Over the years I have been very impressed by what Sir Ken Robinson has to say about creativity in our schools. He explains the problem with rote memorization and seems to speak to the distaste most Americans have for the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. Some of my friends have called out the NCLB Legislation; the No Child Allowed to Advance directive. I suppose that in some respects I agree with that observation. In one of Sir Ken Robinson’s most famous TED talks, he suggests that we should teach dance in our schools, yes, dance.
Why do you ask? Well, it is a creative exercise and it helps your brain to develop and think. You’re right, and now neurologists know why. The nerve endings are attached to the nerves that go up the spinal column and go directly to the brain, it is an extension of that system. In fact, if you want to learn more about all of this, maybe I can save you some trouble on your personal research, as I recently asked myself some of these questions, trying to confirm what many teachers and educators have speculated. decades. If this topic also intrigues you, there are some very good books that I would like to recommend you to read;
1. “The Artful Mind: Cognitive Science and the Riddle of Human Creativity”, edited by Mark Turner, Oxford University Press, New York, NY, 2006, 314 pages, ISBN: 978–0-19-530636-1.
This book is a compilation of peer-reviewed academic articles and essays on the subject, many of which have taken all the old works of famous dead white male psychologists and merged them with modern neuroscience. Some of which test what we inherently already know and have readily observed in case studies, other essays challenge the status quo and knowledge we thought we believed by turning everything upside down. Certainly a very important set of reading for anyone researching this topic.
2. “Dance/Movement Therapists in Action: A Working Guide to Research Options,” edited by Robyn Flaum Cruz, Cynthia Florence Berrol, Charles Thomas Publishers, Springfield, IL, 233 pages, ISBN: 978-0-39 -80750-40 .
Edited in a similar format, but the essays focus on what to do with all this new information and how best to use it for therapy. Not only does it do tremendous physical good, but it can be used creatively in therapy and learning to do wonders for cognitive ability, helping the student overcome challenges and increase their ability to think. It all starts with a little dance. I hope that when you have a change, you choose to dance. Please consider all this and think about it.
