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Cara Fiore October 14, 2011 Soc 380/ AQ2 Research Notebook Question One My research notebook will be my attempt to understand the broad characteristic of creativity. So my first question is what does it mean to be creative? And what abilities does a creative person have sets them apart from the non-creative person ? The first thing that comes to my mind is simply someone who can draw, paint, sculpt, or create something from his or her imagination into reality. However, as I thought about is more, creativity is not just applied in the fine arts; it can also be practical for any situation or job. Personally, I think that creative people are the most intelligent people because they can think abstractly and see the world differently. Although, I feel society values people who are proven to be smart, simply meaning how much stuff they know, based on grades received from an educational institution. However, with the age that we live in, I think it is relatively easy for people to learn and become knowledgeable about certain subjects because of how accessible the internet is and with the quantity of books available. This happens to me sometimes daily, and the most recent was on October 12, 2011. As part of the secondary education program, I have to go observe and teach in a high school classroom. My cooperating teacher gave me the task to teach one of her classes about Charlemagne. Now I remembered very little about Charlemagne and the early medieval ages so I had to rely on sources online to re-teach myself the material so I could then in turn, teach the class. My cooperating teacher gave me positive feedback so I must have come across

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knowledgeable and knowing what I was talking about. However, I do not think that just because I taught this lesson I am an expert now on Charlemagne, and if anything it showed I was good at memorizing information quickly. This is why I argue that creative people are more intelligent. One reason is that they can express unusual thoughts not taken straight from a textbook or online. The Psychology Today website goes into more details about the personality of a creative person. Some characteristics that they mention are, Creative people combine playfulness and discipline, or responsibility and irresponsibility, they alternate between imagination and fantasy, with a rooted sense of reality, have a great deal of physical energy, but they're also often quiet and at rest.1 That is not to say that all creative people exhibit these qualities, but this shows that no two people, especially creative people, think alike, which is important in the complex world we live in. This is important because in order to keep advancing our society or solving its problems we need multiple and unique perspectives as different options. Furthermore, I believe that having a solid foundation of creativity will help people excel in other disciplines, like science and math, to better our world. Question Two My next question is what stimulates and develops creativity within people? Most people seem to know if they are creative or if they are not; there is no grey area. I thought of this because I often go the Illini Art Therapy meetings on campus, and I try to get friends to come with. No matter how much fun I tell them it is, or how they do not have to be good at
1

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199607/the-creative-personality?page=3, From Creativity: The Work and Lives of 91 Eminent People (HarperCollins, 1996).

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art, no one will ever come with me. I found one explanation for how creativity is simulated in Creativity as Cultural Participation by Vlad Petre Glaveanu. This article talked about how creativity is both individual and socio-cultural, which contributes to cultural participation and cultural expression. Creativity is individual because it depends on the persons ability and previous knowledge. It is socio-cultural because the skills that a person has and the knowledge that they have, comes from social interaction. The graph below from the article does a good job at showing the interaction between the individual, society, and existing art.

Furthermore, this source is relevant because it helps explain why some people are more likely to participate in art and situations that require creative thinking and why others avoid it all costs. I also agree with the arguments that they make especially how creativity is a social activity. A section that stood out to me was when he discussed creativity as being social and the interaction between the creator and the audience. For example, he discusses how, Creativity

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is never a solitary affair. The audience is always there, helping, in explicit or more implicit ways. It is social interaction that turns the wheels of creativity, and, along with it, of cultural change and transformation.2 This idea could help explain why I can never get anyone to come to art therapy with me. I never noticed it before, but there definitely is an interaction between the people around me, the piece of art that I am doing, and myself. People usually ask what it is I am making, make comments on it about how I may have done something a certain way, and how they would have done it. Therefore, I learned that thinking creatively requires you to have some confidence and willingness to put yourself out there. This could be why it is uncomfortable for some people. Question Three The next question that I was curious about was how does gender play a role in creativity? I was curious about this because I started to think about my family; how the women are extremely creative, while the men of my family show very little interest. My great grandma is the first person that I think of because she was the first person who instilled in me how important it was the be creative by making art. My mother is also very creative because she went to college to be an architect so she is good at problem solving. On the other hand, most of the men in my family I have noticed tend to stay out of conversations when we start talking about art or abstract ideas. However, not all of the men in my family because my great grandpa was also creative with his interest in drawing and electrical engineering, which I think, requires a great deal of creativity.

