Cleese, Creativity and Classrooms

John Cleese provides a ten-minute insight into what many of us know already, but fail to acknowledge:

1. We do not know where we get our ideas from (but we do know we don't get them from our laptops).
2. Sleeping on an idea can help make its reappearance later so much better.
3. Ticking things off and keeping all the balls in the air means you will not have any creative ideas.
4. In our frenzied connected world we need to make some time to make some mood for creativity: a tortoise cocoon from which we can check it's safe to come out into a self-created oasis in our lives.
5. We need to set aside time and place where interruptions are not allowed - we need to create boundaries of space with a starting time and a finish time, separate from ordinary life, and only then creating a space and place where we can play.
6. The problem with some teachers is that they may not know that they are not very creative, and therefore they may not value creativity even if they can recognise it.
7. If those in charge are egotistical and wish to claim credit for the work of others, then they shall directly or indirectly discourage others from being creative.

In keeping with Ewan's post here's how I reckon I match up to these insights:

1. No I don't know where I get my ideas from, but they usually occur after some form of thought process around and about it, and then voilà
2. This is a deffo. Works 100% for me, the more sleeps on an idea the better. I am going to show my cert classes this to encourage them to plan their work well ahead and to think and sleep on it, BECAUSE IT WORKS.
3. I am crap at making lists and Getting Things Done, but in my own haphazard way stuff does get finished. I get frustrated by my general lack of organistion but the thought of reading some self-help book to help me get organised fills me with horror.
4. If I need to do anything (on the computer) I turn off Twitter. Although I quite like it, it is the biggest disruptive influence (apart from the kids) to my attempts at being creative.
5. Oh yes, BUT in some situations this can be nigh on impossible. I usually get half an hour of quiet having put the kids to bed before my wife returns from work.

These next 2 are big ones:

6. This is unfortunately very true. We all know colleagues who have been doing the same thing every year, at the the same time, with barely a change (perhaps the worksheets are now photocopied rather than Bandaed.) But it isn't just teachers, many of those above us have a tendency to either simply be less creative or they have a creativity bypass once they install themselves in an office. Too much education management is REACTIVE, which by its nature is totally uncreative because you are reacting to events which have already happened. To be PROACTIVE is to be creative; you must refelect on what could occur and create scenarios to deal with it. 

7. How true is this? The minions do all the work but the bosses claim all the credit. Now they could claim a sort of creativity in that they may have been the ones who identified your talent, but when it comes down to it they are using your talent to their own gains, whci puts you off. Everyone in this big old world likes praise and recognition for their work. Not just the usual generalisation of "I know how hard all you are all working..." but genuine thanks, like coming to you and saying, "Thanks, Adam, for that Animoto you did for my presentation. It went down a treat."

What do you think?