Congratulations to Marjorie and the team who contributed to the book, Creative Genius: How to Grow the Seeds of Creativity in Every Child. Prior to the book's release we shared advance copies with some key creativity experts. The response was validating and hugely positive. Marjorie feels honored by their praise of Creative Genius.
I have watched Marjorie for years pore over much of the academic literature and information about creativity. Her art studio looks like an Amazon warehouse. In the book's creativity guide, she is able to take this research about the creative process and make it accessible to the layperson.
Inspired by Example
Another thing that stands out to me is that Marjorie provides detailed, clear, and often funny examples for nearly every one of the lesson plans in Creative Genius. This sets the tone, shows the reader what's possible, and helps them understand the goal of a given activity.
For instance, in "Karenology," a fluency exercise, the student lists different ways to spell a name within a given time. With the name "Karen," Marjorie provides a list of 123 spellings. In another lesson plan, the student writes a story using palindromes. Her example is a clever, 125 word story using 30 palindromes. Each example turns on a light of understanding and makes it exciting.
The Future is Now
IBM conducted a survey a couple of years ago of 1,500 CEOs in which they cited creativity as the number one “leadership competency for the future.” The news release is here. As educators and parents we have to find and nurture the creative talent in our kids. As Marjorie says in the book, "The most highly intelligent among us are not necessarily the most highly creative. The most highly creative are usually very intelligent, but not always top students…. Be on the lookout to identify potential creative geniuses in your classroom. The mind-wandering student with a B-minus in science just might become the Thomas Edison of tomorrow."
If I may be permitted a moment of reflection, I am proud of my part as creative director and project manager for Creative Genius. But now, it's time to get the word out, and there's a lot more work to do.
What are your thoughts about growing creativity? Any experiences or anectdotes you can share?
Image Edited Photo: Our son, age 11, after conquering the Great Wall of China. ©Marty Safir