Creativity, Culture and Education

"There are many misconceptions about creativity. Some

people associate creative teaching with a lack of discipline in

education. Others see creative ability as the preserve of a

gifted few, rather than of the many; others associate it only

with the arts. In our view, creativity is possible in all areas of

human activity and all young people and adults have creative

capacities. Developing these capacities involves a balance

between teaching skills and understanding, and promoting the

freedom to innovate, and take risks."

This is from a white paper published in 1999 in the UK, about the importance of creativity in the classroom. You can read the full report here, All Our Futures. It is their view that to move forward, as a society, into the 21st century we need to do more than "just improve literacy and numeracy skills. We need a broad, flexible and motivating education that recognises the different talents of all children and delivers excellence for everyone."

The Edible Schoolyard

I found this book a few weeks ago in a local book store.... (not that it was lost in the first place). It was a quick read, only took an afternoon but it was so inspiring and heartwarming, I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in getting their kids involved in nature. Even though it is about a school, I found it really helpful in finding ways to get my own children outside and planting vegetables.

How children lost the right to roam in four generations

It doesn't get more compelling an argument than this.... the need to have more open space in cities. Check out the article here, Children and Nature.

Urbanization

This scientist explains the trends in urbanization and how, as a planet, we are slowly moving towards 80% of people living in an urban environment. Urbanization - Gapminder.org He uses the most amazing graphics.....

A place designed by children

It's hard to believe that this a garage area on a housing estate. This is in Italy and children were consulted during the design process. Here's a link to the website, Coriandoline.

Amazing, check it out.