How Star Wars Inspired My Creative Professional Journey

In January of 2020, I wrote a blog post titled “Becoming Hospitable to Ideas for Writing.” While I like to think all my posts are special and interesting, this one is significant, in that it marks the one and only time I have documented my ability to foresee the future.

You see, in this post I claim, “something is coming.” I hope I don’t have to go into too much detail here, as I said it was January 2020.

I’ll admit, I used the words awesome and epic to describe what I felt was on the horizon, so I’m not sure I truly had a grasp on the appropriate emotions that I would feel the rest of that year.

The most important thing I captured in that blog post was the blessing I received from a young padawan on New Year’s Eve, 2019: “May the Force Be With You.”

As of this writing, it is not yet New Year’s Eve, 2024. Yet, I feel once again as though “something is coming.” I’m crossing my fingers I’ll be in the right place at the right time, and get another Jedi miracle to embolden me through the unknown in 2025, and although I am hesitant to get too excited, (see year 2020), the words epic and awesome feel somewhat fitting.

So, while I wait to cross paths with a Padawan, Wookie, or Jedi master, It feels relevant to look back on everything I have learned since writing that fateful post in January 2020. Because although 2020 brought so many things I’d rather not ever have to relive, it also marked the beginning of my path as a creative professional.

What is a creative professional?

The creative part

Google “What are the creative professions?” and you won’t find jobs like teacher, general contractor, doctor, or accountant. In the past, as in before AI, a creative professional was a name reserved only for those working in the arts: performance, visual, language, etc.

As an educator, its hard not to take offense to the idea that my job does not demand creativity. My husband is a general contractor, and is the most creative person I know. Humans are creative beings.

Are you considering becoming a creative person? Too late, you already are one. To even call somebody a “creative person” is almost laughably redundant; creativity is the hallmark of our species. We have the senses for it; we have the curiosity for it; we have the opposable thumbs for it; we have the rhythm for it; we have the language and the excitement and the innate connection to divinity for it. – Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic, 2015

So can we just agree that everyone is already creative, we just have to claim it for ourselves. We have to remember that everything we know today has been built by those who were willing to connect unlike ideas, take risks, follow their curiosity, and imagine something different.

The Professional Part

So, what have I learned over the past five years is mostly about being professional. I could talk to you all about meeting deadlines, wearing nice clothes, and carrying a whole lot of responsibility, but I wouldn’t be telling you anything you don’t already know.

I guess we have to define these things for ourselves. The seven year old I met on that New Year’s Eve was a professional. He believed it, so I believed it. Now, he did have the look, complete with padawan braid, clothes, and a lightsaber. Therefore, I won’t say your appearance doesn’t matter. However, the most powerful thing was that he owned his identity.

Maybe that is what it means to be a professional. To own it. Sometimes, we are afraid to say we are a professional anything. Sounds cocky. Or, it could be we are worried we will fail at whatever it is we are saying we are a professional at, because we will.

What if we start balancing big important words like professional with comfy cozy words, like creative? Creative professional sounds like peanut butter and jelly. The jelly makes the peanut butter go down smoothly. Or, macaroni and cheese, everyone likes cheese. No one eats noodles plain.

How to Be Creative and Professional

I wonder who first thought to put jelly and peanut butter together, and why it stuck? I remember eating mayonnaise and peanut butter sandwiches as a kid, but I don’t know anyone who still eats that, not even me.

Also, did peanut butter and jelly sandwiches inspire trail mix (fruit and nuts), or was it the other way around? I should ask ChatGPT.

Anyway, Star Wars and Sandwiches aside, the following is a short list of things I’ve learned over the past four years of practicing skills as a creative professional.

  • Listen, observe, pay attention.
  • Curate based on personal experience.
  • Focus on getting better, not being your best..
  • Have a vision for the future, recognize the messy middle, and celebrate the work that has come before.

Listen, Observe, Pay Attention

Listening is a skill that must be practiced continually. I’m going to call this level one, surface level awareness. It also means turning down the volume in your own brain. Essentially, listening is really choosing to understand something or someone other than yourself. Listening is not thinking.

Observation means having your eyes and mind open. Level two awareness. Are all of us just looking for things to confirm what we already believe? When you observe someone or something, what do you see? Essentially, observing is really choosing to understand something or someone other than yourself. Observing is not thinking.

Paying attention is level three awareness for a reason. Paying attention is an act of service, compassion, and empathy. When you are paying attention to a person, you are showing a level of awareness of them, beyond what they are saying or doing. When you are paying attention to something, beyond what you see, you have the incredible privilege of assigning meaning.

When you pay attention, you have the opportunity to assign positive intent. You get to believe that this person means well, that they are doing and saying the best they can, with the tools, knowledge and resources they have available to them. This is creative professionalism when working with people.

Curate based on personal experience.

Curation, by definition, is selection. The world we live in now is almost unlimited in its offerings of choices and opportunities. I know that sounds like the opinion of one who comes from a place of privilege, and I am not denying that. However, I have known poverty in my life, and I still had choices, lots of them, even in the 80s.

