In the last few months I’ve gradually built a base of educational bloggers and commentators on both Facebook and Twitter. But I’m finding that Twitter is my best friend in these matters. Ok so I may be a bit late to this party, but I’m guessing that many of my colleagues still haven’t invited themselves and I want to encourage you to come along and see for yourself. You’ll have to bear with me, and trust me …

I kicked off, very simply, by creating a Twitter account. Then forgot about it. Later I became rather perturbed as my other half kept regaling me with bucket loads of interesting bits of information about all things to do with his love of, and career in, music. How was he getting all this? Twitter. “You should try it”. So I tried again, threw off all the ‘rubbish’ accounts I’d been following and tried to focus on the things I wanted to know about: eduction, the arts, current news, theatres, etc.

Having signed up to the TES website I found they had a Twitter account (@tes) and this opened up a fast and easy 140 character ‘toe-dip’ into what was on offer. I could then click in to whatever interested me and read away. Further investigation led to finding the Guardian’s Education account (@GuardianEdu), Arts Council West Midlands (@ace_westmids), BBC Education (@bbceducation), the Department for Education (@educationgovuk), etc. These in turn unlocked the door to other teachers who use Twitter and their own blogs to share thoughts, ideas and good practice. Just a few of these (and bits of their tag lines) are:

A big realisation is that my relaxation time has become somewhat unproductive. “Leisure time” tends to plonk me down on the sofa after the kidlings have gone to bed, exhausted and not wanting to do anything but watch TV. With my perception that I have no time to do the things I enjoy, I become fed up and irritable, and begin to fight with myself over who/what is to blame. No blame is required, just “sofa-avoidance”.

This evening I pulled on my resolve and helped M to think about some applications for artist residencies he’s looking at. I also messaged a family member to encourage her in her creativity – firm, practical suggestions for the next step. Then I accidentally knocked heads together with some of my degree alumni and we’ve decided to try organise a get-together. I’ve also edited my website and written this blog.

Feeling much better. Even if I am tired.

What shall I do tomorrow to help quell my internal / vocational / emotional stutter I wonder …

This blog is not about the logical reasons for including Arts and Design subjects – you can find these in abundance all over the web from the Guardian to large and small arts and business organisations, to major celebrities in the creative spheres – it will be a look at how creativity touched my life just today, one small microcosm of time. And hopefully make the case that we cannot be so entirely foolish as to imagine the UK can deprive it’s children of such vital cultural nourishment, and survive the current and future threats to our economy.

So, our day:

My daughter has just discovered how to access YouTube on my smart phone. She’s watches Scooby Doo, Gummie Bears and this crazy little animation short called The Annoying Orange. She laughs out loud and we join in. Creativity in animation.

Then there’s the smart phone itself, someone somewhere had to be darn creative to make that thing do what it does, and mine’s only a 3Gs. And hey, all the apps that are on there, creative genius. Did you hear about the kid who designed the news summary app Summly, and demand for it crashed the ability to download it? That’s a British kid, 16 years old; 12yo when he got started on this, 15 when he secured investment from an Hong-Kong billionaire, and 17 when it was launched. So, um, right through his GCSE’s then, and I’m guessing he did Art and Design because their website states that he “loves art and design and has been fortunate to work with Yoko Ono on a project for the Serpentine Gallery in London”). This Nick D’Aloisio is certainly making the case for the importance of these subjects in our schools.

What next? Oh yes, we took our 3yo daughter to a French class at her nursery. Now aside from the fact that myself and the staff had an incredibly concerned discussion about this EBacc business, C’s French lesson involves all sorts of creative ways to teach the language. They had a Harvest theme not so long ago and learnt creatively through crushing grapes (“raison”), there are these great colour splotches to learn … well, the colours. Today the teacher explained to me how she had wanted to use a song to teach the children body parts and so had adapted “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”. So that all included illustration, song, innovative thinking, learning through role-play, etc. That’s creative that is.

After that C and I went to a local supermarket mini store. I went to that one and not the one closer to nursery because … well essentially because of the marketing and store layout if I’m being very honest. That creativity totally sucked me in. Effective and I spent more money than I had intended, so doubly effective. Creativity in the local and national economy there.

