Making it memorable
Chapter 2 of The Excellent 11 discusses the need to have creativity in your classroom. Like the opening quote by Muhammad Ali reads, “The man who has no imagination has no wings.” Well, that about says it all for me…..who wants to be a classroom where there is no creativity…not me! I also enjoyed and totally agree that “for all children, school should be a safe place. It must offer structure and stability, and teachers must make sure that there is a certain amount of organization and discipline in the daily routine” (p. 53). Yet, I loved Ron Clark’s story of how he acted like 007 rolling around a’ la James Bond to see where their mysterious visitor was! That sounds right up my alley! We have to keep the classroom exciting, fun, and energizing for students if we expect focus and learning! And, you can plan for this creativity in your lessons. One of my favorite high school memories was when Mrs. Helen Griffin asked us to reenact scenes from The Great Gatsby! My group did this - we even traveled to Lake Murray and did a lake scene - Michael, Amy, and I enjoyed making this pre-Power Point video and adding music from Prince’s Purple Rain cassette to our scene reenactment. Now, I know that I am showing my age, but what matters is that “I remember this activity!” When all is said and done, and our school years are over and done with, will your students remember what you did in class? Now, that is the key….will they remember what they learned and how they learned this material? My bet is they will! I know and see what happens here on a daily basis! And, yes, your students will remember…..I know Mrs. Griffin will enjoy knowing that after all these years….I still remember and cherish all those days I spent with her! She made a difference in my life by being creative and allowing me to truly express my creativity in her English class. (Later, I even went on to teach English…now, I wonder where I got that from? Thanks Mrs. Griffin!)
