A most enjoyable day. Spoke with colleagues from other schools and got to exchange ideas with some people I hadn’t met before. My presentation this morning seemed to go well, and I quite enjoyed the discussion on creativity in the afternoon session. Our cohort group had interesting people with interesting things to say, some I agreed with (which was pleasant) and some I didn’t (which was educational–I enjoy talking with people who share my views, but I learn more from those who don’t).
Most of us in the aftn session were agreed that the primary problem in getting “more creativity” into our classes, at least in the upper grades, is the tension between what we would like to encourage our students to do and the demands of very competitive college admissions. It is possible that Independent Study Projects of some sort will come to play an increasingly large role as something that might tend to both forces at once. Will need to think on that more.
Had a couple of conversations with Kem Kemp and Barbara DiPaolo, which though not directly on this subject, reinforced my conviction that the best way for a teacher to grow professionally is to team-teach with someone else who has something to offer and is willing to learn in return.