Intentiveness

There are countless things schools, and the teachers within them, can do to foster creativeness and imagination in a learning environment.  Although I am quite biased, I believe that encouraging the Fine Arts would be beneficial to all.  Whether it be Speech, Choir, Band, Orchestra, Drawing, Pottery, Drama or the like, these activities have the potential to encourage students to expand their mind.  This does not mean, however, that inspiration is guaranteed. It does allow an environment where creativity can flow. Often this is because there is not a "right" answer, where as some other classes may stifle creativity by saying there is one right answer, and only one way to get to that solution. Creativity is imperative to this day and age as many people have deemed it nonexistent anymore. We need to show children that we haven't discovered anything; that this is far from the truth. Ideas don't have to be recycled, but can be made new. Creativity, is therefore, important for those that want to get ahead in life - new ideas are extremely valuable. There are many other ways that imagination can be fostered in schools, and no matter by what means this is done, it is important that schools find ways for kids to utilize their creativity.

Reflection - Not Just a Song from Disney's Mulan

Genuine reflection is quite hard to come by.  It is difficult for the entire process of reflection to be successful, as it requires one to look at what their goals are, how far they have come to reach them, and if original standards have been met. There have been times, I hate to admit, when teachers have encouraged reflection assignments after projects that I have not been honest on.  I wrote what I thought they wanted to hear. For me, these assignments may be good for triggering ideas, but I think reflection is really an inner process. I internalize my goals and look back on what I have done constantly. It is not something you do once you have finished a project, but a continuing process that helps one in every aspect of life. This use of genuine reflection can cause great growth in the classroom when implemented correctly. It lays out personal guidelines for one to gain knowledge and grow. Although forcing students to fill out mindless worksheets would not be my way of encouraging reflection in the class, it is an integral part of the growth of both students and teachers.

Passion

A teacher's excitement about a subject plays a great role within a class's response to what they are learning. My favorite subject, aside from music, has by and large always been social studies. My history classes growing up were never boring nor did I ever struggle with relating to what we were learning about. I owe this to the teacher I had that instilled a passion for history in me. They didn't make this subject learning about a distant past, but about lives that are relatable and relevant to those we live out today. Had this enthusiasm and passion been lacking, I am quite positive I would not have enjoyed learning about dead people or memorizing dates and events anywhere near as much as I did. To me, it wasn't a simple memorization game, but the lasting influences and how events played out to effect how we live today.

On another note, I have never been especially keen on the science. No matter how passionate a teacher was about electrons, amino acids, or acceleration caused by gravity, I hated science. Although their passion may not have caused me to drop my flute and pick up a beaker, it did make heading to the lab a little less intimidating. Their love for science made it a little less hated in my eyes. If they could tolerate it, so could I, as their enthusiasm made this seemingly intolerable subject somewhat fun. Be it forcing a child to take a second look at a dreaded subject or encouraging a love for learning, a teacher's passion for their subject can have drastic influences upon their students.