The message of this video alone provides reason enough to ensure children are provided opportunities to question, be creative and think critically.
Listen to Nikolai Begg convince you!
Enjoy!
Author: Norah
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Just imagine . . . the power of imagination
Have you ever wished you could:
- be in two places at once?
- clone yourself to ensure you get everything done?
- slow time down so that you could achieve all you wanted?
- make time stand still so you could stay in the present moment forever?
- pop back in time to undo that embarrassing moment, or peek forward to see the result of a decision that is pending?
- choose both options and follow each through consecutively, as in parallel universes?
I have.
https://openclipart.org/image/800px/svg_to_png/194578/07-Juli-goin-on-a-summer-holiday.png Multiple invitations or engagements often occur on the same date. Deciding between desired activities is not always easy. Cloning would make choosing unnecessary. Additionally, sending a clone to an unpleasant but unavoidable engagement could also be desirable.
Sometimes the number of must-do tasks can be overwhelming. The ability to engage the assistance of clones, especially to complete less desirable tasks would be great.
Time travel, wormholes and parallel universes are the stuff of science fiction; and while I am not a fan of the science fiction genre, I wouldn’t mind having access to some of its features. However, whether any, or which, of those features ever move from science fiction to science fact remains to be seen.
The power of imagination to drive creativity and innovation cannot be overstated. Much of what we now accept as commonplace was once a part of science fiction. Imagination, the stuff of science fiction and scientific exploration and investigation, has brought them to reality.
You are probably familiar with following quote, initially attributed to George Bernard Shaw but also made famous by Robert F. Kennedy:
“Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not.”
These words highlight the importance of questioning to stimulate imagination, and when paired with creative thinking, innovation can occur.
Einstein said that,
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
He also said that,
“Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.”
Although I cannot be certain, from those quotes, what Einstein’s attitude to the current trends in schooling would be (he did attend school and was very advanced in maths and sciences but did not perform so well in the humanities) I think he would not favour a content-driven curriculum which excluded opportunities for imagination and creativity.
On the other hand, Thomas Edison, the world’s most prolific inventor, was mostly educated at home by his mother who was able to encourage his experimentation and love of learning. He said,
“To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.”
If these significant thinkers of the 20th century, each of whom followed different educational pathways, recognise the importance of imagination, why would anyone argue against it?
Charli Mills at Carrot Ranch Communications certainly doesn’t. As a fiction writer she embraces imagination. It is the tool of her trade, creating stories where before there were none. This week her challenge is to In 99 words (no more, no less) craft a multiverse situation, setting or character(s)
Now the term ‘multiverse’ takes me back to the science fiction genre: wormholes, parallel universes and time travel, for example. I’m not sure how well I’ll do with this unfamiliar genre, but I will call upon my imagination and give it a try. See what you think – does my piece fit the criteria?
Clone Magic
All night Leone had huddled in line, sleepless with excitement, waiting for the release.
Now she had them! Clone pills!
‘Take one with water. Cloning occurs in 30 minutes and lasts 24 hours.’
Leone swallowed one tablet, then another, and another; ignoring the small print: ‘Do not take multiple tablets. Effects are unpredictable.’
When three clones appeared she instructed:
“1. Clean the house. 2. Exercise. 3. Weed the garden.”
She flopped on the couch. “Now to read.”
But — their hands grabbed for her book, pulling her hair and clawing her eyes.
“Me read! Me read! Me read!”
Thanks for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts about any aspect of this article or my multiverse flash.
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Benefits of inclusion
Recently I listened to a compelling TEDx talk by Dan Habib. You can listen to it here:
Dan opens his talk by asking the audience some questions about their school days:
Did kids with and without disabilities study together and learn together?
Did they have a best friend who had a disability?
Did they have a boyfriend or girlfriend that had a significant disability?
Very few of the approximate one hundred in the audience answered in the affirmative.
Then Habib asked the audience to consider and answer the following question:
Did you feel some fear or nervousness when you were a kid about talking to a kid with a disability?
The majority of the audience affirmed they did.
Had I been in the audience, my responses would have been similar.
