How Do We Celebrate Creativity?

In schools, we hold academic honor ceremonies, athletic competitions, and science fairs.  We have spelling bees and "Math-A-Thons". We lift up the successes of our students in big ways when it comes to these types of accomplishments.  We recognize championship wins and perfect SAT scores.  We hand out certificates for honor roll and perfect attendance, but how do we celebrate creativity?

I recently attended an event at my son's school called Arts Alive.  Your school may have one of these kinds of events, too.  Student artwork was hung throughout the halls.  Each grade level practiced a few songs and did a performance on stage.  There were crafts in the cafeteria for families to do and a even a face painter.  It was a lively evening focused on celebrating the arts, but it got me wondering about what we do to support creative learning throughout the year.

If we value creative thinking and the imaginative work of our students, then we should celebrate this in both big and small ways. Here are a few simple ways to honor the creativity in your students and show them that their creative mindset matters.

Showcase Student Creativity (all year long)

When I was an elementary principal, we had an amazing art teacher.  Not only did she build student skills in the art room, but she inspired students to be creative.  She did a great job of displaying student work throughout the school, but visitors to the school didn't always have the pleasure of walking the halls and viewing these masterpieces.  We invested some money in some plain black frames and hung them in the main office.  Select pieces of student work could be displayed regularly in the office for everyone to see.  While this is a simple step to take, imagine the pride in a student's face when they see their creative work displayed in this way.

Offer Creative Assessment Options

If we agree that creative thinking will solve the complex problems of the future, then we need to start equipping students now with the skills to do that.  Reflect on your assessment practices.  Paper and pencil tests can't always measure everything we want to see in our students. Do you offer options that tap into the creativity of students?  Are video animations a choice when summarizing a story? Can students use Buncee to illustrate their understanding of a science concept?  Does building a physical model to explain a math formula "count" as an assessment? Exploring creative assessment options provides an alternate pathway to demonstrate understanding and allows student strengths to shine.

Promote Creative Accomplishments

We post on Facebook and tweet out when our sports teams win and when our scholars excel.  Let's honor our designers, painters, poets, and musicians just as often. Promote the work of our creative students all year long, not just for the one-time art show every spring.  Let's be intentional about giving students the time and space to exhibit their creativity.  We can promote it through the programs we offer in our schools and the communication that we push out to our school community. Tell the story of creativity in your school and share it.

Celebrate Creativity

Sir Ken Robinson said, "Creativity is as important now in education as literacy and we should treat it with the same status." There is no doubt that lots of educators are lifting up creativity and giving it the status it deserves. Let's #uNlockCreativity and open a world of imagination within our students!

How do you celebrate creativity in your classroom? In what ways does your school promote student creative successes? Share your ideas for unlocking creativity in schools.