Dr. Barber ran a workshop all about creativity in the classroom. She explained that we as teachers and learners are all in an escape room with our ideas and thoughts about music education. We need to escape from those ideas! We have to be able to see what’s missing, and what could be added in our classrooms. As educators, we want to lead students to these different escape rooms of ideas, but we first must visit the different rooms ourselves. She continued sharing that creativity is unique, personal and a process we all have to go through. Dr.Barber shared that we have to think of creativity as a constellation. People talk about what is easy to see, but there is so much more. Creativity has to be intentional, effective, real and complete. There has to be effort put into creativity, you can’t just wait to be inspired. I enjoyed the activity when Dr. Barber shared an image of the Toronto skyline without the CN tower. It was easy to see that the CN tower was missing, and if it was put back the skyline would be complete. Then Dr. Barber added some different buildings to the Toronto skyline showing us that we need to look not only for what’s missing but what we can add. I haven’t thought about teaching and learning music through that lens before and it has held my interest. As both a teacher and a learner, I need to see where I can add more buildings to the skyline. I can take a step away from what I already know and think in radical ways that can lead to change in the way I teach and learn music. As a future teacher, I hope to work with students and ask them what they think is going well about their learning and what can make it better. As students are challenged to add buildings to their educational skyline, I can see what the students think would benefit them as opposed to what I think the students would want. A part that surprised me and equally frustrated me was the opening introductions from Dr.Barber and the class. The introduction consisted of going around the room and sharing our names and some background information. I felt as though we were wasting valuable time we had to learn. I see the value in this activity, such as creating an open space to talk, a full introduction to the teaching style and a way to meet others in the workshop, but I did feel frustrated that we were wasting our limited time. This beginning and presentation challenged my assumption of what a lecture/speaker should do. I come from a church background where the audience sits and listens as the speaker talks without audience participation. This workshop showed me that as an educator, especially in the field of music teaching, I need to be open to teaching methods that are different than what I am used to. It has opened me up to the idea of a more discussion-based classroom where students direct their learning. Other ideas that can be incorporated into my teaching and learning is realizing that I can be creative without needing inspiration. The whole process of creativity is that you use your former knowledge to create new things. As a teacher, I can express to students that there is creative potential in each student and that there are ways to be creative based on prior knowledge vs inspiration. Overall Dr. Barber allowed me to think about different concepts that have challenged my assumptions and how I plan to teach in the classroom. I learned just as much from the example of teaching as I did from what she was saying.