When I was a kid, there were no children with disabilities in my classes. Children with disabilities were hidden away as an embarrassment and were segregated into what where called ‘opportunity schools’.
Thinking back, my impression is that people with disabilities were not visible in the community and their needs were not catered for. They were not expected to have any participation in society. Often they were targets of taunts and laughter, but mostly ignored and avoided.
https://openclipart.org/image/800px/svg_to_png/183559/oldmaninwheelchair.png However, when I was a kid discrimination wasn’t restricted to people with disabilities. It was a time in which racial discrimination and segregation was more prevalent; before the emergence of women’s rights and children’s rights.
Sometimes when we see how far humanity still has to go towards equality, tolerance and compassion it is hard to see how far we have come. But looking back on the changes that have occurred in just my life time, the progress is obvious, if still insufficient.
Even into my college years I had little contact with people with disabilities and my teacher training made no mention (that I can remember) of catering for students with disabilities, who were still segregated into what became called ‘special’ schools. I don’t recall catering for individual differences being high on the agenda back then.
I worked as a remedial teacher for a few years, supporting students who were achieving below the expected level, of reading mainly. These children were generally of average intelligence but experiencing a learning difficulty. Children falling below average on an intelligence test would still be shunted away to special schools.
I cannot recall the inclusion of any students with intellectual or physical disabilities at any school at which I taught prior to the 1990s when integration and mainstreaming was introduced. Dan Habib says in his talk that, as he was growing up, ‘disability was just a blip on the radar screen’ as well. Maybe this experience was similar to yours?
When Dan came to accept that his son Samuel had a disability and that he would have that disability for life, he realized that they had to create a vision for Samuel, and let ‘Samuel create a vision for himself“.
https://openclipart.org/image/800px/svg_to_png/195899/EPA-clubhousekids.png Part of this was the need for a sense of belonging: to the neighbourhood, the community and the local school. It was this that got Dan thinking about inclusion. Dan goes on to describe the ways in which Samuel was included in the school and the community, and the benefits, for both Samuel and others.
He urges everyone to advocate for inclusive education as the benefits include better communication skills, higher academic achievements, wider social networks and fewer behaviour problems. He decries the fact that, despite the benefits, most kids with disabilities still spend their day segregated.
He explains that the benefits are just as valuable for typical kids who achieve higher academically while learning to be patient, caring, compassionate, and loving. In my more recent years of teaching, I got to see these benefits of inclusion first hand. Not only did the children learn, so did I.
I didn’t just chance upon this TEDx talk. It was included in a great guest post by Gary Dietz on The Cool Cat Teacher’s blog. The post introduced a book, written by Gary, about dads of kids with disabilities and proposed 5 practical lessons for elementary classroom inclusion. The book Dads with Disabilities is described as inspiring and ‘a must read for any teacher working with special needs kids’.
https://openclipart.org/image/800px/svg_to_png/651/ryanlerch_kids_with_hats.png The five suggestions (which I think are based on respect and are applicable for all students) are:
- ‘Meet the student “where the student lives” (where they need to be, at their level of development)
- Presume competence
- Be creative in your use of ‘adaptive’ technology (e.g. use of video and Skype or Facetime)
- Listen to parents and help them listen to the child
- Give “overlooked” children the same chance to shine as the superstars
Vicki Davis is the Cool Cat Teacher. Her blog is consistently among the top 50 education blogs worldwide. Her byline is “A real teacher helping teachers be really excellent”. I agree that she is and recommend her blog to you.
Update from Gary Dietz (12/08/2014):
“The book ‘Dads of Disability’ is now a FREE loan if you subscribe to Amazon Prime or Kindle Unlimited. And if not, it is on sales as an ebook for $4.99. Look it up on Amazon. (Of course the paperback is still available!)”
How do you view inclusion? What is your experience?
I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts about any aspect of this post.
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Reading is all it’s cracked up to be: 10 tips for an early childhood classroom!
This post almost didn’t get published. It almost fell through a crack into the never-never. But just in time the safety net sprang into action and saved it from obscurity.
That may matter more to me than it does to you, but as an educator I hear too often about children who ‘fall through the cracks’, who fail to thrive in the school system, who miss out on the inspiration and timely support that would empower them on their journey to life-long learning.
