Creating Creative Classes:
Developing Divergent Thinkers Through Writing Workshop ©
In the best classes I've ever taken, I was active, creative - I was doing something. In the worst, I was sitting half-dead listening to someone talk. This dichotomy lead me to turn my high school English classroom into a writing workshop - the most fun, most educational, most rewarding method of Language Arts education.
"Student-centered teaching" means the pupils are engaged, energized participants at the center of your classroom. If we want our schools to improve and our society to advance, it is imperative that we begin embracing a model of education whose central tenets include practicing a student-centered philosophy, teaching people how to be creative, and encouraging divergent thinking.
"Divergent thinking" means 28 students are seeking 28 different answers. The "answers" they desire are found by reflecting on their lives and futures, discovering their own methods and practices, and forming their own identities. The key to developing creative people is to teach independent thinking through writing, drawing, and other arts.
The best way to accomplish all of this is to turn your classroom into a workshop.
This website is created for secondary English teachers who want a better way to educate today's young adults than most common practices. Effective education in the language arts is not about hammering home literature and asking "comprehension" questions. It's not about spelling tests or vocabulary lists. It's not about students dreading your class.
Effective English education focuses on portfolio-creation, creative writing, and a classroom environment that is supportive, relaxed, and enjoyable. It relies on setting goals and coaching students to reach them. It exemplifies the ultimate student-centered models of teaching.
You can do it - and I can show you how.
Daniel Weinstein
English teacher, Great Neck South High School
"Student-centered teaching" means the pupils are engaged, energized participants at the center of your classroom. If we want our schools to improve and our society to advance, it is imperative that we begin embracing a model of education whose central tenets include practicing a student-centered philosophy, teaching people how to be creative, and encouraging divergent thinking.
"Divergent thinking" means 28 students are seeking 28 different answers. The "answers" they desire are found by reflecting on their lives and futures, discovering their own methods and practices, and forming their own identities. The key to developing creative people is to teach independent thinking through writing, drawing, and other arts.
The best way to accomplish all of this is to turn your classroom into a workshop.
This website is created for secondary English teachers who want a better way to educate today's young adults than most common practices. Effective education in the language arts is not about hammering home literature and asking "comprehension" questions. It's not about spelling tests or vocabulary lists. It's not about students dreading your class.
Effective English education focuses on portfolio-creation, creative writing, and a classroom environment that is supportive, relaxed, and enjoyable. It relies on setting goals and coaching students to reach them. It exemplifies the ultimate student-centered models of teaching.
You can do it - and I can show you how.
Daniel Weinstein
English teacher, Great Neck South High School
A Call for Creativity in the Classroom
As I was working on this project, the July 19, 2010 issue of Newsweek was published with the cover story entitled, “Creativity in America: The Science of Innovation and How to Reignite Our Imaginations.” Among the highlights:
“American creativity scores are falling. [The culprit is] the lack of creativity development in our schools. In effect it’s left to the luck of the draw who becomes creative: there’s no concerted effort to nurture the creativity of all children.”
...
“As school stuffs more complex information into their heads, kids get overloaded, and creativity suffers.” America’s focus on “standardized curriculum, rote memorization, and nationalized testing” is based on an outdated model.
...
“When creative children have a supportive teacher – someone tolerant of unconventional answers, occasional disruptions, or detours of curiosity – they tend to excel.”
...
“While our creativity scores decline unchecked, the current national strategy for creativity consists of little more than praying for a Greek muse to drop by our houses.”
“American creativity scores are falling. [The culprit is] the lack of creativity development in our schools. In effect it’s left to the luck of the draw who becomes creative: there’s no concerted effort to nurture the creativity of all children.”
...
“As school stuffs more complex information into their heads, kids get overloaded, and creativity suffers.” America’s focus on “standardized curriculum, rote memorization, and nationalized testing” is based on an outdated model.
...
“When creative children have a supportive teacher – someone tolerant of unconventional answers, occasional disruptions, or detours of curiosity – they tend to excel.”
...
“While our creativity scores decline unchecked, the current national strategy for creativity consists of little more than praying for a Greek muse to drop by our houses.”
This website was created in response to this article and to the national call for better teaching, more effective learning, and superior educational tactics. If you want to learn how to be an inspirational teacher who teaches students to be more creative, please explore the material on this website, experiment with its practices, and contact me if you have any questions.
A key aspect to these practices is having students create the colorful mind-map projects you'll see all over this website. However, these graphic works are just a piece of the overall philosophy - and you'll learn how to get your students to produce them in the mini-lessons. The bulk of the work is creating poetry, memoir, and other forms of writing.
A note on this website: I wrote most of this material intending to publish it as a book. I am still trying to find a publisher. Both the book and this website are copyrighted.
A key aspect to these practices is having students create the colorful mind-map projects you'll see all over this website. However, these graphic works are just a piece of the overall philosophy - and you'll learn how to get your students to produce them in the mini-lessons. The bulk of the work is creating poetry, memoir, and other forms of writing.
A note on this website: I wrote most of this material intending to publish it as a book. I am still trying to find a publisher. Both the book and this website are copyrighted.