More than selection, curation denotes a collection, of things or ideas. I’m trying to think if we curate people, like do I collect people? Or places? More on that later. In the traditional sense, curators work in museums, libraries, and such to protect, interpret, and care for objects of significance.

What is significant than? It depends on you and what matters. I wonder what a padawan would curate? (Another great question for AI.)

In my life and work, I want to hold on to ideas and tools I’ve tried out and found to be effective in lots of different circumstances. What is a tool I can use for most things? In education, its easy to get overwhelmed with resources, busy work. I’m looking for tools to get people talking, laughing, and building new thinking. So I mostly curate structures for cooperative learning strategies, games, and discussions.

“The smartest person in the room, is the room.” -David Weinberger

Focus on getting better, not on being your best.

It used to drive me crazy when I worked in a school where the admin would say things like, “Are you being your best today?” Ug!

Now, I don’t believe he was directing this toward me personally, but it was the message we were supposed to be sending to our students, everyday. No, we cannot be our best every day, nor should we try.

Being the best kind of assumes we already know everything. Like there’s no room for improvement. There’s good, there’s better, and then there’s THE BEST. Is there anything better than being the best? I don’t like it.

I read a book this past year called Learnership, by James Anderson, and it was the best. Ok, just kidding about the best part. Anyway, a big takeaway or validation for me was his advocacy for focusing on getting better. How can we value getting better over being your best? Anderson says we need to develop a relationship with learning. We should focus on achieving growth, not simply achieving goals. That way we can get better at getting better.

Have a vision, recognize the mess, and celebrate.

The single most critical motivator for me is the future. I think this might be because it’s guaranteed to happen. It is the reason I try to take care of myself, the reason I’m writing every day, the reason I participate in work and relationships. Its motivating because I am an optimist. I believe things will get better. Or at the very least, I believe its my job to make it look like it is better, so my children won’t be afraid to keep living.

In education, we have to believe it will get better. More than that, we must have some kind of vision for what it could be. AI is promising to cut teacher time on administrative tasks, allowing them to be more engaged in student relationships. I’m excited about leveraging these tools to create more personalized and equitable learning models, and I think if we can shift our mindset toward the humans, rather than the content, education will be changed for the better.

In the meantime, we are all in the messy middle. Things are a mess, and that is ok. Take some breaths, recognize what is working right now, and try some new things. Being a creative professional means failing…a lot. Failing in the midst of a bunch of failing makes it much less noticeable.

Finally, creative professionals understand that focusing on what works, is much more effective in creating change than what is not working. Notice anything and everything that works, try to name why it works, and apply some version of it in your life, your work, your relationships.

May the creative force be with you

Just as the Force flows through all living things, creativity flows through every professional endeavor. Whether you’re a teacher, contractor, or aspiring Jedi, embracing both your creative and professional sides isn’t about reaching some distant galaxy – it’s about trusting your instincts and staying open to new possibilities.

I’d love to hear about your creative professional journey in the comments below!

Use Time to Design Meaningful Learning Experiences

Educators design meaningful learning experiences to enrich, support, and engage learners by using their time and space intentionally.

Time and space are the foundation upon which we build systems, routines, and procedures that enable us to feel safe. Once we know the boundaries and stay within them, we are more willing to take risks, innovate, and create.

Here are a few ideas for how to design a meaningful morning for you and your students, no matter the circumstances or constantly changing directives. Getting the day started on the right foot sets the course for a smooth and predictable routine. Check back for an additional post on designing the rest of the day.

Part 1: Design the Morning Time

Use Time to Design Meaningful Learning Experiences

When students arrive, we greet them by name and they enter the room knowing they belong and have responsibilities. There are no surprises and they aren’t waiting for you to tell them what to do. A task list is visible to set students up for success.

Meaningful morning experiences include self-awareness and self-regulation tasks, community and citizenship tasks, and mindset and metacognition tasks.

Every moment of the day is precious and carries with it a sense of urgency. A sense of urgency reinforces the message that our time is spent on purpose. And don’t forget that laughter and play can and should be a part of every day.

Set a timer for all tasks, and display it for students to see as well. Ask the students how much time they think they will need for the tasks at hand, then negotiate based on reality. A student timekeeper will be one of the most important jobs you give out, especially at the beginning of the year.

Self Awareness and Self Regulation Tasks
Use Light-Hearted SEL Check-Ins to Design Meaningful Learning Experiences
  • This Feels Like: Students are welcomed with a sense of belonging and ownership in the space, knowing being a learner is more important than doing the learning. Students know where to put their belongings and when to use them. They know what to expect and they have a say in how some decisions will be made throughout the process.
  • This looks like: Music playing in the background when students arrive creates a sense of well-being. There is a Social Emotional Check In available to encourage students to reflect on how they feel and how they can regulate those feelings ( Moods of Batman Meme.) There is a familiar schedule which is reviewed each day, with any deviations being clearly defined. Student questions are answered and students have smiled at least once before the learning day begins.
Community and Citizenship Tasks
Use Checklists to Design Meaningful Learning Experiences
  • Feels like: Having a sense of responsibility means being trusted and relied upon for an important task.
  • Looks like: Students have a job that is an important part of the success of the community and knows how and when to perform it. Class discussion is a regular part of every day, and all students will be held accountable for the unique perspective they bring. This also includes digital citizenship and how we participate online.
Mindset and Metacognition Tasks
  • Feels Like: Having a sense of purpose in the time spent on tasks, feeling challenged but not anxious in the material, engaged in curiousity and exploration in possibility and relevance.
  • Looks Like: A timer is running for all tasks, student work is gradually increasing in complexity, the teacher is listening and conferring, students are set up for success with work that connects and reinforces previous learning. Students are given thinking strategies to use when tackling challenging materials. Students use the learning space as a resource.