Like those children, this post was an also-ran. It didn’t quite get it, didn’t quite reach the expectations. But then I read something that confirmed for me the importance of sharing my message.
You see, the love of reading is contagious. It can be caught from anyone, anytime.
However, it can just as easily be extinguished; and the danger of that happening seems to be lurking in school systems packed too tight with lists of must do, must learn and must achieve expectations.
I consider it imperative that teachers prioritize time for children to develop a love of literature and reading that will expand their horizons and create a worthwhile companion on the journey of their lifetime.
https://openclipart.org/image/800px/svg_to_png/174860/bookworm_penguin.png Here are 10 easy tips for keeping the love of books alive in an early childhood classroom:
- Read aloud to children every day, ensuring that a variety of books and genres are being read and shared.
- Have a great supply and variety of children’s books available: picture books, fiction and non-fiction, collections of poetry, beginning chapter books, funny books, sad books, books about animals, space, people . . .
- Display books with covers facing out and give them pride of place. Make a display of ‘favourite reads’.
- “Sell” books to children (you won’t have time to read them all) by showing the cover and some illustrations; by telling what they are about, what happens, and what the children will enjoy about them.
- Make a reading corner with carpet, pillows and bean bags that invites children to get comfy while they read.
- Provide time for children to choose and read independently.
- This can occur during quiet times set aside on a daily basis in which everyone, including the teacher, reads for 10 – 15 minutes. e.g. D.E.A.R. (drop everything and read) or U.S.S.R. (uninterrupted silent sustained reading).
- It can also be integrated into reading group or literacy centre activities.
- Share the enthusiasm for books by providing time for children to excite each other about the books they are reading in a sharing circle.
- Display books written by the children and allow access to them for independent choice. Include them in the sharing and ‘selling’ sessions also.
- Make a time to visit the school library for reading and borrowing.
- Invite other adults to the class to read to the children e.g. teacher-librarian, administrators, support personnel, parents and grandparents.
Let me know in the comment box a favourite tip of yours.
This week I have read some fabulous posts by teachers who are making sure there is time for joy and independent choice in their literacy classrooms. I will share these with you below.
The article that convinced me to share my thoughts was one that was not so joyful.
Written by Alexander Nazaryan, a first-year teacher, the article appeared in the Opinion Pages of the New York Times on July 6, 2014. He talked about not being able to meet the needs of his students and explained that it was not the fault of the students though, the fault was that they were mostly of poor and immigrant families.
He felt that asking these students to write about their own experiences did not have ‘the pedagogical value of a deep dive into sentence structure or a plain old vocab quiz.’
I was immediately struck by the similarity of a statement made to me by my son’s teacher thirty years ago. At the time I was leading an in-service workshop about teaching writing. I would have been talking about ways of engaging students in the writing process by giving them opportunities to write at length about things of interest to them; by encouraging the writing of a first draft to get the ideas down; by providing opportunities for redrafting, rewriting and editing; and opportunities for feedback by sharing their writing with peers; and by making the most of teachable moments through individual conferences with each student.
This teacher exclaimed that there was no way the children would be able to write anything of length as not one knew what a paragraph was, or indeed what a sentence was. The students were ten years of age and in their fifth year of school. I believe the statement to be more an indictment of the teacher’s inability to appreciate what the children could do, rather than an accurate estimation of their abilities. I knew for a fact that at least one student was more than capable of writing at length with a variety of sentence structures and correct paragraphing. I was certain he wasn’t the only one.
I am inclined to agree with Nazaryan that ‘Expecting children to independently discover the rules of written language is like expecting them to independently discover the rules of differential calculus.’
However trying to teach the skills of literacy through a barrage of meaningless drill and practice exercises in a joyless classroom is doomed to failure, and the children, sadly, will fall through the cracks.
What the children need, in my opinion and unlike that of Nazaryan, is a balanced approach. The skills of literacy need to be taught in a meaningful context.
That article and others, like this one from HuffPostParents about a year one girl who had to sit on the floor for weeks while her classmates sat at desks make me want to cry.
