The Creative Classroom

I am reading Personal & Authentic by Thomas C. Murray.  In Chapter 5, he references John Spencer's video that explains how consuming information intentionally sparks creativity.

Take a look at John Spencer's two-minute video:

On January 19, 2020, Brad Pitt won a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award, and acknowledged that he learns from and admires his fellow actors. He said, "I want you to know I watch everything, I watch you all, and the work has been mesmerizing, so I thank you." As John Spencer noted in his video, "When you look at makers, they are often critical consumers of the same type of work they create." Brad Pitt is a curator, and he takes what he consumes, becomes inspired, and turns it into his own award-winning performances.

I see this with my own 12-year son, who watches hours of basketball and football plays on YouTube, and I allow this, because I have seen the transfer onto the basketball court and football field. "Where did he learn to do that?" is often a question I am either asked directly or I overhear another parent saying out loud. My son is an athlete. He scours youtube looking for footage of professional athletes. He studies what they do, and then he goes out there, plays and experiments, and makes what he curated his own.

"Makers are frequently consuming, but they are doing it with intentionality."

Ultimately, that is what we want for our students. This is the highest point of Bloom's Taxonomy, taking what one learns and making something new.