<![CDATA[Creative Curriculum Solutions

<![CDATA[Creative Curriculum Solutions - All Kinds of Minds]]>Sun, 13 Sep 2026 22:26:17 -0500Weebly<![CDATA[The Dreaded Teen-age Years]]>Sat, 12 Sep 2026 20:10:45 GMThttps://www.creativecurriculumsolutions.com/all-kinds-of-minds/the-dreaded-teen-age-yearsEveryone fears the teenage years. They fear that their young person will go down the wrong path. They fear that they will destroy themselves.

But making the right choices, to be good and stay out of trouble is not the real challenge of this age. What is the real challenge of the teenage years is finding a place in the world. It is when I cannot find my place in the world that I become apathetic, nihilistic, or simply lost.

Besides neuroscience, Waldorf education and the work of Rudolf Steiner are my greatest influences. Steiner points out that the crisis of the teenage years (usually later teens) can be completely avoided. It is not a necessary phase of development, but rather the product of never having discovered their own gifts and abilities.

Education that allows students to discover what they love to learn, what they are good at, and to practice the skills necessary to develop these abilities will naturally see themselves as capable and competent. When a student is given the tools to envision their lives, the opportunity to create goals that they deem important, and the guidance and support to move those goals from idea to action, they will have no problem scaling those ideas up into a life-purpose.

So many of the great entrepreneurs were highschool or college drop-outs. Why because conventional schooling is directed by the teacher. The teacher sets the goals, writes the rubrics and gives out the grade. The student is rarely involved in creating their own curriculum (with of course exceptions).

So when is the right time to start on this path? The earlier the better. It starts in Waldorf education with observing the student's interests and propensities. Teachers in Waldorf maintain their relationship with the students from grade 1 to grade 8. They don't need to give aptitude tests, or interest surveys. These teachers know their students intimately.

They then place before the students the tools they need to further develop their natural gifts and inclinations. Teachers are brilliant when it comes to curriculum creation. They can design an entire lesson for one student, without the class even realizing it. When this is done systematically, each student gets the chance to shine, and can come to realize their own unique abilities without anyone ever having given a lick of praise.

Self-awareness and self-direction lead to meaningful choices and the ability to step into a bigger role in the world. What if we taught this way? What if at the end of highschool students felt excited to step into a bigger purpose? We would have what Yong Zhao calls "out of basement readiness" for all our kids!

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]]><![CDATA[Rubrics Kill Creativity]]>Fri, 11 Sep 2026 15:56:38 GMThttps://www.creativecurriculumsolutions.com/all-kinds-of-minds/rubrics-kill-creativity

I have a big beef with rubrics. It feels to me like the whole arena of education, including higher education has gone rubric-crazy! They make rubrics for everything. I can imagine them making a rubric on how to go to the toilet. But seriously, I am only partly kidding. It is as if they do not trust someone's ability to anything of their own accord. How could they possibly do a project, write a paper, or even answer a question without giving them a series of discrete rules on a checklist to follow.

I call the use of rubrics the "paint by number" approach. Instead of someone writing or creating from their own inspiration, they are required to follow a list of inconsequential minutia. And the use of points...4 points for this, 2 points for that. How many points is that worth? I can't take it.

Some may say, this is the way to make sure students have required elements. But in my opinion it is a distraction. Instead of allowing ideas to flow creatively from within, the person is looking at a list and trying to match responses to someone elses expectations.

Furthermore, what is asked for on rubrics is mostly irrelevant. For example, Use correct grammar and punctuation, (4 points) versus, many errors in grammar and punctuation (0 points). Really? I feel my IQ drop everytime I read a rubric.

So if I follow the rubric, does that mean I have created something beautiful? I doubt it. If I followed the rubric, it means I did what the teacher asked. Not that I dug down into my soul and allowed beauty to flow forth.

Completing the rubric takes away personal responsibility. I can say I did the task. I don't have to be afraid I "did it wrong". You have to give me a top grade because I completed all your demands. There is also a kind of unspoken pressure created by the rubric. The pressure to follow the "rules".

To be creative, you should be willing to break the rules. To be creative you should follow your own inner ideas. Creativity is inspired action. It comes from a place unknown. We want to allow students the chance to enjoy this experience of creativity.