However it is not all bad, and there are some wonderful things happening.
Below are links to posts by or about teachers who are being far more inspirational to their students and other teachers on a daily basis.
Tracking back to my post of July 9 The Very Inspiring Blogger Award (nominated by Geoff le Pard) I hereby nominate them for A Very Inspiring Blogger Award:
Vicki Vinton, blogging at To Make a Prairie
Matt Renwick at Reading By Example
This article by Brett Vogelsinger and posted on the Nerdy Book Club
Steven Peterson at Inside the Dog
Julianne at To Read To Write To Be
Carrie Gelson at There’s a Book for That
This brings me back to the reason that got me thinking about cracks, and children falling through the cracks in the first place. This week’s flash fiction prompt set by Charli Mills at Carrot Ranch Communications was to In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that involves a crack.
Here’s my response:
The Crack
She willed the earth to open up and swallow her whole. But it didn’t. She just stood there trembling, attempting to hold back the deluge that threatened to engulf her.
She strained to remember, knocking her head with her fist. Quick. Try. Try. What’s the rule: i? e?
She stammered an answer. Wrong again! Too many rules! Stupid rules! Broken – just like her.
She fled, eyes stinging, mouth twitching; and as she passed, with one hand grasped the confiscated unicorn sitting askew the teacher’s desk.
Away they flew, the assault of mocking laughter fading far below.
Thanks for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts about any aspect of this post, including my flash piece.
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Celebrating 100!
Welcome to my 100th post!
I’m excited!
When I started this blog just under a year ago (I published my first post on August 15 2013) I set myself the goal of writing two posts a week. I am pleased that I have maintained that output, with only an occasional variance.
I thank you all, my readers, whether you have been with me from the beginning, joined in along the way, or pop in occasionally to see what I am up to. I really appreciate your support and encouragement. If it wasn’t for your interest I may not have achieved my goal.One of the most rewarding things about blogging is belonging to a very special online community of readers and bloggers from whom I have learned a lot, and from whose encouragement I have developed the confidence to share my ideas.
Celebrating 100 anything is a milestone.
In Australia if you live to celebrate your 100th birthday you can receive a letter from the Prime Minister, the Governor-General and the Queen.
In my year one classroom we would celebrate 100 days of school. In the ‘old’ days, when pre-school was part-time and not compulsory, before prep became the first year of formal schooling, year one was the first year of ‘real’ school, and the celebration really was of the first 100 days of school. After the advent of prep it simply became a celebration of the first 100 days of year one.
Many valuable learning opportunities accompany the celebration.
Preparation for the celebration would begin on the first day of school. We would count off each day on the number board, counting up the days we had been at school and how many more days there would be until we reached 100.
Closer to the day we would explore what 100 items ‘looked like’ and count 100 children lined up for class, a tower built of 100 blocks, or 100 paperclips arranged around the edge of a piece of paper. We would count and collage 100 different items, and play games that involved counting to 100.
One of the things that I enjoyed most was discussing with the children what they thought they would be like at 100 years of age. We would read A. A. Milne’s poem Now I am Six and talk about them being six or seven – what they looked like, things they could do, and their favourite things and activities. They would draw a self-portrait and write a description of themselves to accompany it.
Then we would read books about growing older and discuss what it might be like to be 100 years old. They would do a self-portrait to show what they thought they would look like and write about what they would be able to do and activities they would enjoy.
https://openclipart.org/image/800px/svg_to_png/154735/faltige_frau.png 
https://openclipart.org/image/800px/svg_to_png/103549/old_man01.png I wish I had some of their portraits and descriptions to share with you. They wrote about having grey hair, wrinkly skin and wearing glasses. They wrote about using walking sticks, living in nursing homes and having a lot of grandchildren. Overwhelmingly, they were happy.
The last group of year one children I taught were born this century. They turned seven in year one in 2011. They will not celebrate their 100th birthdays until 2105! Chances are, with improvements to health and the increasing length of life expectancy, many of these children will get to celebrate that milestone.
