I was in Boulder, CO last week for the Boulder Journey School Summer Conference. As more than one person asked me, "Why were you at an early childhood education conference?"
Fair question.
The short answer was the school's founder, Dr. Ellen Hall, and I serve together on the board of another non-profit, Nature Explore. Ellen Hall paved the way for the invitation to speak and attend both days of the conference.
The longer answer is, beyond speaking on creative thinking, it was a welcome change to be surrounded by people and an environment fostering in children the same types of creative thinking we try to instigate among adults in the business world.
And as expected, it was an incredible learning experience.
I’ll share various creative thinking insights and images from the Boulder Journey School Summer conference this week; they are all related to the adult world of strategy, creativity, and innovation we cover.
Today, here are creative thinking quotes and comments that resonated and pushed my own thinking:
Creative Thinking Quotes Mentioned During Presentations
"You can't do a good job unless you're keen on it yourself." - quoting David Hawkins
- You can get by doing something for the sake of doing it. You'll excel by doing what you love and sharing it with others.
"To be in dialogue means to accept transformation." - quoting Carlina Rinaldi, President of Reggio Children
- By extension, if you want powerful transformation, incorporate the conversations and voices of many people.
"If you have no bloody owies, you're being too careful. If you have more than three bloody owies, you're probably not being careful enough." - quoting Teacher Tom
- This does a lot better job of conveying the whole "you have to fail to succeed" perspective than anything else I’ve seen on the topic.
"To listen is not to fit what we hear into what we already know, but rather to be poised for the possibilities of what we are about to come to know." - quoting Davies
- You have to enter into conversation with openness or you are just wasting everyone's time. Both sides of many current national debates would do well to follow this.
Live Creative Thinking Quotes from Speakers
"I have a lot of learning to do, that's why I'm up here presenting today." - Jen Selbitschka, Studio Teacher
- The best way to find out what you know, don't know, and are still learning is to teach it to someone else.
"You can't bring seventy-five people together and make a decision." - Andrea Sisbarro, School Director at Boulder Journey School
- A great reminder of the responsibility involved in bringing a large group of people together. You owe it to them to use their talents and time in the most productive way.
"You could look at turning over 41 interns every year as a disaster, or you can see it as a great opportunity to bring new learning into the school." - Alison Maher, Education Director at Boulder Journey School
- New voices mean new learning, if you are open to taking advantage of it.
"The best thing about dandelions is nobody cares if you pull them up." Another Teacher at the Boulder Journey School
- Another great perspective on the value of building something out of things, people, ideas, strategies that others have passed over as inconsequential.
"What are we working on together?" - Mary Jane Moran
- How about altering this slightly to, "What can we be working on together?" What a great conversation starter to break down barriers!
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