Vlad Petre Glaveanu, Creativity as Cultural Participation Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 41, no. 1, (Mar 2011), 61.

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I found an article called Gender, Gender Role, and Creativity by Geniffer Stoltzfus, Brady Leigh Nibbelink, Debra Vredenburg, and Elizabeth Thyrum that may prove that men can perform better at activities that required creativity compared to women. The study was conducted among 136 undergraduate students at a mid-sized regional university with 57 males and 79 females, and age ranging from 17 to 31. Participants were instructed to: 1) list as many unusual uses as possible for a tin can; 2) list as many unusual uses as possible for a cardboard box; 3) complete a picture construction task using an oval shape centered on a blank sheet of paper.3 The results found that men did perform higher than women at verbal creativity and the drawing of the picture, but the differences were not significant. However, another study did something similar, but they had different results. In a study conducted in China, these researchers looked at test scores between boys and girls in different grades from a new electronic creativity test. They found that, In Grade 4 through Grade 6, boys had higher creativity scores most of the time, although the differences were only marginal. In Grade 7 and Grade 8, girls overtook boys in all the verbal and figural creativity scores and many of the differences were statistically significant. However, the differences narrowed down again to a marginal level in Grade 9. Specifically, in both Grade 7 and Grade 8, girls excelled boys in figural fluency, figural flexibility, figural uniqueness, and figural unusualness. In Grade 8, girls also excelled boys in verbal flexibility.4 Therefore, I would conclude that there is not a definite answer to who is more creative, boys or girls. It depends on where they are from, and how old they are. This is important for me when thinking about students in my class because it sets everyone at an equal playing field. Boys and girls for the most part have to same chance at succeeding in creative tasks, which is important

Geniffer Stoltzfus, Brady Leigh Nibbelink, Debra Vredenburg, Elizabeth Thyrum, "Gender, Gender Role, and Creativity" Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal 39, no. 3, (2001), 427. 4 Sing, Lau, and Cheung Ping Chung. "Developmental Trends of Creativity: What Twists of Turn Do Boys and Girls Take at Different Grades?." Creativity Research Journal 22, no. 3 (July 2010): 334.

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when evaluating students. It would not be fair to assess the class when half the students already have an advantage. Question Four My next question is what role does creativity play in the classroom? I am a firm believer of letting students express their creativity because I think it helps them build far more useful skills for after school. For example, they need to develop critical thinking skills, to appreciate different perspectives, confidence, and becoming a voice of innovation. Creativity is also important because it can positively affect GPA according to Philipp Alexander Freund and Heinz Holling in Creativity in the Classroom: A Multilevel Analysis Investigating the Impact of Creativity and Reasoning Ability on GPA. This study found that students in a lower track school, especially girls, saw an increased GPA.5 This only helps reinforce for me that allowing students to think creatively will help them, especially during a time when such emphasis is put on standardized tests. I also found this cartoon on pinterest.com, which this website has become my new obsession to share ideas for crafts, food, design, and even education.

Philipp Alexander Freund and Heinz Holling, "Creativity in the Classroom: A Multilevel Analysis Investigating the Impact of Creativity and Reasoning Ability on GPA." Creativity Research Journal 20, no. 3 (July 2008), 317. 6 http://pinterest.com/pin/298488521/

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I thought this cartoon could be relevant because it shows how much the education has changed. I would argue that the children have not changed all that much. They still have the same desire to play in P.E. and learn by participation in science, art, and the humanities. However, most schools have taken away those opportunities to prepare for standardized tests. Even though Race to the Top has been implemented, schools are still driven by test scores. What is even scarier is that whether or not I have a job could depend on how well my students do on standardized tests, when social studies isnt even tested. It is frustrating when people who are not involved in education are the ones making all the decisions for teachers and students. This is really unfortunate because I know I wont be allowed or have time to teach everything that I want. I wont have as much time as I want to devote to allowing students to learn by larger projects or assessments where they have to create something for me. Instead, time will have to be spent making sure students are prepared for tests.
Question Five

My fifth question is how can I teach creativity, specifically how can I teach it to students who are older? I worry about this because when students reach me once they get to high school, I feel that they might be stuck in their ways in which they want to think. Its easy to teach something, but it is much more of a challenge to change how people think. Larry Livingston offers some advice in Teaching Creativity in Higher Education. However, while his suggestions are applied in a university setting, I think the ideas are also relevant for a high school too. Some students will be going off the college soon anyways so this would be good practice. The first argument he makes is, If we are to challenge and stretch students creative