While the children had no difficulty imagining themselves as 100 years of age, I can’t imagine what life will be like for them in the next century; or even fifty years ahead. One hundred posts ago, I couldn’t even be sure if I would still be here writing this blog; but I am, and I thank you very much for reading and participating.
To mark my 100th post, I have placed a new item in my Teachers Pay Teachers store with suggestions for celebrating 100 days of school. This also coincides with a storewide sale on Teachers Pay Teachers; so, for any teachers out there, it may be worth taking a look.
Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts about any aspect of this post or my blog in general.
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The classroom garden
Expecting every child in a class to respond to the same stimuli, develop at the same rate and achieve the same targets is like casting a handful of mixed seeds upon the soil and expecting them all to flourish.
Just as each seed has its own specific requirements of soil type, temperature, sunlight and water, so too does each child have its own needs, interests and learning requirements.
Differentiation is no less important in the classroom than it is the garden and tending to the learning and development needs of each child requires understanding of individual needs, appreciation of learning styles and a program that includes both a nurturing and expectation of individual growth with a sprinkling of well-timed instruction, support and attentive praise.
This week Charli Mills at Carrot Ranch Communications posted a flash fiction prompt that immediately conjured up an image of a classroom as a well-tended garden in which each individual is appreciated for its own value and receives whatever is appropriate to foster its development.
Charli’s challenge is to In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that includes fruit.
Jeff Kubina, Apple Orchard https://www.flickr.com/photos/kubina/2058047853/ Here is my response about a little tree whose time has come:
A fruitful harvest
Little Tree stood alone at the edge of the orchard thinking, “What’s wrong with me?”
The other trees grew tall. Their branches, laden with bright green leaves and sweet-scented blossoms, seemed to whisper mockingly.
The sun shone. Rains watered the soil.
Their blossoms turned to fruit, a plentiful harvest.
Confused and dejected, Little Tree avoided the celebratory festival.
Then all grew quiet. The bigger trees rested, preparing for the next season.
Suddenly an insect orchestra and an unfamiliar fragrance startled Little Tree.
“What’s up?” it asked.
“You!” they buzzed relishing the richness of its golden blooms.
Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts about any aspect of this article or flash fiction piece.
Featured image: rjp, Bird seed https://www.flickr.com/photos/zimpenfish/437991798/
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Are you a lemon or a grapefruit? – Ten articles about creativity
I am a great fan of creativity.
Imagination and creative thinking are what inspire and drive improvement, innovation and progress.
I affirm my belief in the power of creativity in my header: ‘Create the possibilities . . .’
In this post I share articles and blog posts that discuss creativity. It is not an exhaustive list, just a few to get you started. You will notice that many, but not all, are from Edutopia, a website that is ‘dedicated to improving the K-12 learning process through innovative, replicable, and evidence-based strategies that prepare students to thrive in their studies, careers, and adult lives’; and TED, an organisation of people who ‘believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world.’
- In this article on Creativity and education Judy O’Connell says that
‘Every student is creative in some way, and the job of educators is to release and support that creative talent in an appropriate manner.’
She adds that
‘Teaching creatively and for creativity entails taking students on a creative journey where their responses are not predetermined.’
In her article Judy lists some features of teaching for creativity and includes a video of a new school in New Zealand that she suggests fits the criteria. It is quite exciting and worth a look.
- In this article shared on Edutopia Do Standards Kill Creativity Claus von Zastrow suggests creative ways of teaching creativity while teaching standards.
Linking of subject areas, as we used to do through ‘themes’ in the old days, or more recently ‘integrated units’, before subjects were divided and each given their own slot in the timetable, was one suggestion. A number of varied and interesting comments accompany the article.
- I have previously shared this TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson on How schools kill creativity here and here. If you have not yet listened to it, please do. As well as sharing a very important message, Ken is a very entertaining speaker. I’m sure you will enjoy it.
4. Following on from that talk is this article by Bruce Price shared on examiner.com Ken Robinson and the Factory Method of Education. The article shares an animated talk by Ken Changing Education Paradigms.
Bruce does not agree with Ken’s views and warns readers to be sceptical of information imparted by Ken. He says that Ken’s opposition to traditional schooling is unhelpful and argues that, unlike most others referenced here, that creativity cannot be taught.
