JUNIOR HIGH/ELEMENTARY MUSIC DIVISION Donna Zawatski, Vice President
Encouraging the Creative Mind
Have you asked yourself lately what you want your students to learn? Do you want them to know the names of the lines and spaces or do you want them to be able to manipulate or put the notes together in a way that is interesting or creates a mood or feeling in the listener? Do you want your students to know how many beats are in a quarter, half, or whole note or do you want them to be able to take that understanding of note values and write an interesting body percussion to use as an ostinato for a chant. What good is knowing the lines and spaces or understanding how beats can be divided if you are never given the opportunity to put that knowledge to use in a creative way? Here’s a more pointed question – What if our students could only learn what we know?
Our goal as educators should be to inspire our students to apply what they’ve learned from us and discover that the sky is the limit as to what is yet to be learned once they apply their creative mind. As music teachers, how do we encourage the creative mind? By providing students multiple sensory experiences, we are helping them to build a databank to draw from when being creative.
My definition of creativity is to take information (an idea, concept, or thought) that is available to all, and let it inspire you to put your own twist on it, or to enhance it, by making connections that are unique to you. I doubt if my definition will ever be published in a dictionary but it makes sense to me. None of our students come in with the same set of life experiences. Every human being has a unique set of experiences to draw from and apply and create with. It’s like having a unique fingerprint. Your job as a teacher should be to help provide more experiences and try to fill your students databanks so that
42 they will flourish with creativity.
I have recently learned of two good resources that we have in Illinois. Te Arts Alliance Illinois has launched their Arts & Education Exchange. Designed to expand access to the arts in schools in cities and towns across Illinois, the Exchange is a free, easy-to-use, online service that connects arts providers with educators to give students an opportunity for expression and self-discovery through creative outlets. For more information, go to
www.artseducationexchange.org.
Also, did you know that the Chicago Symphony Orchestra has a program called Orchestra Explorers, where they provide materials and opportunities to expose children to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and its musicians. Tey will offer sessions at IMEA on Friday along with the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Another way to build your students’ databanks is to seek out artists in your community who can come and speak or perform for your students. Retired musicians are a good place to start. Ask around and do your research. Many would be more than happy to give back to the community.
Encourage your students to keep a journal of ideas when they’re working on a problem. Ideas don’t always happen at school. I can tell you that I almost NEVER have creative ideas when I’m sitting in front of my computer. Some of my favorite spots for inspiration are the shower, driving in the car, faculty meetings (oops, sorry), or in bed. Yes, in bed. Somehow, when my mind is churning, I can’t sleep. I’ve learned through experience that if I don’t get out of bed right then and write it down, it vanishes by morning. Let your students
know it’s okay to draw a blank but help them to be ready any time the creative juices are flowing.
When giving students creative assignments in my classroom, I will often stop before the projects appear to be totally finished and let them perform for each other. Tey sometimes panic but soon see that this process can be helpful to them or their group. It is often during this performance where my students’ ideas are either solidified or enhanced by watching the others perform. Sometimes an idea from a different individual or group will spark an idea for the solution to a problem that they were looking for. Once again, more exposure to new experiences increases the databank of creative ideas.
As we gear up for IMEA 2012, let’s think of ways we can build on our databank of creativity. I can remember many times when I have gone to sessions thinking this will not work in my situation, HOWEVER I can do this instead. I begin to scribble on my little notepad and come home revived with new ideas. Be open minded when you go to sessions and expose yourself to new experiences you might not think would work for you. Tis is where you may have a spark of an idea that will work for you and you will certainly build on your own databank in the process.
Tis year, we have made several changes to enhance your conference experience. First of all, we are offering more than double the number of sessions than in previous years. Our goal is to provide smaller, more hands-on sessions. We will have several of the more popular sessions repeated so that you will have more choices.
Tis year, we will begin on Tursday with introductory courses in Orff, Kodály, and Dalcroze. Many districts are cutting
Illinois Music Educator | Volume 72 Number 1
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