All of this being said, I came across an article today put out by High Tech High Grads, and it shows a way of doing rubrics right. The student is actually involved in creating the rubric, and so it draws their attention inwards towards their own personal goals and beliefs. It is fantastic. Please watch!

]]><![CDATA[Acknowledgement Pages]]>Sat, 22 Aug 2026 23:54:36 GMThttps://www.creativecurriculumsolutions.com/all-kinds-of-minds/acknowledgement-pages

I was looking through some of my dear friend Melody's belongings. She passed away a few months ago. She was 72, but she had the mind of a young girl and we loved to have her at all of our events. She was one of our favorite Ambassadors of Kindness.

Melody was often misunderstood. Although it was clear to me that she had some cognitive differences, she didn't have downs syndrome (like her brother) and she didn't have any identifiable disorder. She looked to me to have Williams Syndrome, since I have a cousin with this syndrome, and Melody has all the earmarks. But she was never tested, and so people just saw her as different, and sometimes irrational.

I had that chance to be a good friend to Melody, and often saw her get frustrated and upset. However, when we started the Ambassadors of Kindness with her, she started focusing on being good. I could use language to help her get over her frustrations and guide her to the positive choices for her responses. I wish her family could have had these tools. Perhaps they would have been closer. Most of the time, when we see a family member acting poorly we just tell them to "act right" or you will get it.

So much of schools has been based on correcting errors. I don't know if your school did this, but many schools will give children strikes, or move their clip down the thermometer. This type of punitive approach in fact can have the opposite effect. I can cause a student to focus on their own weaknesses, and see themselves as bad. It is also a way of getting attention, which every student craves. There is another way. It is time now to focus on "energizing" successes. This will be putting attention where it will give the best results.

This is the approach of Positive Psychology, and it is not just about giving everyone an A, or everyone gets a trophy. Positive psychology is based on solid science. It works by truly recognizing and honoring each individual's gifts. It is not superficial, feel good praise. It is not about saying "good job" or some generic praise. It has to be specific. It is an acknowledgement for demonstrating something good.  The outcome is that students will show more of these positive behaviors.

We don't always get recognized for the positive things we do, and sometimes we don't even know we are doing something good. When we acknowledge the positive, it bring awareness in the moment to the action, and that awareness can have a profound effect on someone's connection to their own inner self. For example, when someone works through a problem, and doesn't give up. I can acknowledge their determination. Now the student recognizes the action and feeling of being determined. They can draw on that when needed in difficult situations. They can start to see themselves as having that quality.

Even if you don't have a book, or don't care a wit about the AOK program, you can start to notice and acknowledge all the good things folks do around you. Remember your kind words ripple out into the world and come back to you many, many times.

]]><![CDATA[Self-Directed Learning]]>Fri, 07 Aug 2026 00:52:45 GMThttps://www.creativecurriculumsolutions.com/all-kinds-of-minds/self-directed-learningI remember when I applied for the Mentor position at the Self-Design Graduate Institute, I got their attention when I said, "All learning is self-motivated". I believe that to be profoundly true. This belief comes from a deep biological understanding of the brain, as much as from the understanding of the psychology of self, identity and ego development.

One of my favorite professors at Rutgers Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience was György Buzsáki, MD, PhD. Every year, he would ask the newly minted students in his graduate class one question. "What is the brain interested in?" Afraid of saying the wrong thing, we all waited. The answer was, "Itself". Indeed this is true. The brain is a self-referential organ.

He pointed to the fact that the brain is organized so that the number of neural connection coming from our senses to the "relay nucleus" (the thalamus) to the cortex are outnumbered by the projections from the cortex down stream to the thalamus by 6:1. Well, that little bit of neuroscience shows up in how the brain and mind operate in general, and why schools have it all wrong in the way they educate. If we don't let the emerging self participate in directing the learning, the likelihood is we will be fighting an upstream battle of 6:1.

I have been looking over my old papers, and came across interviews I conducted with educational leaders in the field of neuroeducation from 2011. I was curious about how much of what was emerging then could have predicted where we are now. I came across the self-directed learning section. It feels good that I have been able to utilize this approach, and have seen it work. I also love that I have a tool to share with others that gives the students not only the chance to select their content areas, but also when and how they will complete the tasks. This is only a first step, and I plan to create something that will help students created longer term goals and projects. But even to be able to structure their own learning experience is huge. It is a life skill that they will be able to carry with them.

