The word aesthetics comes from the Greek word “aisthenesthai” which is the “ability to perceive.” I’ve always had a strong desire to explore teaching and learning as deep, rich, and aesthetic processes. Beautiful, life-giving, and creative rather than dry, boring, and joyless. Both teaching and learning require courage, an open heart, and the willingness to…
I once wrote an article with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi about how curiosity and exploration are fundamental to learning. Museums, for example, spark learning by capturing our curiosity with objects and ideas that seem foreign or mysterious. This leads to what he called the “flow state,” where learning feels effortless and intrinsically rewarding because it engages our…
My love for teaching began when I realized that I could be a learner when I teach. And in fact, I was a better teacher when I held that position. It’s amazing how greater wisdom comes through when we admit we don’t know and stop trying to figure it out. The first time I do…
One of my favorite books about art-making and creativity is Robert Henri’s The Art Spirit. Here are a few passages that stood out to me: “…we must get rid of this outside feeling of looking in on art. We must get on the inside and press out. Art is simply a result of expression during…
In her timeless book, If You Want to Write, Brenda Ueland captures a profound truth: “When we ignore the imagination, we stop living from our center, from the creative fountain, and we live from the periphery, from externals.” Ueland’s words strike at the heart of how imagination shapes the human experience. Too often, we allow…
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