When choosing a title in The One World Schoolhouse by Salman Khan I was drawn to the chapter Tracking Creativity. Creative people have always fascinated me and surrounded me in life. It was important to me to foster creativity in my own children at a young age. I read several books on the subject and their childhoods were filled with legos, art supplies, playhouses made of cardboard boxes, treehouses and painting with grandma. I’ve always enjoyed teaching creative writing, poetry, and creating picture books with my own children and students. When teaching gifted children in the classroom I’ve noticed over the years that those who were creative as well as intelligent met with the most success in their lives. They were able to be innovative and think outside the box in mathematics as well as in life.
Unfortunately I did not relate creativity to mathematics until becoming a teacher. I was a student who memorized what I had to and moved on without an in depth understanding. Math was never presented to me as a creative endeavor in school until I took math education courses in college. As a teacher I truly enjoyed teaching math, as I’d learned techniques for solving problems in multiple ways. I understood how my students felt when one method did not work for them and found a new method for them to try. My master’s research was on the benefits of integrating picture books into math and social studies curriculums when I taught second grade. It proved a wonderful way to add creativity to math instruction and afforded the visual input that might inspire a child similar to my young self.
In this chapter the term “mind workers” stuck with me as that is what I would like my students to become. The idea that in order to solve “our common problems regarding relations among peoples and the health of the planet, we need all the talent and imagination we can find” resonated with me as well. I also agree with Mr. Khan that the “best performing student” the one with the highest test scores will not necessarily end up the “most accomplished”. It does “depend on creativity, passion, and originality- things that begin where the testing leaves off.” Nadia might not have had her chance to succeed without an uncle to intercede on her behalf and identify the gap in her previous learning. Using technology we have more opportunities to identify gaps in learning. As educators we need to ensure that skills passed on various sites and assessments are truly understood and mastered by our students
In conclusion, when my father told me he wasn’t good at math in college and left business school to become a teacher I was surprised because I knew the story of our house. Dad took a class in designing houses and drew his vision for an architect. He worked for free building a friend’s house and read how-to books on building houses. He built his own house by himself, except for laying stone for the fireplace and putting in the electricity. He worked weekends and summer vacations for two years and taught full-time. That house he built 60 years ago still stands today and because of his passion he learned the math and carpentry skills to build his house plumb and true. If we tap into our students’ passions and relate them to math, science and engineering they might just make their own dreams a reality.