Fantastic article on cultivating creativity in Newsweek:

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/10/the-creativity-crisis.html

“Preschool children, on average, ask their parents about 100 questions a day. Why, why, why—sometimes parents just wish it’d stop. Tragically, it does stop. By middle school they’ve pretty much stopped asking. It’s no coincidence that this same time is when student motivation and engagement plummet. They didn’t stop asking questions because they lost interest: it’s the other way around. They lost interest because they stopped asking questions.”

Amen.

Made me tear up when I read that portion as I reflect on my incredibly inquisitive preschool daughter and her 1,000 questions-a-day rate compared to the resistance many of my 8th Grade students have to asking questions. I hope she never changes. Ever. Nullius in verba and all that.

However, out of the ruins that have become our nationalized education system at large, I see tiny daisies of local promise sprouting up.

We’re on the verge of a major educational reform that will occur from the ground up. It won’t be an overnight process, but my childrens’ children will grow up with a very different system of education that is based on creativity, critical thinking and sustainability.

Viva la revolution and here’s to the crazy ones.