Inspiration on a lazy Sunday afternoon: the Hornby music tradition

 In a 'previous life' I worked alongside pictorial archivists. I was always fascinated by their common question 'what's in the picture?' What are we seeing, what do we think is going on here?

I could ask that question here. It looks like a music duo performing in a beautiful setting. And it was.. the husband and wife duo 'Rockabella' (Nicky and Reuben) playing on a beautiful summer-like autumn afternoon at a beautiful bar/restaurant called 'The Black Door' located in Lincoln just outside Ōtautahi Christchurch.

I wouldn't be posting this here if there weren't a really interesting story here. Reuben was a member of the Hornby High School band 'Outer Control' that won Smokefree Rockquest in 1989. The members were Bobby Kennedy, Clinton Harris, Reuben Hiku, Pearl Runga, Hamish George, Glen Teasdale, Maree Maxwell (nee Blowers), Sarah Sharfe, Lisa Inglis, Lisa Wilson, Kate Hewson, Nelly Sione, and Teena Edens (now Edens-Finlay).

Here is a video of the band in 1990, the year after, again entering Smokefree Rockquest:

Two members of the band (Bobby and Clinton) went on to be members of kiwi band Opshop too.

Below is Reuben's younger brother Clayton, a musician in his own right, and currently assistant HOD of music at another secondary school in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Clayton was head student at Hornby in his Year 13 year.

Early on in the afternoon, one of the audience members was Clinton Harris, another member of 'Outer Control'. Clinton moved back to Ōtautahi a year ago, and currently has a demanding role in mental health. He commented that music is his 'release', his de-stressor from his work.

Let me interpret that: his creativity is his release from a stressful job, it is one way in which he maintains his balance in life. Reuben is a self employed businessman, as is Nicky. They both do stressful jobs. I suspect that for each of them their music, their creativity, is their 'release'. Professor Peter O'Connor and his team at the University of Auckland have written about the positive impact of a focus on creativity on our wellbeing.

These amazing people reflect a rich music tradition from Hornby High School. Of course back in the '80s and '90s creative excellence wasn't the 'vision' for the kura and its members (students and staff alike). There were however inspired and inspiring teachers who nurtured this talent, amongst them Pete Rainey, who was one of the founders of the Smokefree Rockquest. Both Clinton and Reuben talked of the inspiration that they got from Pete. Never underestimate the impact of one inspiring teacher. Professor Hattie's research says that the teacher makes the difference.

And never under estimate the power of a unifying vision in creating and building coherence, and commitment. Similarly never under estimate the impact of a coherent clearly espoused pedagogy (in our case 'Learn Create Share') on staff, learners, and outcomes.

Now teachers have been inspiring students since .. well 'forever' really. My hope, my expectation, is that when we identify creative excellence as our vision, we are more likely to inspire teachers to inspire students. Perhaps it's that teachers feel as if they have 'permission' to be that inspiring person that they really are, they feel that they have permission to inspire the young people with whom they work. Perhaps it's that more teachers feel that they have permission to inspire. Perhaps that is because they understand that the kura values this as an outcome of their mahi. What's more, I reckon that over time we are more likely to gather together teachers with this purpose in mind. That's what it feels like to be a part of the Hornby community. It's all a matter of being intentional and deliberate about this end goal. 

And it's not a bad idea to think about this in the context of the current teacher action in support of their 2023 contract claim. We need more teachers. We need more teachers who inspire our young people. We need them now. I feel privileged to be able to work amongst just such a group of educators.

I still hear those cries  of -'teachers.. overpaid and underworked, 12 weeks holiday a year, work 9-3" .. you know the sort. My answer to that is always the same: "if it's such an attractive profession, why aren't there queues of people lining up to become teachers?" If that were true, if teaching were such an attractive profession, we should have no recruitment problems at all.

Ask the average principal what it's like trying to recruit teachers right now, and what it has been like for possibly the last decade ... there is a shortage. Maybe it isn't as attractive, maybe it isn't as soft an option, as those on the neoliberal right would have us believe.

Footnote: having a free Sunday afternoon to spend listening to cool music over a glass of wine is a rarity in my life, and I reckon in the lives of most teachers. Whether as a classroom teacher or a Tumuaki, Sunday afternoons are normally spent working. Living the life.. eh

One student at a time.. indulging and sharing our creativity

We used to say 'how do you eat an elephant'? The answer is of course 'One bite at a time'. I'm not sure if that saying is still 'a thing'. Similarly, we could ask 'how do you change a society'? 'One person at a time'. Or alternatively how do you change a kura? One person at a time.

On today's walk around, I came across Bailey. His teacher Mrs Davis said 'Show Mr Sutton what you have been making.' Bailey had been using off cuts of card to 'make stuff'. Specifically, this stuff.