This first model of self-directed learning is a start towards students learning to make choices. Looking at the interviews, I had to laugh at this one comment. It is so true. What are we teaching them, how to wall in the hallway? Definitely not how to direct their own learning.

It is the teachers who are doing all the problem solving in school,
making all the decisions. The kids are never involved in any decision
making, even about the mundane things, about how to walk to the
library, or all of these other kind of thing. So when are they going
to learn how to make critical decisions when they grow up? (P3)

Some of the other comments are just as relevant. The word stranglehold really stands out to me. Even moreso today when we are experiencing a form of indoctrination in many districts. When do our students get to digest information according to their own understanding? When do their opinions become relevant? If we do not allow these capacities room to develop, what will become of their capacity to think critically?

I can be responsible as a teacher for teaching them how to read and how
to write and how to think better to improve those abilities. But I
don’t have to keep a stranglehold on what they read, and what they
write about and what they think about. I can allow them to follow
their own interests more, and pursue things that matter more to them.
(P15)

They cannot imagine really letting students make choices, or having
students ask their own questions without having to answer them. Or
when they actually see that students can possibly ask their own
questions and research it they’ll still say I am going to do this and
this and then I will allow them to do that. (P9)

]]><![CDATA[Altruism]]>Wed, 29 Jul 2026 11:15:14 GMThttps://www.creativecurriculumsolutions.com/all-kinds-of-minds/altruismThe Price Equation:

I am getting back to finishing up the Teacher's Guide for the AOK Virtues workbook. It has been about a year since I last worked on it. Just about the time of my burnout with AI. I was hoping to only have to make small edits, but reading the text, I realize it is not there yet.

The concepts are still too dry, and do not have enough of a relational component. That's what I get for relying to heavily on AI. So now I am getting back into each of the virtues and what they can provide in terms of experience for both the teacher's self-reflection, and of course the students, on an individual level and as a group.

It wasn't far into the edits when I already found myself needing to make major edits. The word was Altruism. It is interesting that Altruism, such a weighty and lofty concept, came out of the era of Positivism. The word itself having been coined by french philosopher Auguste Comte. It surprised me, since it seems like an ancient concept, but it originated out of the Darwin era, where sprituality and in some ways morality were under attack as we faced the era of "survival of the fittest." In the era of Positivism, we needed a moral theory that would fit with this need to understand everything from a logical and scientific approach.

Dictionary Definition of Positivism:
a philosophical system that holds that every rationally justifiable assertion can be scientifically verified or is capable of logical or mathematical proof, and that therefore rejects metaphysics and theism.

Even though I am a scientist, I am not a materialist. I am also not a dualist. I don't believe matter and spirit are completely separate, but inexplicable intertwined through the soul. I believe there is a unified theory. And therefore, I don't minimize science and math. Rather, like the use of mathematical models of human behaviors, and so when looking into other areas that aligned with this stream of thought I came across the Price Equation.

I remember reading the Foundation Trilogy when I was in highschool and being fascinated by the whole idea of a math that could describe human behavior. In this book, Hari Seldon created a mathematical model to predict large model social behavior. Using this model, he created a plan that would help save humanity. Of course, the model didn't account for those who didn't follow the algorhythm. Ah, isn't it always true, you know what they say about the best laid plans.

The Price Equation (see image above) is the equation for altruism. It is an interesting conversation starter for students and a powerful tool for action when paired with the idea of "paying it forward". It outlines how a social group that includes altruistic actions, like Pay It Forward, can out perform a non-altruistic group. He also mentions the dilemma of the Free-Rider. This is the person who breaks the chain. The one who accepts the kindness, but doesn't pay it forward. This selfishness is just as contageous as the selflessness. What an interesting additional element to include. Definitely a concept for the Alphabet of Vices (coming soon).

Paying it Forward can be easily practiced, one of the variables I consider when choosing a virtue to study with a class. In addition, there is the movie Pay It Forward, with child actor Haley Joel Osment, a 12 year old boy who starts a whole kindness movement through his own kind act. This makes the entire concept relatable to young people.

