Imagination in Education

 “I am an astronaut!” seven year old Neil beamed as he pulled a paper-made helmet over his head.  “I am a scientist!” exclaimed young Albert as a purple liquid oozed over the sides of his tube.  Is it a coincidence that these students share their names with two of the most famous men in history, or did these events really take place while Neil Armstrong and Albert Einstein were young boys?  Whether preparing to walk on the moon, developing the Theory of Relativity, or simply participating in pretend play, imagination is central to the creation of new ideas. 

“All human beings, even small children, are creative and that creativity is the foundation for art as well as for science and technology.  This creative ability Vygotsky (1995) called imagination” (Lindqvist, 2003, p. 249).  “Imagination is a form of knowing that children, by the indigenous nature of their childhood, use as an active way of understanding—of being at the very heart of theirs’ and others’ aliveness” (Lewis, 2007, p.23).  However, in the educational world of standardized curriculum and tests, imagination in the classroom often seems left out.

    A young boy once became fascinated with the old saying, “No two snowflakes are alike.”  During each snowfall, he wondered what the tiny white flakes really looked like.  He went on to capture the first photograph of a single snow crystal.  In his lifetime, he photographed more than 500 snowflakes and found that the saying he heard as a child was true.  Just like the children in a classroom, no two are alike.  The boy became known as Snowflake Bentley (Briggs-Martin, 1998). 

            “I have a dream,” Martin Luther King said.  As it turns out, he is not the only one.  In classrooms where teachers value imagination, are students more likely to realize their dreams? In the past, imagination and creativity in education were often associated with the arts (Claxton, 2006).  But, how is imagination in education perceived in these modern days of the 21^st century?   As rapidly changing technology and innovation become society’s focal point, one has to wonder, how would a young Neil Armstrong, Albert Einstein, Wilson Bentley, or Martin Luther be viewed today? 

If children are to have the maximum opportunity to learn, strategies and techniques must be partnered with approaches that best do so.  Could gaining a clearer sense of imagination and bringing imagination to the forefront of education lead to better classroom instruction and deeper learning for all? 

                             

         © 2011· Lori Laniewski * All Rights Reserved 

Illustration by: Cartoonaday.com