by Jamie Maggio

Created on: November 18, 2008   Last Updated: March 15, 2012

Dressed up in a Roman stola and palla, I parade into my classroom with a plate full of Greek foods. The students taste spinach pies, cheese pies, flaming cheese, phylo dough, and many other treats of this ethnic cuisine. We are reading Julius Caesar. The children are actually interested. How can you bring creativity into the classroom? Just use your imagination!

Teaching is one of the hardest and most rewarding jobs in the world. You are helping to mold the minds of our future. While it is difficult, being creative in the classroom is a benefit for both teachers and students. Let us remember a movie called "Dead Poet's Society" starring Robin Williams. When I was in high school I wanted to be that teacher. I had that teacher. She made me love English and life like no other teacher ever had done. At the end of our school year, each student stood atop the desk and shouted, "Oh captain, my captain!" She embodied creative teaching.

Shakespeare! Is that the old man that talks funny in his stories and plays? Yes, perhaps to some. However, getting students interested in this old man is not as difficult as it seems. Putting some creative power into your teaching could have them loving Shakespeare and learning about the world without them even realizing it. While reading Romeo and Juliet, don't just assign a few chapters and expect the students to be ready to discuss it on the next day. Read it with them! Explain the challenges these young lovers faced and have them associate it with their daily lives. Dress up in the clothing from those times. Let them sample some sweetmeats or pasties.

During a history lesson of the Holocaust speak frankly to the students. Tell them the horrors of the concentration camps, let them look up information, bring pictures, and perhaps even have a lesson on discrimination. My teacher had a woman who had survived the holocaust come in and speak with us. It is something I will never forget. It was 15 years ago and I can remember her crackling German voice like it was yesterday. She told us that she had seen a lampshade made of human skin skin that was of one of her Jewish friends. These are lessons that students do not forget.

Don't be an idle participant in the classroom. Make your students get involved in the lessons. Have them sit in a circle so they can see each other, speak freely, and talk to you as if they were not below you. This does not mean you cannot keep respect from your students. In fact, I've found they respect you more when you show them that you understand that they are intelligent. Be creative. Write that lesson plan with yourself in mind. What would you like to learn about? What would you like to see from that time period? Just remember that you hold the future in your hands and creativity is the key to get them to learn.

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