The truth is that we can never truly pay back all the kindness and good deeds we have been the recipient of in our lives, but we can pay it forward. The pages below are from the AOK Alphabet of Virtues workbook.

]]><![CDATA[Entrepreneurialism]]>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 14:44:51 GMThttps://www.creativecurriculumsolutions.com/all-kinds-of-minds/entrepreneurialismYong Zhao is one of my top 10 educational leaders! He has identified the truths underlying the nature of authentic self-determined learning. He has given scaffolds and guidelines to educators and educational leaders regarding how they can implement these techniques, and he works diligently with school districts and political leaders to make it happen. He is not just a professor, he is a true educational leader.

One of his favorite approaches is the use of entrepreneurialism in the classroom. So when one of the girls attending the Art Garage spontaneously started creating a small business for herself, I began to design a tool that would help anyone wanting to support the same type of activities with their own students.

Creating a business is such a powerful learning experience. It is so creative; creating a name and logo, generating the idea, framing it, and looking at the primary objectives. It involves planning; making a strategic plan, looking at budgeting, and overhead costs. It involves communication and social skills: sales, investors. It is real life, and personally relevant.

No one could deny that entrepreneurialism, if done correctly, will open a whole new area of very practical knowledge.

The workbook is in the works! It is an easy way to get your students started on their way, and as always, it's super fun!

Keep checking our product pages to see when it is available.

]]><![CDATA[Punctuated Equilibrium & Implicit Learning]]>Sun, 19 Jul 2026 16:18:27 GMThttps://www.creativecurriculumsolutions.com/all-kinds-of-minds/punctuated-equilibrium-implicit-learningWhen I was in graduate school, I was looking to synthesize what I knew from neuroscience with what educators and educational leaders described as the essentials for teaching. It wasn't too much of a stretch, since developmental neuroscience provides such a powerful, universal guide. One of the most critical elements was that we needed to be building the foudational systems that would serve all of the higher cognitive capacities. In otherwords, we needed to build from the ground up. This means, while we are building the foundation, we may have to wait to see our results. But if we skip the foundation, our results will be fleeting, they won't have anything to stand on.

One thing I had noticed in learning and development was that growth is not linear. I noticed that changes could happen in a moments notice. We all remember the "growth spurt". This is true not just for physical growth, but cognitive growth as well. Even evolution is a non-linear process, but shows what has been called, punctuated equilibrium. I just love that term.

So what does this mean for the classroom. First, testing is a terrible measure of learning. Why? Because it doesn't take into account what is going on behind the scenes. Learning is happening all the time. It doesn't necessarly reach the conscious awareness until later. Each of a student's experience lays down a foundation. The majority of a student's learning is implicit (automatic/unconscious/reflexive) and provides the understanding of the world and their place in it.

We should be working more with implicit learning, since it happens automatically and lays the foundation. For example, when we are teaching something like reading, the best approach is not to have a reading lesson, but to actually read stories to children. The more children are read to, especially stories, the more the rhythm of the written word can create the grammatical neural scaffold on which the symbolic letters of the written word will happily nest. Not to mention, the use of stories can help build character and help students make sense of the world and challenging situations they are experiencing. Pedagogical stories are powerful tools in a classroom.

When reading, the teacher should not interrupt the story and ask children questions. They should not test for understanding and give a grammar lesson. They should read, and allow the child to go into the imagry of the tale.

Since our conventional education focuses on teaching reading directly, and has taken away much of story time, considering it childish, we are trying to build the roof with no foundation. Teaching site words will engage the a greater portion of the visual-spatial cortex, rather than the regions of the auditory cortex that would more effectively support reading.

In some work I did with Fleurette Sweeney, PhD, we talked about the power of song in effectively engaging the neural networks lending themselves to healthy reading. Indeed, this is a powerful way to help children read. Song has all of the elements necessary to move from the sound to the symbol, and not the other way around. The sound is emphasized and the rhythm of the song helps students break down syllables.

My favorite activity to create an Ah-Ha moment for children is to have them read a longer passage of something they know by heart. This can be done in early 1st grade, or late Kinder. Begin by daily group recitation of a poem or song. This is most fun to do while they step the syllables. I like to have them step in a circle, adding movments that fit the theme of the story. I have used songs I know by heart, because it is important to use the EXACT same words each time. When saying the words enunciate, and use enthusiasm.