We talked about French armoured helms .. he was interested.

I showed Bailey these photos ...

That's me indulging a little of my own creativity making stuff from 'recycled materials'. Bailey and I connected.. he smiled, actually his eyes lit up (that's BIG!!), he could see the connection, the interest, we shared. We talked about 'creative excellence', and about our school vision 'he puna auaha, a centre of creative excellence'. We talked about stuff he could 'make'. 

This experience is enabled and strengthened because we have a school wide/shared pedagogy, 'Learn Create Share', one of the great gifts of our Manaiakalani kaupapa. I have repeatedly said that it is no coincidence that our vision is one of creativity, and that the word 'create' is at the centre of our pedagogy. That connection, that coherence, is empowering and powerful.

I may just have strengthened a relationship with, made an impact on, one young man today. And regardless of what Bailey makes next, we know that developing creativity improves our wellbeing. I am hoping .....

Slow it down, and pay attention

 I love wandering through our learning spaces. I love watching good teachers at work. I love watching engaged students. I love seeing creativity in action. Today I wandered into our creative arts spaces, places that feed my educator's soul (they all do, actually!!). I came across a session with Whāea Rowena in which the students were being challenged to draw from nature, specifically creating botanical drawings.

I was aware from some conversations we'd had last year that Whāea Rowena did this, but all the same seeing it in action drew a gasp. I had to race along to the sciences area right next door to see if there was a scientist free and able to come see.. there wasn't, they were all hard at work with groups of their own

So why the gasp? Why the excitement? 

First, I think what I was seeing was an outstanding example of cross curriculum work, albeit with a visual arts 'bent'. That in itself is awesome.

I also reckon I was seeing several essential components of creativity: slowing ourselves down, and taking time to observe the world around us. In one of my other careers I worked in a regional museum, and there I met with various natural scientists. One was studying the Cadis fly. He would go out at night and set light traps in which he would catch things that flew, and the next day he would analyse what was in the traps. He would then proceed to draw by hand the specimens he had trapped. He was credited with discovering at least one previously unknown species (is that the correct term?) of Cadis fly. Taking the time to draw by hand requires careful observation, and his drawings were meticulous in their attention to detail, and artful at the same time.

This also put me in mind of the work of Elwyn Richardson. Richardson would often take students outside and have them observe the natural world, and then engage with that in various creative media - drawing, lino cuts, sculpture etc. These are some examples:

'In the early world', Elwyn Richardson', page 238, NZCER

'In the early world', Elwyn Richardson', page 239, NZCER

'Elwyn Richardson and the early world of creative education in New Zealand', Margaret MacDonald, NZCER

I talked afterwards with Whāea Rowena. This class work practises a number of those skills so necessary for creativity, but those of most significance in my mind (as a non arts educator) are the two already mentioned: taking the time to slow down, and taking the time to observe the world around us and to wonder. 

It put me in mind of the work of Professor Peter O'Connor and his colleagues on creativity in schools. In particular it put me in mind of this beautiful book (which frankly I can't recommend enough!!):

And all of this put me in mind of a poem I wrote last year about creativity:

And again I have to say thank you to NZCER, and to author and research Margaret MacDonald, for making both Elwyn Richardson's original book, and Margaret's wonderful analysis, available to us. Their support has meant a lot for our team and their mahi.

I am pleased to say that Whāea Rowena's lesson is not unique in our kura. Our children are blessed when they are able to participate in experiences like these. They are all a part of our education journey as a kura, a journey guided by our vision 'he puna auaha, a centre of creative excellence', a journey facilitated by our underlying pedagogy 'learn create share', one of many of the taonga that we receive as part of The Manaiakalani Programme.

Having a working mental model to develop creativity

Maybe creativity is a pretty difficult thing to define. There are plenty of definitions, this one from Brittanica seemed as good as any:

"creativity, the ability to make or otherwise bring into existence something new, whether a new solution to a problem, a new method or device, or a new artistic object or form."

I have argued the case for creativity in many different ways (for example, here), although best of all you can get a copy of Professor O'Connor's paper here. In this paper Peter and the team provide the research basis for the wellbeing and academic benefits (amongst other things) of creativity.

I can't help thinking however that it may be slightly more problematic to gain general acceptance of a universal definition of creativity. Maybe defining 'creativity' may be as difficult as the Dr Who scriptwriters put it with the Doctor trying to explain the concept of time:

From our experience at Hornby High School, I certainly think that reaching some sort of loosely agreed paradigm, or conceptual framework, is useful, maybe essential, if we are to make sure that we continue to strengthen and embed creativity in all that we do. We began that journey in 2017 by setting a very ambitious vision for our kura "he puna auaha a centre of creative excellence". At least that said what we want to be, although it is still (I think) a work in progress to develop universal understanding of what that looks like within our kura.

