It is important to see that YOU are already your own coach and you can enhance your own personal creativity each day.

The positive experience of the educator can be modeled by YOU as you provide for your students  a mentor and coach to inspire creativity in gifted children’s lives.

Creativity is a decision, a commitment and it requires continued attention, study and practice. But, I guarantee that the results will be invaluable in your own life and in the lives of your students.

After all the study and practice, our goal is balance.

Robert Sternberg has a great statement to that effect:

• Successful individuals are those who have creative skills, to produce a vision for how they intend to make the world a better place for everyone; analytical intellectual skills, to assess their vision and those of others; practical intellectual skills, to carry out their vision and persuade people of its value; and wisdom, to ensure that their vision is not a selfish one.  

In the midst of personal, economic and global turmoil, we are all feeling more limitation and constraints, more challenges, stresses and pressures.

But, we do not have to contract our energies and give up, we can make the DECISION to forge our way into a life of greater creativity and create a culture of mastery, creativity and adventure in our world of influence.

We all have the spark inside that guides us to greater things.

And, together, I am confident, we will rise to the challenge of greater creativity.

Creative performance is often viewed as a solitary occupation. In reality, people often work in groups and should be encouraged in gifted children.

Collaboration can spur creativity. Teachers can encourage children to learn by example by collaborating with creative people.  (Sternberg)

Creative collaboration can help social skills when activities are guided so that everyone’ contribution is valued. As a class activity, it can increase trust for the introverted students to feel more comfortable sharing their ideas with other and with extroverted students to see it is acceptable and preferred for them to be themselves and not just conform to peer expectations.

An essential aspect of working with other people and getting the most out of collaborative creative activity is to imagine oneself in other people’s shoes. Individuals can broaden their perspectives by learning to see the world from different points of view. -

Sternberg states, teachers and parents should encourage their children to see the importance of understanding, respecting, and responding to other people’s points of view. This is important, as many bright and potentially creative children never achieve success because they do not develop practical intelligence. They may do well in school and on tests, but they may never learn how to get along with others or to see things and themselves as others see them.

Gaining practice in developing this perspective can help introverts come out of their shell. It can help them see that other people are not so different and do experience similar feelings. It can reduce their feelings of isolation and help them develop trust with peers and the teacher.