Then, once the poem is well rehersed, the final activity is to write it on the board and allow them to copy it to a large paper or poster. They can decorate it as well, but once they have written it all out, have them read it to you. Those who couldn't read before will be so surprized and realize they can indeed read. The foundation was laid and this exercise is the keystone to opening that pathway. It is the punctuated moment of change. For students who had struggled with reading, the joy they experience with the realization they can read is wonderful.

Many cognitive abilities open like this. The gradual building of the foundation is unseen. It is implicit. It is happening through the daily activities. Building from the bottom up will create a powerful foundation for effective life-long learning. Creating brain networks takes time, but once they are built, healthy learning results.]]><![CDATA[Unschooling]]>Wed, 15 Jul 2026 22:39:04 GMThttps://www.creativecurriculumsolutions.com/all-kinds-of-minds/unschoolingIs free schooling better than unschooling? Unschooling is the most extreme in its lack of structure. I believe there are times when unschooling is the only thing that will really work to activate someone's natural learning ability. It all comes down to the degree of damage that has been done through the oppressive classroom experience. Unschooling is about recovering from the punitive coersion of classrooms that often shame non-traditional learners. As I shared in my other post, most of the kids I worked with who wound up in the alternative schools, considered themselves bad and dumb. They had heard it enough times, and so it wasn't surprising that they started to adopt that identity.

As educators, we have to recognize the damage may takes time to be undone.

The undoing cannot come in the form of schooling at all. School now feels like the source of emotional humiliation. School means domination and oppression. This can be so overwhelming, that any activity, no matter how innocuous and even joyful, will be resisted by the student who has been so damaged by school.

If your non-traditional learner has become defiant, this is not a bad sign. It means they are standing against the definition that has been placed upon them, that they can't learn, they are lazy and dumb. They are resisting, and this has much more energy than apathy.

When someone has been wrongly defined by the system, the individual can actually feel something is off. There is a sense that those around me, do not understand me. They do not see me for who I am and what I can do. Even if at one level, the student recognizes their limitations, they also know at a deeper level they have something to offer. ADHD students expecially, have a strong will and desire to create. When given the chance, they can do, learn more, and create outside their experience level. This is the talent of the non-traditional learner. This is what a freeschool model will ignite. But first to get through some of the wounding. First to help them take off the armor.

There are countless examples of people with dyslexia and ADHD being brutalized in school. ADHD students are often forced to take dangerous medications, while traditional dyslexics are often just overlooked completely. These are just two of the many forms of learning differences that are not supported in conventional schools. There are many others, and when such a student, brilliant and sensitive, goes through the traditional school system, they often end up with mental health issues, and a core lack of self-esteem and self-awareness. They don't know who they truly are and have adopted the identity placed on them by unknowing teachers.

This is when unschooling is appropriate. For me, my healing came through an outward bound experience. It helped me organize my external activity and connect with my true nature. It helped build my will forces, and gave be silence and peace being in nature.

Unschooling is not academic, it is not graded, it is not teaching. It is time to connect to the self. Learning happens everywhere and when that natural curiosity is allowed to come through, when the sense of self starts to become one of the awareness of greatness, then the person will seek out their own path of schooling, and you can be there to support them.

I am attaching my favorite dyslexia video here because I often look for it on youtube, and can never find the link. So here it is, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

]]><![CDATA[The Frustration of Boredom]]>Thu, 09 Jul 2026 14:46:36 GMThttps://www.creativecurriculumsolutions.com/all-kinds-of-minds/the-frustration-of-boredomBoredom is not really about having nothing to do. It is about not knowing what to do. Something feels off. Nothing feels nourishing to my soul.

Boredom is the soul's way of indicating the need to get started, but often I don't know what I should get started doing. This is where the frustration comes in.

Boredom is different than apathy. There is resistance, a kind of stuck energy, in boredom. The resistence is against the so called choices in front of me. Nothing feels good enough and so in boredom I stay stuck in non-action. In apathy, there is no energy. I no longer care.

Boredom is a product of indecision. It is a lack of awareness of what I am capable of doing. It may be that I have lost my own sense of purpose and direction, or it may be that I have had my own choices so limited for so long, I have forgotten how to utilize my own will to direct my actions towards a bigger goal.