Designing the Rest of the Day

When you take the time to set up the environment, the environment will pay you back with time.

All of these morning tasks take 30 minutes or less once the school year is well underway. At the beginning of the year, these tasks can take much longer. Remember to put in the initial investment with time, and the space will take over after.

Everyone becomes more efficient when they know what to expect and how to be successful.

Once your morning tasks are complete, move into the Workshop, which is where students begin to dig into the more creative and innovative part of the day. This is where the real learning experiences happen!

Read Use Space to Design Learning Experiences to discover ideas for the remainder of the school day, including more Workshop ideas, mindfulness, and accountability.

Five Minutes to Start a New Story

Change is hard, but with a little hope, optimism, and 5 minutes, we can stop waiting for something to happen, and start a new story.

waiting to change

The authors of Switch, How to Change Things When Change is Hard, remind me that “Change brings new choices that create uncertainty.” We get overwhelmed because most of us are on auto pilot most of the time. Auto pilot is not bad. It helps us to maintain energy levels, so we can use that energy to make decisions. I hate having to decide every day now what is important and what isn’t. It used to be easier: get up early, morning routines, get to work, evening routines, go to bed.

Now, I find myself staring out the window a lot. Waiting for something. Waiting for life to go back to normal, but not wanting it to.  Waiting to love the life I have right now.  Waiting to buy new clothes, to wear to my new job, that I am waiting for. Waiting for an opportunity to travel, to feel safe at the grocery store. Waiting to feel safe around other people at all. Ug, so much waiting.

Change is hard, but it’s also an opportunity. Vince Lombardi is famous for his determination to win, and all that. I’m not sure I love his quotes, and I know things get all misconstrued. He said something about how quitters never win, but it depends on how you look at it. He also said that hope is not a strategy, but again, there are extenuating circumstances.

hope is a little messy

My daughter reminded me that messed up hope is still something to be grateful for.

In this moment, hope is kinda my only strategy.

The Harvard Business review published an article appropriately titled Hope is a Strategy (Well Sort Of). They talk about realistic optimism, and refer to a quote by Carmin Mendina “Optimism is the greatest act of rebellion.”

So, I hereby rebel. I am going to be optimistic, and pretend that things are going to work out for the best.

But, I am pretty tired of waiting. It’s ridiculous to try to plan for next month, or next week, or even tomorrow at this point. I think you can still have optimistic and hopeful viewpoint, without being certain about anything. However, waiting isn’t a good strategy, for me anyway.

Start something for 5 minutes

Set a timer and do the thing.

I recently started looking for ways to be a bit more creative with my writing. In my classroom, before beginning any kind of writing assignment, we would go to the scholastic website and choose a story starter. The challenge was to write as many words as you could, on the chosen topic, for 5 minutes.

Most fourth graders don’t really love to write. I guess they have learned by this point in their career, that there are too many rules, and its a task that is never finished. We all know that feeling of staring at a blank page, and no words are coming out. Writer’s block is a real thing.

It was different with the 5 minute story starters. The topic would always be a bit silly, and they knew there weren’t really any rules, except they had to write for the full 5 minutes. Even my most reluctant writers would participate. Many were getting close to a hundred words written in just 5 minutes!

The best part came at the end of the 5 minutes, when I would ask for volunteers to share their writing. Almost everyone wanted to read aloud what they had written. The writing was good! They were creative, descriptive, and taking risks.

Five minute challenge

Anyone can stick it out for five minutes. Even a five year old can commit to a task for that long. This is especially true for those of us who are feeling overwhelmed by all the changes we have had to make over the past few weeks.

I even decided to start my own little five minute creative writing challenge in my daily writing. The Story Starter.com has an idea generator for grown ups, and it has been fun for me to try my hand at something that is pretty difficult for me.

Five minutes to start a story, or clean the bathroom, reconcile accounts. It just doesn’t seem so bad anymore.

I might still stare out the window and wait for things to change on their own. Maybe I will set a timer, and let myself do that for a short time. Then I will get back to reality and be intentional and outrageously optimistic for 5 minutes.

For more five minute inspiration, check out the fly lady? She is still around after 20 years of blogging about change. Her philosophy is simple. Just do something for five minutes.

UPDATE:

I love it when I find something that just goes with something I already have, or do. This is an awesome video about using 5 minutes at the end of your day to reflect and write down the most important thing from the day. Over time, you will develop a sense for your life as moments. Important, beautiful moments, that are your story, and part of a bigger story.