5. In this article by Deepak Kulkarni Recreational and Educational Value of Math Puzzles shared on Edutopia the suggestion is made that creative problem solving can be taught using maths puzzles.
6. A variety of Techniques for creative teaching are shared on the Iowa State University Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching website which states that
‘in order to teach creativity, one must teach creatively’.
7. In yet another article shared on Edutopia, Andrew Miller states enthusiastically Yes, You Can Teach and Assess Creativity! Andrew provides suggestions for recognising creativity as well as teaching and assessing it.
8. Also on Edutopia, Diane Darrow talks about Creativity on the Run: 18 Apps that Support the Creative Process.
9. In this rather long TED talk on his life, authenticity vs karaoke culture Malcolm McLaren postulates that ‘we’re living in a karaoke culture, with false promises of instant success, and that messiness and failure are the key to true learning.’ He talks about his own schooling and attitude to creativity.
10. Michael Michalki shared an article on Edutopia regarding what he considers the 7 Tenets of Creative Thinking, including:
Believe you are creative
‘While creative people believe they are creative, those who don’t hold that belief are not.’
Work at it and ‘produce an incredible number of ideas — most of which (may be) bad. He says that
‘more bad poems were written by major poets than by minor poets’.
Go through the motions – ‘Every hour spent activating your mind by generating ideas increases creativity’; visualise what you want and go for it.
On his own website Creative Thinking, Michael Michalko suggests many more ideas for getting you to think creatively.
The header of Michael’s website states that “A grapefruit is a lemon that took a chance.”
So which are you: a lemon or a grapefruit?
I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts about any aspect of this post and let me know whether you agree or disagree with the value of creativity and if it can be taught.
Thanks for reading.
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I’ve got the music in me – let me count the ways!
For any hearing person, music is integral to our lives.
Every country has a national anthem which may be taught in schools and played or sung at many and varied ceremonies and occasions, inspiring unity and national pride. Many other organisations such as schools and colleges have their songs praising their strengths and fostering a sense of identity. Couples have their special or ‘theme’ songs.
When we enter a store we are serenaded with music chosen to make us feel comfortable and entice us to stay longer and buy more.
Joyful advertising jingles with their subliminal messages encourage us to memorize the product name and make it our next purchase. These jingles can stay in our heads for years, like this famous one about Louie the Fly:
A few bars of a song can revive memories from long ago. I have written about this previously in a flash fiction piece, Vagaries of time.
Music can call us to dance, to relax, to sing, to cry. It can be chosen to match our mood, or can help to create a mood or atmosphere. The soundtrack of a film or television show tells the audience what to expect and how to feel.
Music is also an integral part of education and learning. Learning information in a song can help one remember. Many people like to have music playing when they are reading or studying. I did when studying towards my high school exams, but now I prefer quiet when I write. Programs such as Accelerated Learning recommend using Baroque music to help learners stay relaxed and focused, increasing retention.
I have previously written about using songs in the classroom, such as I love the mountains which I learned from Bill Martin Jr. and affirmation songs such as those of Anne Infante here and here. I have also composed class songs and chants such as Busy Bees chant, and used songs to support class work, for example The Ugly Bug Ball when learning about mini-beasts.
I have used music to calm and settle after play breaks, and music for activity between seated activities. I used songs in the morning to signal to children that it was time to be ready for the day’s learning, including action songs or songs about our learning, for example a phonics song:
Image courtesy of Anne But of course, once we were settled, every day started with an affirmation song, or two. It got everyone into a happy expectant mood. It’s hard to be sad when singing (unless it’s a sad song).
image courtesy of http://www.openclipart.org . . . and songs in the afternoons to send the children home happy and singing with joy.
As a year level we would sing songs to settle the children when lining up to return to class after lunchtime play. The children hurried to join in and sang their way joyfully into class. This is quite different from when I was at school and we would line up in silence and then march into school in step, subdued and quietly obedient.
I composed songs as a child but did not continue the practice as an adult, except for one: a lullaby that I sang to soothe my baby girl to sleep. A few years later I decided to learn to play the keyboard from a very talented musical friend who guided my writing of the accompanying music. This remains my one real musical accomplishment!
