I’ll never forget the moment that sparked my book Getting Messy: A Guide to Taking Risks & Opening the Imagination. I was teaching in the teacher credentialing program at UC Berkeley, and one of my students—a soon-to-be teacher—asked if I had any tips for “keeping things under control” in the classroom. She wanted things to…
There was a particular moment in my teaching career when I asked a room full of graduate students to imagine a world beyond what they saw around them. We were discussing creativity, and I could sense their hesitation—they were accustomed to relying on facts, on what was tangible and “real.” I shared that Einstein once…
In my 25 years of teaching—across graduate schools and diverse programs—I’ve seen that while many educators, trainers, and coaches emphasize content and strategies, it’s the opening of space that’s transformative. When we only focus on content, learning and growth become static. There’s no room to let the wisdom under the surface reveal itself. It’s in…
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…
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…
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