Returning to
the early world of creative education
Elwyn Richardson 1925-2012
He toi whakairo he mana tangata – where there is artistic excellence
there is human dignity.
Back to the
future
There was a
time when New Zealand primary education was internationally recognised for
placing the learner at the centre of learning. When
education was driven by a belief in the creative power of the learners
themselves; when learning was based on the internal and external lives of the
But sinceTomorrows Schools things have changed. Today schools have been distracted by
assessment, achievement data and measurement by standards. The evidence is becoming clear in our rush to
towards achieving measurable results children’s curiosity has been eroded.
As part of this change educational decision making has
shifted from innovative teachers to political imperatives and their non-teaching
policy makers. Today ‘flexible learning environments’ and access to modern
information technology are seen as the answer, associated with all the
appropriate words: student agency, collaborative learning and teacher teamwork.
For all this what has been forgotten that it is the
quality of the teacher that ensure such modern environments are conducive to
learning; it’s the pedagogy, or teaching beliefs, that teachers hold is all
important.
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| Dr Beeby |
New Zealand’s earlier recognition was based on the
writings of outlier Sylvia Ashton Warner,
the developmental programmes led by junior school teachers , the leadership of the then Director of Education Dr Clarence Beeby who
created the environment for educational transformation and Dame Marie Clay.
And, of course, the ideas were not entirely new having their genesis in the writings of American Educator John Dewey..
And, of course, the ideas were not entirely new having their genesis in the writings of American Educator John Dewey..
Dr Beeby appointed Gordon Tovey to develop an art advisory service who were integralto the identifying and supporting creative teachers throughout the country and
in the spreading of creative teaching ideas; an education where feeling and
intellect, living and learning were inseparately intertwined.
Time to place
student creativity central once again
Today we have
come full circle and it time to put the lives of our children and our trust in
their creative power back into classroom practice.
The
creativity of pioneer teacher Elwyn S Richardson
One teacher
stands out as the best known exemplar of such teaching- Elwyn S Richardson.
I wonder how many teachers today are even aware of the pioneer creative work
achieved by Elwyn.
The book is
timely indeed as essential elements of child centred practices have been
diluted, even distorted, by those who have little
understanding of how students learn and the reality of being a classroom teacher and with their desire to assess and measure learning – in the process narrowing the curriculum and the side-lining of the creative arts.
A community of scientists and Artists
Elwyn saw his
classroom as a busy community of scientists and artists
whose role with him as their guide to explore their natural world and the world
of their feelings; students active in the process of seeing themselves as
worthwhile individuals.
Tomorrows
Schools side-lined creative teachers
Before
Tomorrows Schools it was creative teachers who were seen as the key to
educational transformation. Today the power lies with the curriculum
developers, accountability experts, and
The 2007 New
Zealand Curriculum, having been side-lined by the previous government, now
needs to be fully implemented.
Developing a meaningful curriculum based on curiosity.
Elwyn forged
connections with the children’s lives and created a meaningful curriculum.
He placed student curiosity at the
heart of all that was done focussing on intriguing questions that motivated
them to pursue avenues of inquiry naturally integrating the curriculum. He
encouraged the freedom to explore, the opportunity to observe closely, and the
discipline to record findings in various ways, He upheld the value of the arts
and realised that one subject informs another; that scientific understanding is
enhanced by the aesthetic, and vice versa.
Development of high standards of excellence
Like JohnDewey he did not allow just any activity to count as learning.
He challenged children to explore, ask questions, try things out, consider
alternatives, and craft and recraft to produce high quality work; art work
worthy of exhibitions, science projects like those of real scientists, vivid
poetry and other writing published in regular school magazines. This is
teaching at its finest. Children like
adults, enjoy the feelings of being stretched and achieving something they are
proud of. At his school, Oruaiti in the far north, his pupils were afforded
the dignity of being taken seriously as critics, writers, artists, scientists
and thinkers.
Breaking away from teacher dominated approaches.
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| Printing on cloth |
Elwyn’s book
outlines his own story in breaking away from the then teacher dominated
approach in the process learning to trust the creative power of the children. In this respect he is both a teacher and a learner constantly, through child and error
searching for the balance between being a teacher and being a learner. The book shows that he struggles with this
dual role; ‘Am in over directing or am I under directing’ and he often
abandons his own planning in favour of the teachable moment. In the end the children
are triumphant and the learning is based on their own lives. Real satisfaction
comes from losing oneself in a subject which evokes a depth of focus and
appreciation giving children licence to bring who they are and what they
cherish to their learning.
This is
teaching as an art form; the artistry of the creative teacher.
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| Observing nature |
The student’s
work, which is a feature of Elwyn’s book underlies how values and excellence
are formed in the process of creative achievement. Elwyn’s
process is based in recognising small
excellences in student’s work and through discussions developing community
standards of excellence. Such minor excellences were seen as stepping stones
for further thinking and in-depth expression.
Developing
such standards of excellence is the professional artistry of a caring teacher
who esteemed the voice and thinking of the children. This is in
strong contrast to today where students are judged against adult standards and
criteria that impinge on student’s individuality. Such current teacher
dominated approaches are the antithesis of chid centred learning, all about
conformity rather than creativity.
Student creativity taken seriously
The work included in Elwyn’s book shows that his student’s took their work seriously;
the
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| Observation to printing |
The process
was a delicate one, with the teacher leading and directing but at the same time
humbly ready to learn from the children. The idea
that that the end product doesn’t matter –it’s only the process, is simple
minded. Children will only grow in a classroom where high standards prevail and
where their work will be tested by the critical insight of others. Each new achievement is a springboards
for later leaps in imagination and understanding. In such a learning
community students are perpetually
challenged to achieve their creative powers and the work they create
becomes a record of their achievements.
Developing security for student creativity
The patterns
of work in Elwyn’s classroom was akin to being a science and art workshop with
enough structure to provide students with the security necessary to be creative.
Sometimes
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| Drawing of roosters |
Elwyn’s book
provides a way through the current compliance environment (for both teachers
and students) that the past decades have imposed. Many teachers
will not be aware of alternatives and, for them, the first step would be to
acquire his book In the Early World
and be inspired by the creativity of Elwyn’s teaching and his student’s
creativity.
A slow transformation into a creative community
Every
classroom can be transformed into a learning community and slowly more and more
choices given back to the student’s as teachers gain confidence and student’s
independent working skills. Going too fast might be
counterproductive and every teachers needs to design their
own progress. A good time to experiment might be at the
end of the term when you will have the time in the holidays to reflect on
how it went and what you might do next time. And it is good advice to work
slowly towards developing a truly creative classroom by the end of the school
year. In this way you will be imitating the trial and error process that underpinned Elwyn’s development as a
teacher. With time teachers will move
towards the satisfaction of this kind of teaching.
Planning the school day link
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| Rooster painting |
Planning the school day link
Acknowledgment of sources.
To write the above I have unashamedly made use of
phrases from the introduction Elwyn’s book Inthe Early World – particularly the forewords to the original and the recent
edition and the preface to Elwyn Richardson and the early world of creative education in New Zealand by Margaret McDonald (NZCER 2016). For those interested in the historical development of
creative education in NZ I recommend the later.
Taranaki developments 1970
until Tomorrows Schools 1985
A group of
teachers in Taranaki in the 70s developed ideas inspired by Elwyn’s writings
and friendship. One teacher, Bill Guild, wrote a photo book of
his student’s achievements A World of Difference a summary of is well worth a look.
Further writings about Elwyn Richardson:
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