Influential Women Authors for International Women's Day

International Women’s Day has encouraged me to think about the influence of female authors on me over the years.  I am now and have always been an avid reader.  As a child reading took me to places and through experiences the real world didn’t offer me.  I am amazed at the memories that are coming back as I explore some of my early reading loves. Thanks to these women who were instrumental in shaping the woman I would become

My earliest faves...

Laura Ingalls Wilder - my earliest reading memories are in The Little House in the Big Woods.  I write a little bit about it here.  Suffice it to say I started these at age 8 and read and reread them over the years.  I introduced them to my daughter who, thank goodness, loved them as well.  It is possible I already have a brand new set for my future granddaughter. Well, someday…

Carolyn Keene - I’m not sure I am admirer of Carolyn Keene; I think I learned somewhere along the line that she is a pseudonym for several writers, but her heroine Nancy Drew - she was my girl.  I read the entire series living vicariously through her adventures, her travels, even her boyfriend.  

My secret teen loves...

Victoria Holt - We would make the trek to our little public library once a week, and I would bring home 6 books.  Holt’s were a mainstay. The internet tells me that Victoria Holt was actually Eleanor Hibbert.  Certainly when I was chewing up her shelf in the public library as a kid I had no idea that she wrote under a variety of names.  Honestly, these books remain a bit buried in my subconscious.   I suppose my current love for historical fiction is rooted here.  Of course, I still love a good romance.  I don’t do so much with the gothic now though except in YA. I read that one of her early influences was Jane Eyre which is one of my current favorites for sure.

Grace Livingston Hill - Just a shelf above or so I could find Hill’s books.  I am sure I read most of them.  These were simple and straightforward books. Generally a poor or orphaned protagonist would make her way bravely in the world ending up with true love and a strong faith.  I still read a great deal of Christian fiction.  The new stuff is a bit more creative and less formulaic, but I think Hill paved the way.

The classics...

Jane Austen - I wish I were one of those folks who could claim to have cut her literary teeth on Austen, but I became a fan as a young adult.  But such a fan I’ve become. I like to believe that Elizabeth Bennet would also have enjoyed a sassy Laura Ingalls and a resourceful Nancy Drew. I love her independent spirit. I have read all of her works and am preparing to teach her for the first time. She is wickedly insightful into human nature and while I love the glimpses I get into another time, her characters transcend time. She was brave in her time, choosing a literary career over more traditional paths.

Emily Dickinson - I often joke that I am drawn to spinster writers.  Perhaps I admire their dedication to the craft. One that I used to wish I could emulate.  I love her use of language.  I love to read her journal entries and explore her life through her poetry.

I could go on now about the women authors that I love to recommend to my girls now.  I am feeling like that is a separate entry to come soon. 

The Joy of Creative Ignorance for Us and our Students

Another interesting article on creativity - "The Joy of Creative Ignorance: Embracing Uncertainty in Your Day-to-Day" by Mark McGuinness.  While this article is not written with the librarian or educator in mind, it certainly offers questions for our consideration.  We function in a data driven environment.  We question the time students spend in elective courses: the arts, the shops, the computer labs, especially if they are not scoring as highly as they need on standardized testing. Their extra time is spent in remediation or soon in project based assessment. We practice the multiple choice and praise the correct answer.   As suggested in the article, I fear we are in danger of “cramping [the] imagination [of our students] to fit our expectations, instead of allowing it to surprise us with something unexpected.”

I found it both refreshing and some what intimidating to consider the notion that the best creativity often arises from embracing uncertainty - ignorance of where the process will take the creator.  Again, in the midst of my own planning, goal setting, and completing the proper and necessary paperwork, I hope that I find the time to seek ways to offer students the opportunity to be creative.  

Our Valentine’s Day blind date book promotion encouraged several readers to choose outside of the box. In their responses they were appreciative of the opportunity to read something different from what they might normally choose. I am pursuing several ideas to encourage poetry and poets in the month of April.  Articles like these certainly inspire to keep moving forward with these ideas, even when it seems not time exists to do so. Ideas to foster creativity would be welcomed as comments for sure!

What are you doing in your library to foster Creative Confidence?

Creative Confidence Builds a Strong Future

In an education world that is increasingly driven by data and test scores, I found an article that argues for creative confidence a refreshing read. Whittle argues quite effectively that "all students are born naturally creative, full of curiosities and questions. The difference between those who continue to be creative in careers as leading scientists, inventors, historical figures, artists, and philosophers and those that do not is all in how they are nurtured. The more children are encouraged to keep asking those questions and pursuing their curiosities, the more likely that creative spark will remain – and there couldn’t be anything more important in today’s increasingly competitive knowledge-based economy."

Most educators would certainly agree.  They are, however, in that awkward place where they are evaluated by test scores and urged to teach toward these scores.  Equally strong, though, the mandate to prepare our students to function in this 21st century world of ours.  Seemingly, librarians are in a unique position to foster creative confidence.  We encourage free reading, foster research skills, create maker spaces. We absolutely have ample opportunity to utilize the 7 suggestions for instilling creative confidence. We must pay careful attention to our students when they are in our space. We can allow them to be messy and create and provide the tools to do so.  I tell my kids we are a one stop shopping spot for their project needs.  We are happy to scrub glue residue off our tables. We can seek ways to offer positive feedback without the pressure of having to follow up with a grade.  We can suggest improvements freely.  I have teachers who are great at keeping me in the loop on their students' upcoming assignments offering me the opportunity to encourage them to dive in head first.  Frankly, with some creative planning we can provide the artist date as suggested in the article. What are you doing in your library to foster creative confidence?