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capacities, we need to enthusiastically celebrate the reality that each of them has long been a habitue in a multidiscipline world.7 Furthermore, he argues that teachers should lecture a lot less, and allow students to work more in small groups to explore and apply the knowledge they learned. These strategies are important because it forces the teacher to give up some control. An essential competent of creativity is being free to do and express what you want so it makes sense that teachers should give their students this opportunity. The Encyclopedia Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent also suggest how to reach students. It talks about that just by teaching a social studies curriculum to students will foster creativity. It states, Through practice of careful reasoning, consideration of differing perspectives, reliance on document and artifact analysis, facility with conceptual thinking, construction of personal connections, and engagement in personal reflection, gifted, talented, and creative students develop skills and expertise as citizens and leaders in democratic societies.8 All of these skills require some form of creativity, and they are useful skills for life outside of school. Students need to know how to make connections, reason, and understand others viewpoints. They are also skills that can be easily explained when a student asks, whats the point of this activity? Why do we have to do this? And I will never have to do this again. Teachers face these questions all the time, but if they are a good teacher, then everything they do has a purpose. Students may not understand right away, but hopefully later in life they will appreciate what their teachers taught them. Question Six
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Larry Livingston "Teaching Creativity in Higher Education." Arts Education Policy Review 111, no. 2 (June 2010), 60. 8 Joanne Russillo Funk. "Secondary School, Social Studies Curriculum." Encyclopedia of Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent. 2009. SAGE Publications. <http://sage-ereference.com/view/giftedness/n341.xml>.

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My next question is, are there ways to put people in a creative state of mind? I was curious about this because I know from experience that sometimes I find myself in a creative mood and other times I find it exhausting. It also depends on what kind of project I am working on. For instance if I am physically making something, a drawing or a painting, I dont need much internal motivation to get started. Basically I was interested in learning how could I be in a creative set of mind all the time. I came across this website called Creative for Life that offers advice in these areas, and how to see creativity in everyday life. The post that interested me the most was Five Ways to Ignite Creative Intelligence. This post is useful to my question because it talks about ways to make creativity flow more naturally, easier, and not become so stressful, like in my experience. It offered simple lifestyle changes, for example limiting internet use, exercising, separating yourself from work on occasion, going for walks, and getting enough rest.9 This source suggests that relaxation is the best way to get in a creative state of mind, which might be a challenge for me and the many other busy people out there. To me, it sounds like creative energy and thoughts cannot flow easily when we are worried and stressed. This can also explain why some people dont think of themselves as creative because they cant get in the right mindset. They might be too worried about if whatever they come up with will be any good. Or they are stressed about other things in life that they cant clear their head to think creatively. Question Seven I have also wondered how you are supposed to grade creative work as a teacher? When thinking about this question I thought back to all the presentations and projects I had to
9

TJ Philpott Five Ways to Ignite Your Creative Intelligence. http://creativityforlife.com/2011/12/05/5-ways-toignite-your-creative-intelligence/

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do growing up, and how creatively I presented my material. I cared a lot about how my poster boards, PowerPoints, or any project that I was working on looked like. So I wondered how did that really affect my grade? Did someone who put forth the same effort, but whose project might not have looked as nice as mine, receive the same grade? Based on what I have learned through the Education Program, I would now say yes. My teaching philosophy would lead me to grade based more on effort rather than how pretty their work might be. I wouldnt want to be too harsh or judgmental towards a students creative thoughts because I think it takes guts to put your ideas that might be different out there. Therefore, for me I would look for, is the student progressing and improving whatever skill I might be assessing. Something that I had not thought of when grading creativity, is whether there can be biases towards people of different ethnicities and gender, which was discussed In the Eye of the Beholder. This study had male and female, and White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian students write poems and short stories to test whether graders favored any particular group. There were three notable conclusions that the researchers found based on how male and female, and White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian students graded each other. They found that, Females wrote poems that were judged as more creative. Female raters were more consistent than were male raters. And European Americans and African Americans both preferred stories written by European Americans A more unexpected finding is the preference among African American raters for writers not of their own ethnicity. African Americans were the only group to rate the writings of another ethnic group higher than their own.10 Overall, this article was eye-opening for me because I had never once considered how ethnicity and gender could unknowingly have an influence on grading. Diversity is becoming increasingly
10

Jason C. Cole, et al. "In the Eye of the Beholder: Differences Across Ethnicity and Gender in Evaluating Creative Work." Journal Of Applied Social Psychology 40, no. 2 (February 2010): 506.