Following lunch (I love the BIG AND FRESH egg boxes … oh, art and design) C and I went to the park and spent a blissful half hour on this huge swing thing. We laid back and looked at the blue sky, spotting aeroplanes and clouds, and giggling like crazy. Someone designed that swing on paper, and someone else took that design and made it real. Creativity in play.

Then we came home and watched Care Bears and Jumanji (C has had a pretty full on few days and wasn’t feeling well so on this occasion we let her watch as it’s about the only way we can get her to sit still and rest during the day). The initial concept for these films, the screenwriting, the animation (both old-skool and CGI), the acting, the voice-overs, the set design, etc. The people who did that learnt it somewhere, it didn’t just pop into their heads. But I’m not here to explain that creativity goes hand in hand with knowledge of HOW to do these things: the craft. You know that, right?

I made Shepherd’s Pie from a recipe on a website (someone created that website, the coding, the look, the functionality, etc) for students. It’s really cheap and … creative … as it simply uses an onion, mince, a tin of oxtail soup, a tin of baked beans, potatoes and cheese. Creativity in food.

Browsing through Facebook (I can’t stand Mark what’s-his-face because of that film … there I go again, creativity in film and maybe propaganda?) I notice a friend who’s a proper “gamer” has been on some game or other for 12 hours. I don’t know if that’s straight or over a period of days, but he LOVES video games. And how many of us have them on our phones, hooked up to the TV? Loads of folk design those games, and a lot of them in this country. Not to mention all those who created the ideas and stories etc in the first place, the actors who voice the characters, etc.

Eh-hem. Then I vacuumed with my Dyson. Created by a bloke called James Dyson. From the UK. Who attended London’s Byam Shaw art school. Who then went to The Royal College of Art. Hey, and would you believe it – on his website it says this of his early career: “All the while learning to take risks, make mistakes and use frustration as a fuel for creativity and solving problems.” No way! Creativity in domestic design? And creativity helps with problem solving!?

Now I’m sat here writing about something I feel passionate about. I’ve just created this blog. It occurs to me I also create each status I put on Facebook or Tweet on Twitter, which are effectively stages on which to present where I am, what I’m doing, what I think is important, etc. Did I learn that just through English lessons? Or were those lessons extended by the creative subjects I studied. What about those who didn’t study creative subjects?

My Dad is a Builder/Joiner and I called him yesterday (yes I know I’m only supposed to talk about today but this makes another point for my case) and his anecdotes about his life! He’s always got some hilarious story to tell and knows just how to build it up and deliver the punch line so you’re rolling about with laughter or gaping in shock. Creativity in storytelling (from his time in school/Sunday school plays and watching comedians do the job). But the creativity in his work – THAT’S something to behold. One tiny/large example is the rocking horse rocker my sister was going to throw out. He took it, designed and fashioned a whole new rocking horse for C (with adjustable footrests), that was painted by my sister and accessorised by my Mum. Creativity and design in recycling and family fun.

I could go on, I really could, but M is on his way home from the Redditch Youth Theatre rehearsal and I need to get the online shopping done (I’ve created a menu for an entire month). Arghghg – I must stop myself.

So has my point been made? Has it? I do hope so. I hope it has been made enough that you will see your way to signing the petition.

This is so important. Excluding these Arts and Design subjects can only make our children and our country economically and culturally poor … backwards even. Do we seriously think that’s going to be ok? The Government seem to think so.

In the meantime if you would like to order a perusal copy of our acclaimed musical Christmas play, “The Greatest Story” please use the contact form.

Check back for updates over the coming weeks and months.

The One to One English tuition was a fantastic experience, not least because I was able to really understand what makes my tutees tick and hook that into the work they were studying – even though I feel I didn’t really have enough time with them. More and more I see evidence that each pupil who lacks the expected attainment in a particular area is actually lacking confidence to experiment, get things wrong, learn and try again. The fear of failure hems these young people in and I question whether the focus should be on attainment or on cultivating enjoyment and understanding of the work being studied. This, I believe, would increase confidence and retention of information, reduce the fear created if an exam is not passed, and raise the level of attainment by default. Now if only I could put this to the test in the wider sphere of education … we’ll see.

