The Creative Learning Community

The Creative Learning Community

1) A Special Place – There are many aspects to creating a special place. Firstly it is important that I centre myself in meditation and bring the children before me. This may need a different place depending on the time of day. At night I need the quiet of my study to reflect upon the needs of each of the children in my care. On rising, the thoughts that I have taken into sleep are fashioned into the realities of lessons that I will bring to the children. On arriving at school I will warm the classroom space both physically and energetically. When the children arrive I will greet them and talk with them. The children are then called to order by reciting a verse (by Rudolf Steiner) with arms folded in a gesture of reverence.

“Quiet I bare within me
I bare within myself, forces to make me strong
Now will I be imbued with their glowing warmth
Now will I fill myself with my own will’s resolve
And I will feel the quiet pouring through all my being
When by my steadfast striving I become strong
To find within myself the source of strength
The strength of inner quiet”

2) Networked Learning Within the creative leaning community there are social mechanisms for networking. Within the parent body there are willing and diversely talented people



3) Community The core values of the particular school will often determine the philosophical slant that is given to lessons and it is essential that all staff members are enabled to understand these core values and modify any personal expressions of their own beliefs when dealing with children. A sense of community can be strengthened by involvement in festivals, plays, sporting events, fund raising, concerts, etc. Communities are complex and delicate organisms and need careful nurturing. The diverse nature of members require special skills by management. Creative pursuits are often the best.


4) Reflection Most often the busy nature of the day can obscure this most important aspect of teaching and indeed of life. It is essential to go back over the day and in particular, the children,s reaction to the lessons and to the myriad social situations. Steiner stressed the importance of doing this meditation in reverse order to gain control of deeper aspects of the mind.


5) Deep Learning Within the creative process deep learning is at the heart of all good education and we as teachers must lead the students towards this through educational situations which enable them to move beyond rote learning by expressing their own creativity and evaluating and analysing their ideas while applying these new found ideas to new situations.


6) Gifts and Talents As we can see in Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, we need to acknowledge the many different ways in which children learn and the varied talents which they bare. So often the student is expected to learn in a manner which is not suited to them.


7) Power and Function The structure of management is essential to the running of a creative school. Clear direction is essential to prevent fragmentation. Freedom to create and to be entrepreneurial within the guidelines of the community. A strong financial structure supports activities that would normally be risky.

8) Creativity The creativity of the teacher is essential to foster interest in the students and is possibly the most important tool that a teacher can possess. The creativity of the students is enhanced by being involved in creative projects, where diverse talents can be allowed to shine.


9) Transformation of the Individual Through the involvement in creative teaching environments the individual is able to reach new heights of excellence and creativity and is thus transformed rather than being stifled in the yearly repetition of crusty old lessons.


10) Transformation of the Culture of the School A school which fosters a creative environment not only transforms old ways but creates for itself a niche market which if nurtured properly, can become a centre of excellence in a region.