Creativity and Imagination in Schools: A Reflection on Practice

In this paper, I consider how valuing the arts, teaching artfully, thinking re ectively, and re-imagining the shape and scope of the classroom environment are elements of teacher practice critical in fostering creativity and imagination in the classroom. I share personal narratives of both my past school experiences and my son’s more recent experiences with school as I address the question, "What might the opportunity to imagine an alternative to today’s typical classroom look like, to envision a di erent perspective, and to do so within an aesthetic worldview?" Maxine Greene’s (1978) notion of "wide-awakeness" underpins my response.