Michael is at the end of marking GCSE Music compositions, so the office is filled with all manner of sounds in various forms. Website design work is being requested by the bucket-full and is being juggled with various networking events across the UK, and the Redditch Palace Youth Theatre production of “Bugsy Malone”. Meanwhile  for me, more Drama consultancy work is in the pipeline, from one-off training sessions to more long term projects. We’re also in the process of having quotes done for a new office space which we hope to be completed before the end of the year and will hopefully mean we can bring people on board to work with us on growing Artsphere as a free and essential resource for all involved with the creative arts. All very exciting.

So if the England football team don’t go all the way, and the emergency budget stings horribly, we shall keep climbing the hill bit by bit, aiming to make a difference to people working creatively across the UK.

Grand!

Have second meeting with Selly Oak Cluster Coordinator tomorrow so we’ll see what that turns up as I haven’t heard if we’ve got approval from the Head Teacher.

Schools work has been very quiet of late but I got a call today to say that a member of staff has had a rather horrible accident and could be out of action for up to six weeks, so I may be asked to go in more often. If not I’ll see if I can’t coax some flowers from the garden then call in and see her at home, make her cups of tea and generally try to make her feel less annoyed.

Went into St Pauls Girls this week – what a joy and oh how I’ve missed it. Will be helping with Unit 2 of their GCSE drama coursework during Easter and also hoping to catch a theatre company who work with them on SRE.

Also interested to hear more and more that primary school teachers would like guidance on how to teach the drama strand of the Literacy Strategy. Now that’s something I know how to do.

Finally Artsphere are offering free website design on a first come first served basis – click here to find out more.

Take care and have fun people!

Another meeting on Friday with Learning Mentor and Librarian to discuss strategies and training to improve social and emotional literacy.

And then on Saturday Little C is one. How time flies.

Have left my website for the last week and intend to come back to it this week with ‘fresh eyes’. I’m going to consolidate what I’m offering based on the connections I’ve been making. That’s where my focus will be for the next six months or so, depending on what comes up.

Drama NQT consultancy begins on Friday with a look at the Edexcel Paper 1 work. Really looking forward to it. One of the students asked for help today and I was able to back up her teacher by saying that we’ll be going through the coursework this week.

Finally sorted out my Linkedin profile (link on my homepage at www.jaxlovelock.com) and asked for a few endorsements. Need to follow those up.

Also planning Little C’s first birthday. Strange how fast the time goes. A friend of mine, due to have her baby in the summer, said she thinks it could be the making of her. Looking back over the last year I believe C has been the making of me.

Off to write up meeting notes and begin weaving the threads …

I now need to go through my meeting notes and decipher them. There are various funding options I need to look at. Have also lined up another meeting with LB at DECTC to establish exactly what they want to tackle. Then need to look at workshop content based on achieving particular outcomes .

Preparation for NQT consultancy is almost complete with rooms booked and training programme in place.

Was really pleased and very nostalgic this evening as I found a fan page for Dewsbury Arts Group, the Youth Theatre at which I learnt my first lessons in devising drama. If you or your children live anywhere near and are interested in drama and a safe place to build self-esteem and confidence, you need to get down to Lower Peel Street.

The Monday meeting with Pepita Hanna went really well – a wealth of information, advice and support. I’ve already acted on some of her advice and taken advantage of the opportunity to meet with the co-ordinator for the Selly Oak Extended Schools Cluster via LB at DECTC. Have just finished preparing for that.

The consultancy prep is also going well. Have worked on the training schedule this evening and will hand in tomorrow when I go in for the workshops meeting.

And finally, I had the great pleasure of talking with two Year 11 Drama pupils this afternoon. Initially checking their progress with their drama coursework and then the most wonderful discussion on their performance exam, their plans for the future, politics and how vulnerable they feel, but hopeful at the same time.

On this occasion I feel I am justified in saying, “I love what I do.”