to solve.  I just didn't give them enough chances to be creative thinkers.