In  response to my recent thinking about artificial intelligence and creativity (prompted by a quick dip into ChatGPT), Professor Peter O'Connor of the University of Auckland said this:

"If we looked at the eleven dimensions I’d say that it misses a number of things central to truly creative behaviour.  It is risk free if not averse, simply a tool for synthesising.  Its convergent rather than divergent and it merely solves problems not poses them"

Peter is referring to the 11 dimensions used in the Creative Schools Index identified as being important to the development of creativity.  

 

Source: https://creativeschoolsinitiative.org/creativity/

The index generates a summary of student perceptions about the creativity of their school experience. Here is the Hornby High School report for our Year 7 & 8 students.

Where are the gaps? What could we do better? How could we do it better? I guess you could say that the CSI is our 'theory of change', although I don't mean that in a strictly academic sense (I suspect i don't truly understand what it is in a strictly academic sense).

And then for Hornby High School, as a part of the Manaiakalani kaupapa, we have our 'Learn Create Share' pedagogy, placing creativity at the centre of 'how we cause learning'. Within this kaupapa we define the 'create' component like this:

Thanks to the work of Angela Taylor, our Uru Mānuka Education Programme Leader, for this slide

Here's the thing: in schools, if we have an intellectual framework, a mental model, that helps us to 'define', to 'understand', what we are trying to achieve, to tell us what creativity looks like. If you prefer,  we need a 'mental model' to tell us what behaviours contribute to creativity, then we are much more likely to achieve it.

At Hornby High School we are fortunate to have two complementary paradigms or frameworks within which to understand and frame our work in developing creativity. This is hugely helpful in building our individual and collective understanding of the mahi that we need to do. Each paradigm may appeal tom different teacher personalities, different world views. Some of us need quite specific detail, others of us are happier being given the general view of what something looks like, and then being allowed to get on with it.

AI and creativity: a slightly (too?) philosophical discussion

My very brief dabble with ChatGPT highlighted what I have felt is coming for some time: the capacity and potential of artificial intelligence to usurp our roles as creators. It has led me to think carefully about our vision as a school: 'he puna auaha a centre of creative excellence'. 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Creativity_questioned%3F_%2830255881531%29.jpg

This vision was partly driven by the belief that creativity is one of the key components that defines our humanity. These are the things that separate us from technology and AI. If AI can now replace us as creators (if!!), as it would seem ChatGPT and AI generally could do, then where does it leave us?

This has led me to arrive at a dichotomy best expressed in these two statements. 

1. 'We are creative because we are human'. That is, being creative is a fundamental part of being human. It helps to define us, it is an inherent part of our humanity. 
2. 'Because we are human, we are creative'. If you like, this is the idea that creativity feeds our 'souls' (not intended in a strictly spiritual sense), it nurtures our spirit, it provides a means to express who and what we are. It is an essential outlet for us,  it affirms our identity.

You may not agree with me (and that's fine, we need to be able to disagree), You may think that these mean the same thing, and that's fine too. To my way of thinking they have those different meanings. Maybe there is a better way to express it. With all of that said and done, I now think it is the latter. It is our humanity that drives a need to be creative.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-makes-us-human/ .. albeit a biological discussion, you get the idea

 

So while AI generally might well be able to produce a 'product' that appears to be creative, this does not usurp a fundamental role of creativity as an expression of our humanity. 

Perhaps foolishly I put the two phrases into ChatGPT, and got this back:

"The difference between the two sentences is the order of the clauses. The first sentence, "We are creative because we are human," implies that being human is the reason for our creativity. The second sentence, "Because we are human, we are creative," implies that being human is a prerequisite for our creativity. In other words, the first sentence is saying that our humanity causes our creativity and the second sentence is saying that our humanity is a necessary condition for our creativity."

Sort of... but not quite what I have tried to explain.

Does it matter? Perhaps not. Either way I still hold to my opinion that schools need to nurture creativity in their communities. Given the work of Professor Peter O'Connor and his team on the benefits of creativity to human wellbeing, and school achievement, it seems to me that to ignore its inclusion in our daily school life is foolish at least.

The ChatGPT response to leading for creativity in schools

 I have been prompted to take a look at the latest AI ChatGPT as a research and writing tool. I asked it this question: 'How do we lead schools to ensure greater creativity?'