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important in the classroom and our society so it is essential to embrace those differences by challenging our biases. Other people may not even see these biases so it is important for teachers to be good role models, and address student behavior that is disrespectful. Its also important to explain to students what is expected of them when they are being graded. Amy Chokshi wrote a post on My Creative Blog talking about six things that artists should know. While she is referring specially to artists, I think students would be using the same skills as artists. The most relevant ideas were, aim to be different, challenge yourself, trust your gut, and make mistakes.11 If I am upfront with students that these goals are what I expect when they are asked to think creatively, then grading them will be more transparent and fair. Grading is challenging enough, but grading something like creativity, which is so subjective, makes it even harder because there is no right or wrong answer. Question Eight My next question is how creative do people think they are? To answer this question I would conduct some kind of survey to ask students on campus. Given how frequently people use social networks, I would probably use Facebook to distribute my survey to a large number of people. I get asked all the time to compete surveys for people on Facebook, usually for advertising classes, and I do them because they dont take very long. My survey would ask how old are you, whats your gender, and how creative do you feel you are? I would use a Likert scale to measure peoples answers for the last question. It would be a scale of one to three. One being not at all creative. Two being somewhat creative. Three being very creative. I

11

Amy Chokshi. Six Things That Every Creative Person Must Know About. http://www.mycreativityblog.com/.

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would use this data to hopefully better understand how people think of themselves, and if the three categories are equal or unbalanced. Hanne Kristiansen and Mark Simmonds take this idea of whether people are creative or not a step further by saying that there are different kinds of creative creatures. These creatures are explained in the chart below.

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This chart is helpful for expanding the definition of what a creative person can be. They use these terms to apply to the business world, but I dont see why I couldnt apply them to everyone, and all ages. It may help people realize that they actually are creative in a way that

12

Kristiansen, Hanne, and Mark Simmonds. "The question isn't are you creative but how are you creative?." Market Leader no. 48 (Spring2010 2010):43.

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they never realized. Creativity does not have to only mean that a person is good at art, or coming up with strange ideas. Question Nine I was also curious about what can people do when they have a creative block? We all have those days when our minds are groggy, and it takes us longer to do our regular routine. So what can we do to get out this? Peggy Simson Curry offers some guidance for writers block, which I think is appropriate for any creative medium. She says that authors get in this predicament when they let fear take over their writing. For example, This insidious thinking persuades the writer to question every story idea that comes to him. He no longer becomes excited with glimpses of theme, characters, setting, threads of plot. He can only ask desperately, But who will want it?13 I think these ideas can translate to other creative work students make in school. They could worry about what if people think their idea is dumb, other students think they are weird, and they no longer express themselves freely. This idea of fear and worrying relates back to earlier question about how to get in the right creative state of mind. It seems that fear plays a more powerful role in creativity than I originally thought. However, I think most people can relate to these feelings, especially kids going through middle and high school. They are still trying to figure out who they are, but it can be challenging when so many other people are telling them what to do and how to act. This idea of identity reminded me of this image that I saw on my favorite website, Pinterest.
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Curry, Peggy Simson. "How to get out of a creative rut: Follow these simple strategies to increase your productivity." Writer 123, no. 1 (January 2010).

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The data from my survey, asking how creative people think they are, could help shed some light on whether creativity decreases with age. I tend to think based on my observations that it does, which is a shame. Some people are forced to grow up earlier than others, for family or financial reasons, so I think creativity and thinking in that child-like mindset is often pushed aside in order to act more like an adult. However, it is equally important that adults think creatively for reasons that I discussed earlier, how our world thrives on diverse, creative ideas. Ultimately, I think people are denying ourselves success if they cant think outside the box. Question Ten My final question is how do creative people come up with what they are going to make, create, build, etc.? To answer this question I would want to contact the creative people from my earlier survey to hear what they had to say in another survey. Instead, the participants would be asked to explain their answers because a Likert scale would not be effective. I would be interested to hear about all the different ways that people are inspired, how that leaves their mind, and enters reality.

