Meet Rina. YouTuber, Suzuki violinist, and soon to be 8th grader. Clearly, Rina is NOT a morning person, which she hilariously demonstrates in this homemade video.
Rina and her mom are signed up to participate in The Anti-Boring Approach to Powerful Studying this summer. I haven’t met Rina yet, but I already know we’ll get along great. After all, she’s got the gumption to create this video and share it with the world!
Rina is exactly the kind of student I’m excited to serve: super creative, filled with ideas, and courageous enough to take action on those ideas.
The problem for these kids often is that there doesn’t seem to be room at school to act on their crazy, quirky ideas. School seems to be about doing what the teacher thinks is interesting and important…not what YOU are on fire to learn.
In my years coaching these creatives, I’ve learned that there is a particular mindset that limits their ability to learn effectively in a school environment.
When we shift this mindset, students’ whole relationship to learning changes as well…as do their test grades and their self-confidence.
The limiting mindset is: “School is about doing what the teachers wants me to do. My creativity doesn’t belong there unless the teacher says so.”
A more freeing mindset is: “I can be in charge of how I bring my creativity into learning. I can learn what the teacher wants me to learn AND be creative.”
Our education system trains kids to follow someone else’s directions at school; it doesn’t train them to think about their learning, and apply their natural skills and abilities to this learning.
I’ve started asking my clients to look at their assignments and think, “Why did your teacher assign this worksheet? What’s the hidden learning purpose?” Once they get good at identifying the learning purpose, I ask, “How can you achieve this learning purpose in your own, creative way?”
Through these questions, kids exercise their skills at meta-cognition (which means “thinking about our thinking”). The better students get at this skill, the more easily they are able to integrate their true, creative, authentic selves in many more areas of their lives.
Their creativity becomes a fluid, dynamic presence in all areas of their lives — rather than a fun thing they squeeze in between school responsibilities.
If you are a creative kid who feels stifled at school — or if you’re the parent of one — I urge you both to join me for the Anti-Boring Approach to Powerful Studying. We’ll dive deeply into this topic and practice ways to be so creative that you are INSPIRED (rather than bored) at school.
P.S. If you’re not convinced that an online learning experience can be both fun & effective, take a free sneak peek!