from the desk of the executive director
Just Imagine… Michael George, Executive Director
“Celebrating Our Past, Imagining Our Future” – This is a wonderful theme for the 2010 Wis- consin State Music Conference and the 50th
anniversary of
WMEA. This comes at a time in our his-
tory when “imagination” is moving into the mainstream of thought in both educa- tion and business. We are moving away from predicting and toward imagining. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “We cannot predict the future. We must invent it.” Imagination is an important first step toward inventing the future for music education.
During times of multiple challenges to music education, there is a tendency to focus on preserving what we have rather than thinking of new possibilities. I hope we can all resist that tendency. Because if we set maintaining the status quo as our goal, then five, 10, or 15 years from now when we’ve reached that goal, we’ll be right where we are now. Is that good enough? Instead, imagining and inventing an expanded future for music education is both exciting and essential.
“Imagination is an important first step toward inventing the future for music education.”
In developing my own perspective on capacities for imagination, I draw on the writings of Sir Ken Robinson, The Element, Maxine Greene, Releasing the Imagination and a new book by Eric Liu
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and Scott Noppe-Brandon, Imagination First. John Dewey defined imagination as the capacity “to look at things as if they could be otherwise” (Experience and Education. New York: Touchstone, 1938). Each of these writers makes the case that imagination comes first, possibly leading to creativity, and perhaps innovation. However, without a healthy imagination, there is no creativity or innovation. We can think of creativity as imagination applied. Innovation occurs when we actu- ally change the form, direction or nature of something real.
People associated with the Lincoln Center Institute, particularly Maxine Greene, have worked over the years to describe the following set of “capacities” that can be learned and increase the likelihood that imaginative thinking will take place.
Noticing deeply – identifying and articu- lating layers of detail through continuous interaction with an object of study.
Embodying – experiencing a work through your senses and emotions, and physically representing that experience.
Questioning – asking “Why?” and “What if?” throughout your explorations.
Identifying patterns – finding relation- ships among the details you notice, and grouping them into patterns.
Making connections – linking the pat- terns you notice to prior knowledge and experience (both your own and others’).
Exhibiting empathy – understanding and respecting the experiences of others.
Creating meaning – creating inter- pretations of what you encounter, and synthesizing them with the perspectives of others.
Taking action – acting on the synthesis through a project or an action that ex- presses your learning.
Reflecting and assessing – looking back on your learning to identify what challeng- es remain and to begin learning anew.
Today’s culture of testing and data col- lection in education is well intended (to close persistent achievement gaps). But we are learning that more of the same is not achieving the desired results in most cases. It is possible to improve what’s in the box while also thinking outside the box. There is no conflict between accountability and imagination. There is nothing more funda- mental in good education than developing the capacity and ability to imagine. An emphasis on facts provides the what. But imagination leads us to what if.
John F. Kennedy was a what if kind of thinker and leader. In his inaugural address, he challenged our imaginations: “And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” But he also articulated a vision for America through the arts:
“ I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in busi- ness or statecraft. I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplish- ment and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all of our citizens. And I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well.”
~ At Amherst College, October 26, 1963.
Just imagine that future…
Michael George is executive director of Wisconsin School Music Association, Wisconsin Music Educators Association and Wisconsin Foundation for School Music. Email:
mgeorge@wsmamusic.org
September 2010
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