Conventional schooling is complicit in creating this state. The ability to make goals and direct actions towards my own interests needs to be developed. Like any cognitive capacity, goal setting, self-directed action, and purpose require experiences that foster development. Instead of allowing students to explore their own goals, and discover their own purpose, conventional schooling dictates everything the student will learn. The effect of this, has led to boredom, and often apathy.

Autonomy is one of the core variables for fostering motivation. How do we give back autonomy, and reactivate intrinsic motivation? Starting to reignite a sense of interest, purpose and personal goals is possible. These are the basic skills for a good and meaningful life. It starts with giving choice.

In a free-schooling model, everything is about student choice. Students make their schedule, and in some of the Democratic Free Schools, the students are even involved in hiring the teachers. Can you imagine the difference in a student's sense of autonomy when using the Free-School model?

Once exercising this muscle of choice, the periods of boredom-frustration begin to fade. I start to have an internal structure for my own life. I start to discover the sweet-spot of purpose driven action. I am driven to learn and grow in order to achieve my own vision, rather than simply jumping through the hoops and filling in the bubbles of life.

If you have your own problems with boredom and frustration, or feeling stuck, it is possible to start to structure your own inner guidance system through daily practices. One I really like is to write down all of your personal interests each day. Notice the themes. Start to give yourself permission to engage in those activities. Most of us have lived a life directed by our social and cultural environment. Most of us have followed a script for our life. Now we are in the era of co-creating new systems. High Creatives will be on the front lines of the new way of teaching, living and creating a new world.
]]><![CDATA[Bad and Dumb]]>Mon, 06 Jul 2026 13:24:52 GMThttps://www.creativecurriculumsolutions.com/all-kinds-of-minds/bad-and-dumbWhen I worked in alternative education, those schools were all the non-traditional learners end up at some point, there was one consistent challenge that was present in every student" the belief that they were bad and dumb.  It's funny because that as a non-traditional learner myself, and an alternative school student by my sophmore year in high school, I can recognize that truth in my own journey. By the time I was in highschool, I definitely thought I was dumb, and bad, well, I embraced my rebel side by that time and so yes, that too.

It wasn't until I went to college, that I wasn't dumb. Then two doctorate degrees later, both from tier 1 schools, I felt pretty confident that I am indeed smart. And so are most of our non-traditional learners. So incredibly smart that the container of conventional education cannot fit them.

When High Creative, sensitive children are shoved into the traditional learning container it is like being in a world where no one speaks your language. These brilliant minded kids do all they can to fit in, sometimes tuning out and becoming invisible, so that they don't say or do the wrong thing or expose their lack of understanding. For those who being invisible is too oppressive, they may begin to act out, trying harder to be seen as who they are and get their needs met.

So how do we help these sensitive souls dissolve these old beliefs, or even better, help them to see their own brilliance and find their rightful place in the world. How do we create spaces that honor all kinds of minds?

We have at this time, more sensitive children entering the world, and the container they are entering in is not ready for them. The response of the traditional schools is punishment and medication, which contributes to the child's false belief that "there is something seriously wrong with me."

If your school is doing this, please consider taking them out. The damage done by the medications and negative messages can be extremely debilitating. For those who are trying to change the system, it is simple. Create space in the classroom for self-examination. Making emotional awareness a priority, and not in the superficial academic sense, but through integrating lessons with emotional and personal meaning. Allow for the arts to be a form of schoolwork. Let students direct their own learning so that they can find the connection to what they are creating.

Student directed learning leads to success. A student following their own interest can show off what they can do. Instead of the teacher set goals, student set goals can often exceed the limits of the rigidly defined expectations of a rubric.

I remember once in an interview with an educational leader, he made a point about the current model of testing for understanding. He pointed out that when you go to a library and explore everything there, you never get a test at the end to see what you understand. The truth is that understanding is complex. A test can never measure what we know.

The answers are there. The research in the realm of educational neuroscience and Mind, Brain and Education have shown us many ways to create a learning container sensitive to all students. For leaders in the school, allowing teachers to be responsive to all of their students, rather than creating a focus on testing and standards, can make all the difference.
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