Leading schools to foster greater creativity can be achieved through several strategies, such as: 

1. Encouraging a growth mindset: By promoting the idea that intelligence and abilities can be developed through hard work and perseverance, schools can create an environment that encourages students to take risks and explore new ideas.
2. Providing opportunities for self-directed learning: Allowing students to take ownership of their learning by giving them choice and autonomy can lead to more creative thinking.
3. Introducing a multidisciplinary curriculum: Offering a diverse range of subjects can broaden students' perspectives and spark new ideas.
4. Creating a supportive and safe environment: When students feel safe and valued, they are more likely to share their ideas and take risks.
5. Providing access to resources and technology: Providing students with access to a variety of resources and technology can inspire creativity and innovation.
6. Encouraging collaboration: Collaborative projects and activities can foster creativity as it allows students to bounce ideas off one another.
7. Implementing a Maker Space or Innovation Lab: Creating a dedicated space in school where students can experiment, create, and collaborate can inspire creativity and innovation.
8. Hiring and training teachers who are passionate about creativity and innovation.
9. Incorporating design thinking and problem-solving methodologies in the classroom
10. Celebrating and sharing student's creativity and innovation.

It's worth noting that fostering creativity is not only the responsibility of the school's leadership but also the teachers and students. It's also important to note that creativity may be fostered differently depending on the students and the context.

 It;'s relatively generic, but still useful. I need to sit back a digest this.

A culture of creativity, or a creative culture, or ... ?

It was early November 2022, and I was sitting on stage at our senior prize giving, a fairly traditional affair, but I like tradition. I like the celebration of achievement. At the end of the evening I was deliberate in acknowledging that not all achievement looks like this, that for example there are those for whom achievement is battling anxiety and getting to school in the morning. That comment alone drew an email of gratitude from a parent the day after the prize giving.

Anyway I was sitting on stage listening to the Head Student addresses (we have three Head Students, one for each 'kāhui' - our vertical pastoral groupings) and yet again one of our head students made reference to creativity, and our vision of creative excellence. No, this is not the first year that this has happened, I'd guess at least three times over the past few years, but memory is a dodgy thing, eh. 

Source: http://www.pz.harvard.edu/50th/creativity

This unprompted student reference (we don't tell them what to say) led me to thinking that something may be going on here. I wondered in particular if we are finally seeing something happening within the school culture itself. I wondered if we are seeing creativity embedded as part of 'how we do things' at Hornby High School.

That's traditionally how we define 'school culture'.  We tend to recognise this as 'the way we do things around here', and on the one hand this could be interpreted as the ways and means that we employ, the mechanistic approaches we use, in getting things done. At Hornby High School we make this visible on our staff site in this way. 

On the other hand it could really mean 'the way we do things around here', as in what we value, the beliefs we hold that drive our daily actions. And this reference to creativity made me wonder what progress we had made: do we have a creative culture, do we have a culture of creativity, do we have something else, something far less interesting and profound? These are not the same things.

To be honest I don't know. I'd LIKE to think that we are growing a culture of creativity, a culture in which increasingly staff, students, Board members, and community, share a common belief in the importance and value of creativity as we go about our business. I have worked hard to try to bring creativity to the fore in our mahi. In 2022 we published our first ever student poetry year book- ka rawe!!!! Each year we award a prize for 'creative excellence' (sponsored by the Hornby Rotary Club), something NOT limited to the creative and performing arts (although this year with Nadia we had a truly outstanding recipient with an extraordinary performing arts background).

I've written before about this idea that we are what we repeatedly do, what we repeatedly talk about, what we repeatedly think about. In a quote usually attributed to Aristotle, we'd say “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." It does appear that this quote in fact comes from a more recent philosopher, Will Durant. Try a quick Google search. Frankly though I'm not too worried about who said it, but more about the sentiment, one that I hold close. If we repeatedly talk about valuing creativity, AND if we repeatedly ensure that our actions demonstrate that value, then over time I believe that we will build a culture of creativity in our community.

We see increasing levels of creativity across many curriculum areas. For a second year in a row we have made a successful application to the Ministry of Education to host a 'Creatives in Schools' programme with the amazing Dr Claire Hughes (thank you Ministry of Education). We foster and publish student creative work, whether poetry or art, tech projects or maths.

Many staff have embraced our creative approaches to timetable and curriculum innovation, despite the pressure this puts on them to change how they personally do things. The year 2023 will see a significant shift in timetable and curriculum, as a consequence of their thinking.

So, are we creating a culture of creativity? Are we creating a creative culture? I'd like to think that both statements are correct, but it's perhaps not for me to judge, but rather for our community, our tamariki, our staff, to judge. I may be 'over egging the custard' as a former Headmaster of mine used to say (I loved that saying), but I can't help feeling that there is something quite profound to be read into these spontaneous references to creativity being made by head students after their 7 years in our kura.