Creativity in Class
Autor: @docarmoxavier | Publicado: 2010-05-09T19:17:00-03:00

I have recently been blessed by one of those serendipitous moments, and watched an amazing film: It's called "Up", by Disney Pixar. It tells the story of a boy, Carl Fredrickson who meets a young girl named Ellie. They both dream of going to a Lost Land in South America. 70 years later, Ellie has died. Old Carl remembers the promise he made to her. Then, when he inadvertedly hits a construction worker, he is forced to go to a retirement home. But before they can take him, he and his house fly away. However, he has someone else aboard. An 8-year-old boy named Russell, who's trying to get an "assisting the elderly" badge. Together, they embark in an adventure, where they encounter talking dogs, an evil villain and a rare bird named Kevin.

Surprisingly enough, Up is not just any adventure cartoon, but it turns out to be an amazing film about how one can be attached to unimportant dreams, and how frustration can make the beauty in life just become hazy.

It all began with a statement, not just any statement, one (not) randomly selected from his dead wife's diary: "Things I'm going to do". And, for years, from the time they get to know each other, up to the day she dies, he lives his life through the whimsical desires of her adventure-spirited heart. It all made me consider the importance of knowing what we want in life: "'What interests us? What are we passionate about?" The more I run this through my head the more I believe some people just cannot let their minds drift out the window and explore the possibilities inherent in being asked what they want to do. What kind of professional I want to be, where do I picture myself two, five or ten years from now, do I really want to continue doing what I do? And what are the factors that are, preventing me from living the life I think I should be living? Am I ,both actually and metaphorically, just living by the expectation that someone else is going to solve my problems and show me the way? 

Secondly, the relationship between Earl and the boy Russel just makes me wonder whether it somehow won't reflect the way we relate to our students: they knock on our doors full of curiosity, looking for&nbsp; awe-inspiring waterfalls, alluring toys, riveting exotic birds while we reply to their anxiety just like Earl at his porch: How much can a classroom become a dull, unstimulating place? In addition, how can a flying house hanged by colorful ballons become a boring stowaway during our trip to the unknown? 

Much lip-service gets paid to the idea that as long as I have internet connection, iPads and great websites to get sidetracked upon... well than, problems will be solved and a lot of learning will take place!...Really?!





Is my "house with balloons" a trustworthy transport to knowledge or just a stumbling block, disincentive wrapped in the sounds, lights and colours of an interactive whiteboard? Food for thought...

From all the enlightened (resourceful, I'd say...) scenes in Up, the one who really caught my eye was the moment Earls finally gets to the top of the waterfall, the place where he and his wife had always dreamed to reach (they even had drawn a picture about it).&nbsp; Why acting like a snail, dragging a piece of junk (his house) to the top of an amazing place like that? By the time he gets there, it just seems ridiculous and non-sense! His strong drive to remain attached to the building reminds me of moments when I myself refused to unfasten from my own way of learning and my own beliefs as a tutor and could not listen to my students and realize what THEY really needed. The moments in which I fought epic battles towards making students use such and such website, forcing the implementation of such and such video maker project in class, insisted on resorting to such and such theory about developing speaking skills, when what they needed was more time to consolidate some writing... How dare we consider what is written on our lesson plan is, actually, the "help the elderly" badge our students are looking forward to? And then comes the time when we, eventually, climb the waterfall, when we eventually get students' attention, but, blindfolded by our "houses with 
balloons" we cannot just sit down and let nature do its part - just take a step back and enjoy the view. 

Old Earl had to disjoin his fears, remove the old furniture, separate from his most beloved books (and authors) so as to survive. Sometimes the experience in class is just about looking 
at our own hearts and adding a little pinch of CREATIVITY into it! Take the "roads not taken" of imaginativeness, watch the tricks of not-in-the-cards source of inspiration and, last, but definitely not least, observe students. They will always be our main source of illumination.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcDxE-ijxT4&amp;feature=channel

"Learning seeks, not just to dip its toe in the deep end, but to dive in head first."&nbsp;(Gregory S. Thompson)
Finally, I'd like to post this interesting piece of news from Converge Magazine. Worth taking a look!