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http://pinterest.com/pin/246842581/

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I also found an interesting article that is an interview with psychologist R. Keith Sawyer, which talks about how creative people think. He says that people need to, forget those romantic myths that creativity is all about being artsy and gifted and not about hard work. They discourage us because we're waiting for that one full-blown moment of inspiration. And while we're waiting, we may never start working on what we might someday create.15 I agree with this entirely because I know that my process of creating art is very similar to this, where I might sit there for a very long time just thinking drawing the image in my head first. I think about all the possible things I could do, what I dont want to do, and what I want to get across. This idea of there being a big aha! moment, which Sawyer talks about, doesnt really happen. Its more like a series of small realizations that lead to the one big idea that the creator actually produces, which I can relate to as well. In the end, creativity is still complex and confusing to me, even with all the research out there, which is why I think many people also dont understand it. Creativity requires a lot of hard work and dedication to contemplating, planning, and questioning. Sometimes the creative process can be spontaneous, but most artists and creative people go through drafts of their work, and they are constantly making revisions. Which is why I think that creativity is still a valued skill in our society, especially the workplace, but its not appreciated or utilized as much as it should. Bibliography Chokshi, Amy. Six Things That Every Creative Person Must Know About. http://www.mycreativityblog.com/

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"THE HIDDEN SECRETS OF THE CREATIVE MIND." Time 167, no. 3 (January 16, 2006).

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Annotation: This is a website/blog that where three women who are artists and/or teachers, post articles about the process how to teach art and creativity. The article that I used is quite literally six thing that creative people must know. I liked it though because I thought it had a positive message for students that its ok to be different. Its also relevant to my interest in creativity and education because it shows that being creative had some structure to it, and there is thought involved. I think this is reassuring to students who might be intimidated by where creativity might take them. Jason C. Cole, et al. "In the Eye of the Beholder: Differences Across Ethnicity and Gender in Evaluating Creative Work." Journal Of Applied Social Psychology 40, no. 2 (February 2010): 496-511. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed December 6, 2011). Annotation: This article is about a survey that examined 205 students (54 males, 151 Females) from two universities. There were 75 European Americans, 47 Asian Americans, 37 Hispanic Americans, 25 African Americans, and 21 with mixed backgrounds. They were asked to write a poem and a short story. Then a group of 108 (27 males, 81 females) rated their work. There were 42 European Americans, 37 Hispanic Americans, 10 Asian Americans, 10 from other ethnic backgrounds, and 7 African Americans, and ethnic data was missing for two raters. My question of this was why did they test significantly fewer males in this study? Didnt that play a role in the finding that women were more reliable raters than men? However, they tested a small population. Curry, Peggy Simson. "How to get out of a creative rut: Follow these simple strategies to increase your productivity." Writer 123, no. 1 (January 2010): 22-23. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed December 6, 2011). Annotation: This article is actually reprinted from 1967, but I think the ideas are still relevant today. Curry was a writer and teacher so she insight into the two areas that I am interested in. She gives advice for writers who have fallen into a rut and have trouble writing again. The first stage that people need to begin is a restoration period. They begin this stage once they have overcome their fear of rejection. Then they start writing again, but they have to write frequently everyday. Then the final step is to take breaks from writing and enjoy their life outside of work. I think that these are easy to follow steps that can be applied to any paper or assignment that students may work on. This is also advice that I have heard from teachers in the past. Ive heard similar advice like write down all of your thoughts, come back to your work later, and think of ideas that arent obvious.

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Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. From Creativity: The Work and Lives of 91 Eminent People. HarperCollins, 1996. http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199607/the-creativepersonality?page=3 Freund, Philipp Alexander, and Heinz Holling. "Creativity in the Classroom: A Multilevel Analysis Investigating the Impact of Creativity and Reasoning Ability on GPA." Creativity Research Journal 20, no. 3 (July 2008): 309-318. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed October 13, 2011). Funk, Joanne Russillo. "Secondary School, Social Studies Curriculum." Encyclopedia of Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent. 2009. SAGE Publications. <http://sageereference.com/view/giftedness/n341.xml>. Annotation: This was a very useful encyclopedia that I now want to use for other education classes in the future because every topic you can think of related to education is in here. The section that I used just Secondary School, Social Studies Curriculum. It discussed what high schools typically offer for social studies, what students get out of social studies, different ways to teach social studies, the benefits of students taking social studies classes. I usually never use encyclopedias, but this one was very detailed and useful. GLVEANU, VLAD PETRE. "Creativity As Cultural Participation." Journal For The Theory Of Social Behaviour 41, no. 1 (March 2011): 48-67. SPORTDiscus, EBSCOhost (accessed October 13, 2011). Kristiansen, Hanne, and Mark Simmonds. "The question isn't are you creative but how are you creative?." Market Leader no. 48 (Spring2010 2010): 42-45. Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed December 6, 2011). Annotation: This source is about five creative creatures that people can be similar to, and how these characteristics are beneficial for a marketing team in Great Britain. Stimulators like exploring, spotters look for potential, sculptors are the builders, selectors separate the good from the bad, and supporters like collaborating. When all

