As I drove to work this morning, I considered the phrase “thinking outside the box.” I wonder, “Is the most apt description for innovative or creative thinking?”
When I am inside the box can I really see outside and look around effectively? I could just be hanging on for dear life. Or, when I am outside the box, can I see inside? When I wrote my candidacy paper, I interviewed the first principal of our unique, alternative school and he provided an appropriate metaphor for innovative and creative organizations-a corral fence. I wrote the following poem and tried to capture what I think he meant.
Innovate
A fence
with railings
see in or out
allow perspective.
Flow and rhythm
information in; information out
nourish
enrich
affirm
recycle
breathe and flex.
Part of a whole
complex, yet simple
reach beyond my world
one piece of a puzzle.
Present
to our self
to the world.
Never box me in.
This fit with a song I heard by Ben Harper called With my Own Two Hands. He used to front a band called the Innocent Criminals and that drew me to his music. Enjoy this creative artist.
ivonprefontaine
Teacher as Transformer 