What if students could read what they want? Read how they want? No left to right....no top to bottom?
Would students be able to take risks because they wouldn't be wrong?
Yes, and yesterday, as we wrote into the day, Steven Johnson visualized how creativity and ideas come to be. With no teacher restraints, would students develop hunches? Would they explore them?
Yes, and Lacy made us think in her presentation, "Where Words Go," about this as we explored the lined paper society pushed upon schoolchildren as we teach them to write. It was a totally out-of-the-box way of thinking. It was the thinking that we would love to instill in our students.
Yes, and how do our "rules" impact student creativity?
Yes, and what if we abandoned rules and gave students a trusted writing community? What if students develop bonds and trust with a few fellow classmates who reflect and give non-judgemental feedback as Cindy and Steve describe in their "Peer Writing Groups" presentation?
Yes, and what if we try something new as teachers, just as we encourage our students to do in our classrooms?
Yes, and what if...?
This thinking about rules is so interesting. You are making me think about where rules come from... is it possible to not have any rules? I have spent a lot of time watching kids in pretend play. On one hand it seems like this is a free (unruled) kind of activity. It is I think pretty much in terms of official, mandated kind of rules, like lined paper. But pretend play is all about rules. "You be the mama. I'll be the baby." "This is our house." And I am thinking now about how even those rules are not value free (include all sorts of social and societal rules.) Thanks for getting me thinking!
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