In the opening keynote of ISTE 2017, Jad Abumrad, creator and co-host of RadioLab, spoke about the creative process. He reminded us that all creators regularly oscillate between excitement and self-doubt. As Abumrad described some of his experiences developing stories for the RadioLab podcast, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the many Genius Hour projects I’ve done my best to facilitate over the years. Beginning with brainstorming questions, selecting one that resonates, researching the question, and running into obstacles, RadioLab is the embodiment of my students’ attempts to complete their quests for answers. And, just as my students sometimes run into perceived dead ends, so do the hosts of RadioLab. But by paying close attention, they may find paths that lead to something even better. As Abumrad says, “If you commit to the questions, you probably will not get to where you want to go, but you could get somewhere else. And it could be beautiful.” (This is why I think it’s important to tell students to “Get Lost” and advocate for Trailblazing.)
Our job as educators is to not only help our students “navigate uncertainty,” but to teach them to seek it out. Abumrad calls this, “The German Forest,” (based on an extremely difficult story he pursued regarding Wagner’s “Ring Cycle”). Going into the forest is always intimidating, yet exhilarating when you are able to make it to the other side. The more often you subject yourself to this, the better equipped you will be. Though the trials may never get easier, you will be able to reassure yourself that you have encountered this before – and succeeded.
During his presentation, Abumrad showed a favorite video of mine that features Ira Glass speaking about storytelling. Glass’ German Forest is “The Gap,” and it can only be bridged by constantly creating and endlessly honing your craft.
These are the lessons that we must impart to our children:
- Seek out what interests you, and be willing to take it where it leads you – even if that is not what you envisioned
- Take calculated risks
- It is normal to be uncertain, and to question your abilities
- Allow self-doubt to guide you to improvement rather than to stop you from trying
To those ends, ISTE promotes its students’ standards, which you can learn more about in the awesome Flocabulary video embedded below.
