Week 2 response to Bruce Kramer

This book is dangerous! Why? Because, it does an excellent job of defining and inspiring the uses of creative practices. So why is that so dangerous? Well the focus is so much on the practice of creativity and how to do it and do it better that the purpose of creativity is put aside or takes a back seat to just the practice of it. So the danger of this book is its potential to be taken out of context of the bigger picture of life. Let me clarify with an example we EMDT students can understand. We are learning great techniques at Full Sail on how to use state of the art media to improve our delivery of education. The danger of focusing so much on the techniques is that we can miss out of the purpose of why we are educating in the first place and what is it that we want our students to learn. So it is with this book, when the practices of creativity become more of the priority then the purposes, the proper order of approach gets turned around.

For instance, the first chapter “It’s all invented” is a great way to examine your presuppositions to your outlook on life and prepare yourself to change, that which is only your ideas or your culture’s. The danger is that believing “ALL” is invented and treating it as such will undermine the truth of that which is created and the reason for which it was created. Of course the solution to this dilemma is quite simple. Just remember to place the context of this book’s teaching in it proper place as a tool for learning the process of examining our concept of the truth instead of elevating the process as the truth itself. It is in that way we can work with the idea that “It’s all Invented” and protect the truth that some things are created for a purpose.

With this approach it become beneficial to examine the measurement systems we use and determine which are healthy and which need to be removed. That choice can be made having the understanding that some measurement systems are in place for a reason. So when we have the grace to give ourselves and others an A, we can see it is something to live up to and live into, instead of saying I am an A now… I don’t have to do anything since I already have it. From this line of reasoning, we can now make it possible to become contributors to the life we live around us.

Edwin said...

Bruce, You points are very interesting and makes me think about it compared to the book. I agree that one needs to understand the reason before you can move and create. I do think that your example for the program is partially accurate. We all have our learners in mind to what we need them to learn but that is different for each one of us in the program. We arm ourselves with the tools to make those education possibilities reality to our learners. I do agree that saying I am an A can be dangerous for those that cannot control the power that the concept may have but we as the guide must set some boundaries to keep them grounded on the true intention of why you are an A.