Idea File Fall 2023

Middle School Moment | 7

path of least resistance. Without mastering fundamental skills, creativity will never be harnessed. So train their eyes and ears. Show them beautiful design. Read them great stories. Build a collection of masterful examples from which they can draw inspiration. I don’t let my students design without inspiration. Whenever a student comes to me with a troublesome design, I always ask to see their inspiration. About 99% of the time, they don’t have ER] LIRGI XLI MWWYI 8LI] GERƅX Ƽ\ something when they don’t even know there is a problem. Inspiration gives them a starting point and guidance as they begin to master the rules. 5. Saying no is not a bad thing. Middle schoolers are incredibly literal and love clip art. As young designers, they don’t often understand scale, nor do they know what to do with white space. All of these things, and more, often add up to design experiments or ideas that

need a no. If you never say no, you are not helping them grow. No does not have to be ugly or soul crushing. In fact, I rarely use the word no. Here are some phrases that work for me instead: “I think you can do better; I like what I see here, but this part doesn’t seem as elevated; let me hang onto this one, and I’d like to see two more attempts, then let’s compare; I think you’ve got too much going on, and my eye doesn’t know where to look; there are a lot of good ideas here, just maybe too many at one time; I’m not getting it.” Elevating their work means reaching for their best ideas and efforts. Usually they need a push to get there. Inspiring creativity takes…well, creativity. It takes curiosity, positivity, energy, persistence and hard work. It is a grand adventure, and I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else. By 0EYVIP ;MGOI

spend the time to come up with a theme and a look, and especially after XLEX ƼVWX HIEHPMRI GSRWMHIV ]SYVWIPJ committed. You cannot get to the end by going backward. Yes, the creative TVSGIWW MW ƼPPIH [MXL HSYFXW 7SQI WXEJJ members waver back and forth all year long, some question the color or font choices and some may doubt the overall theme. Middle schoolers tend to see the RIKEXMZI ƼVWX 8LEXƅW [LIR - RIIH XS FI the cheerleader. I must convince them to trust our choices and the process. Once we make those decisions as a staff, we lean into it on every page because we can’t half-step our way to greatness. 4. My job is to help raise the bar. I have heard advisers say, “It’s the kids’ book; I let them do what they want.” With all due respect, if we taught any other class that way, kids would never learn anything. Certainly, listen to their ideas – their creativity has value – but learning doesn’t occur on the

'SPSV 'SRGITX Leading a group meeting, co-editor Charlotte Jones, an eighth grader, discusses color options for the group’s design presentation. %JXIV ƼREPM^MRK XLIMV GSRGITX XLI KVSYT [EW XEWOIH [MXL TVIWIRXMRK MX XS XLI GPEWW 8LI VIWX SJ XLI GPEWW KEZI GVMXMGEP JIIHFEGO EJXIV XLI] PMWXIRIH XS XLI group share. Photo courtesy of Laurel Wicke