For someone who does not consider herself at all musical I certainly enjoy, and promote the use of, music in many different ways.
On that note, I leave you with my flash fiction response to the prompt set by Charli Mills of Carrot Ranch Communications: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story influenced by a musical score.
Final act
A collective gasp interrupted the music mid-beat.
All eyes turned synchronously, as if worked by unseen strings, towards the French doors, burst open and revealing a silhouetted figure framed by billowing gossamer-like curtains.
Out of the darkness the figure emerged: clothed in black with coat tails flapping, a top hat in one hand and a white-tipped cane held aloft in the other.
The conductor revived the orchestra as the figure glided across the floor, seized the heroine decisively and whirled her around and around.
The spell now broken, the cast joined in the dance to tumultuous applause.
I hope you can imagine the score that would be written to accompany this piece and its change of moods.
What score would you give it?
Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts about any aspect of the article or my flash fiction piece.
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Water wise
https://openclipart.org/image/800px/svg_to_png/9353/egonpin_Paisaje_3.png My first thought when reading this week’s flash fiction prompt set by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch: in 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about water, was of the street on which I had hoped to open an alternative to school twenty years ago. I thought I could write about the property which, located on the corner of Water and Love Streets, seemed ideal. I thought I could write about the vision of our group “The Centre of Learning Opportunities” with its focus on the children’s program “Kids First” and how our centre would cater for children and families. I thought I could write about how we would implement our motto “Create the possibilities” which I have also adopted for my blog. But just like the centre itself, it didn’t eventuate.
https://openclipart.org/image/800px/svg_to_png/169893/1336367663.png Instead I thought a little deeper, considering how water is the substance of life, how fortunate we are in developed countries to be able to turn on a tap and access clean water whenever we want. According to the UN almost 8 million people do not have access to clean water and more than 2 million do not have adequate sanitation. Millions of people die each year from diseases related to water. The projections of water availability and access are quite alarming.
I thought about the use and misuse that is made of water in our rivers and streams and of a local issue that was reported quite recently.
I decided to write a poem about the journey of a river, from its beginnings high up in the mountains down to the sea; how it starts out crystal clear but picks up toxins as it wends it was down. You can probably guess that my next thought was of education; of how children begin full of wonderment and creativity but, as they are subjected to years of schooling, collect toxic thoughts and attitudes.
That may seem a bit harsh I know, and I have written a poem before comparing what I consider Education is to what I think schooling is.
However I thought I’d try to write a poem as an allegory of the schooling process; likening the way we are polluting our waterways to the way we are polluting and muddying the minds of our children. I’m not very happy with my first (fifth!) attempt, but I have met the word requirement and Charli’s ‘deadline’ is fast approaching.
Let me know what you think.
Water
It started way up
In the highest of hills
So crystal-clear pure
With a life to fulfill
It babbled through forests
And danced in the streams
Marveling at wonders
Before never seen
It passed through the valleys
Irrigated the farms
Taking the runoff
And doing no harm
Down past the villages
Watered them too
Acquiring their discards
Now murky like stew
Passing by factories
Spewing out waste
Picked up their burden
And left without haste
Weaving its brown trail
Way down to the sea
From its mouth vomited out
A poisonous mix
Deceiving all living things
Expecting a gift
However I don’t want to leave you on a negative note. I’d rather acknowledge that there are many wonderful things happening in schools around the world. There must be, or we couldn’t be making the advancements we do.
https://openclipart.org/image/800px/svg_to_png/59389/happy_sun_gm.png I have shared many great things with you before like some of these great articles on edutopia.org. Just last week I shared information about a prize for innovation in inclusive curricula being awarded for a program, Big Questions teaching philosophy to children. Listen to any TED talk to be amazed at advancements and innovations.
I value your feedback. Please share your thoughts about any aspect of the article or my flash ‘poetic’ fiction piece.
Share this:
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A win for Big Questions!
I think this news is too exciting to ignore!
I hope you think so too.
Congratulations Michelle.
A forward step for education and the future!Share this:
Norah Colvin 
