by Trenna Sue Hiler

Created on: December 04, 2008   Last Updated: January 09, 2012

Some times an allegory is the best way to reach someone, not everyone, but someone. Mrs Denten came marching into the kindergarten class room of Miss Visage. Mrs  Denten wore those shoes that always made it sound like she was marching. It was just her style.

Miss Vissage had the students in the back corner of the room and they were all wearing boxes. The boxes had been decorated, obviously by the children. There was a place for their head to pop out but their arms were inside the box. Miss Vissage was wearing a large box as well.

Mrs Denten picked up the book of lesson plans from Miss Vissage’s desk and began to read. When it was recess time Miss Vissage was called to the office over the school’s intercom. Mrs. Denten simply said, “Why do you turn in lesson plans and then go off course and do something as ridiculous and dangerous as putting children in boxes?”

Miss Vissage stood there for almost a minute saying nothing. Then came the words of wisdom and creativity that every teacher should be inspired to remember. “Lesson plans are a great idea and a good way to organize activities and make sure students get the basics they need. However, they should never stand in the way of teaching, in the moment, the things that students need now.” That is creativity in education.

Miss Vissage went on to explain the class as a whole had been having a problem with personal space. They had been grabbing each other, picking each other’s noses and it was getting out of hand. She had tried all the lesson plan ideas that she had put in the last three weeks. None of them was working. Tim, a quiet child in the class room, had piped up when someone kept tapping his head. “Maybe we should just wear boxes and then you could keep your hands to yourself.” Miss Vissage took the creative idea and ran with it.

Creativity requires a teacher to be able to fail and get up and look at the situation from a different point of view. Creativity in education requires a teacher and students to recognize diversity in the way people come to conclusions. Sometimes creativity means that the lesson plans for Tuesday have to be tossed out because there is something more important to learn.

Take a gander at another situation. The first day of kindergarten Pete came in and promptly climbed on top of the desk and stood very still. Miss Taylor quickly went to stand next to him and see what was happening.

"I am being a statue."

Now remember this is the first

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