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these creatures get together there is a good group environment and they have success coming up with ideas. I think that these are really interesting descriptions, but I feel it would be difficult to track down all these personalities to work together. However, these creatures are useful as well outside the business world, and can easily be used in the classroom. It would also be fun to call students by these creature names. So this source is relevant to the topic of creativity because it opens up a broader umbrella of qualities for students to identify with. My interest is how to get more students involved creativity, and this source would help. Livingston, Larry. "Teaching Creativity in Higher Education." Arts Education Policy Review 111, no. 2 (June 2010): 59-62. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed October 13, 2011). Annotation: This article talks about more effective ways to teacher their college level classes, but the ideas are true for lower grades as well. First, technology has played a huge role in how we educate students now. More information is readily available so teachers need to use this to their advantage. Students are also living in a world where they are more social. I would have to disagree a little in the way that students socialize is definitely different because it is less personable. However, by embracing the students desire to interact, teachers can have their students investigate, cooperate, connect, and synthesize. In order to do these things students need to be creative problem solver, which the teacher needs to teach them how to do this. Philpott, TJ. Five Ways to Ignite Your Creative Intelligence. http://creativityforlife.com/2011/12/05/5-ways-to-ignite-your-creative-intelligence/ Sing, Lau, and Cheung Ping Chung. "Developmental Trends of Creativity: What Twists of Turn Do Boys and Girls Take at Different Grades?." Creativity Research Journal 22, no. 3 (July 2010): 329-336. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed December 6, 2011). Annotation: This source is about an experiment in China where researchers sampled 2,476 students from 4th-9th grade. They were tested with the new electronic WallachKogan Creativity Tests. The tests contained one instance item, two uses items, two similarities items, two line meanings items, and two pattern meanings items. The results from the test were calculated immediately. They found that boys in lower grades did better than girls, but that flipped as they observed from 7 th grade and on because girls started to do better. However, they found inconsistent results for if creativity increased or decreased with age.

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Stoltzfus, Geniffer, Brady Leigh Nibbelink, Debra Vredenburg, and Elizabeth Thyrum. "Gender, Gender Role, and Creativity," Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal 39, no. 3, (April 2011): 425-432. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed October 13, 2011). "THE HIDDEN SECRETS OF THE CREATIVE MIND." Time 167, no. 3 (January 16, 2006): 89-90. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed December 6, 2011). Annotation: This article is about an interview with psychologist R. Keith Sawyer who is the author of Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation and Francine Russo. In this interview they discuss how creative people think. Sawyer talks about how the common myth of having an aha! moment doesnt happen out of nowhere, without thought. He uses examples of famous people throughout history like the Wright brothers, Charles Darwin, T.S. Eliot, and Jackson Pollock to show how these people didnt have these magical ideas that popped out of thin air. Rather a chain reaction of ideas occurred that lead them to their final achievement. Sawyer also gives advice for the average person on how to become inspired. He recommends collaborating, taking risks, and not being afraid to make mistakes. This source is relevant reinforces other articles on how creative people arent afraid of being different. Left Behind http://pinterest.com/pin/298488521/ Annotation: This source is an image of a cartoon, which a message that is a hot topic in education. Since finding this image for this project, I have seen it used in two of my other educations classes this year so its quickly going around. Its a play on words with the No Child Left Behind Program that was started under George W. Bush. What started as having good intentions, I would argue, has overtime become a huge frustration for teachers, students, and parents. So as a future educator I agree with the artist that all the standardized tests that students have to take is turning them into possessed machines. Most are pressured to perform well, and they no longer have access to subjects that make them well-rounded students and later citizens. The Creative Adult http://pinterest.com/pin/246842581/ Annotation: This source is an image of typography that suggests that children lose their creativity, as they get older. Its relevant because the image itself is simple meaning that there is not much creativity left in society. I can also it suggesting that it is an accomplishment for adults who hold onto their child-like sense of thinking.