Fraggle145
10/12/2009, 10:28 PM
Guys this is some cool stuff going on in Oklahoma education. Thought you would be interested in some of the ways schools are trying to inspire creative thinking.
My parents are heavily involved with the Odyssey of the Mind program (a creative problem solving competition for K-College) and have been since I did it from 5th grade into undergrad. I went to the world finals twice. This is a cut/paste of the items from the email that was sent out.
Anyway, if you get a chance check it out.
If you did not get the chance to see ReCreating America, it will air on OETA on Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at 9pm. Please forward this email to people you believe would be interested. Links to the programs discussed in the film are in this email as well. The film can also be seen at http://creativity.oeta.tv/ after the premiere on October 13.
Recreating America: Creativity And Learning
Premieres Tuesday October 13, 2009 @ 9:00Pm On OETA
InCA Productions and OETA announce the premiere of the first program of ReCreating America, a three-part documentary series on creativity in America. For much of its history, the word "America" has stood for the brightest ideas, the most resourceful solutions and the most provocative insights. Is this still true today? The film explores the importance of creativity in education by highlighting four schools in Oklahoma and assessing how the state's teachers are attempting to teach and promote creativity: Educare Preschool in Tulsa, OK: serving a low-income, at-risk community; Flower Mound Elementary School in Lawton, OK: integrating the arts into the entire curriculum with the A+ Schools initiative; The Odyssey of the Mind creative problem-solving competition at Piedmont Middle School; Santa Fe South Charter High School in Oklahoma City: helping students overcome the challenges of poverty and the high drop-out rate in America’s urban high schools. The program asks teachers, parents and national experts: what appear to be the most effective ways to promote creativity, while still teaching the three Rs, and even improving test scores?
ReCreating America Production Team
Senior Producer and Narrator: David Kennard
Director and Editor: Michael O’Connell
Producer and Director of Research: Elizabeth Kennard
InCA Productions
Independent Communications Associates, better known globally as InCA, is an award-winning television production company with offices in San Francisco, Toulouse (France) and Nairobi (Kenya). For 25 years, productions by InCA and its co-founder and president, David Kennard have won numerous awards, including national and international Emmies, the International Science Film Festival Jury Prize, the Peabody and Dupont Columbia awards, and the National Educational Media Network Trophy. From The Ascent of Man to Cosmos and Connections, from The Heart of Healing to The Promise of Play, each project has been a milestone in its field.
For more information on InCA Productions, please visit: www.incafilms.com (http://www.incafilms.com)
EDUCARE PRESCHOOL – Tulsa, OK
Tulsa Educare is a state-of-the-art early childhood center that provides education and care for 200 children (from birth to age 5) and their families with year round early childhood education, family support services, and ongoing medical care. Tulsa Educare's mission is to help break the cycle of poverty with a flagship program in very early childhood education. The Educare model was developed by the Chicago-based Ounce of Prevention Fund, which seeks to intervene in generational poverty and promote best practices in early childhood education.
WEBSITE LINKS:
Tulsa Educare: www.educaretulsa.org (http://www.educaretulsa.org)
Educare Centers:www.educarecenters.org
Ounce of Prevention Fund: www.ounceofprevention.org/ (http://www.ounceofprevention.org/)
FLOWER MOUND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL – Lawton, OK
Flower Mound Elementary School in Lawton, OK is an A+ school, integrating the arts into the entire curriculum through hands-on experiential lessons and allowing students to learn and express what they know through drawing, music, movement and theatre. Oklahoma A+ Schools® is the state’s only research-based whole school network with a mission of nurturing creativity in every learner. Located on the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma, OK A+ provides schools with ongoing professional development, an intricate network of support, and an active research component conducted by university professors. Spanning the state and growing every year, this network of 60 schools represents every kind of school from early childhood through high school, in urban, suburban and rural Oklahoma.
Tulsa Educare: www.educaretulsa.org
Educare Centers: www.educarecenters.org
Ounce of Prevention Fund: www.ounceofprevention.org/
FLOWER MOUND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL – Lawton, OK
Flower Mound Elementary School in Lawton, OK is an A+ school, integrating the arts into the entire curriculum through hands-on experiential lessons and allowing students to learn and express what they know through drawing, music, movement and theatre. Oklahoma A+ Schools® is the state’s only research-based whole school network with a mission of nurturing creativity in every learner. Located on the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma, OK A+ provides schools with ongoing professional development, an intricate network of support, and an active research component conducted by university professors. Spanning the state and growing every year, this network of 60 schools represents every kind of school from early childhood through high school, in urban, suburban and rural Oklahoma.
WEBSITE LINKS:
A+ Oklahoma Schools: www.aplusok.org (http://www.aplusok.org)
Flower Mound Elementary School: www.flowermound.k12.ok.us/ (http://www.flowermound.k12.ok.us/)
ODYSSEY OF THE MIND – Piedmont, OK
Odyssey of the Mind is an international creative problem-solving competition that teaches students how to work together as a team to come up with creative solutions to complex problems. Team members apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. They then bring their solutions to competition on the local, state, and World level. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and from about 25 other countries participate in the program and gather to compete at the annual Odyssey of the Mind World Finals.
WEBSITE LINKS:
Odyssey of the Mind: http://odysseyofthemind.com
Oklahoma Odyssey of the Mind: http://ok.odysseyofthemind.org
SANTA FE SOUTH HIGH SCHOOL – South Oklahoma City, OK
Santa Fe South High School is a charter school in the largely Hispanic community of South Oklahoma City. With nearly 50% of students in America’s urban high schools failing to graduate on time, the school takes an innovative approach to education by empowering its teachers to experiment with a variety of teaching methods to find the best ways to engage their students. SFS recently joined Oklahoma’s A+ schools network and integrates the arts into teaching every subject.
Santa Fe South High School: http://www.santafesouth.org/
A+ Oklahoma Schools: www.aplusok.org (http://www.aplusok.org)
My parents are heavily involved with the Odyssey of the Mind program (a creative problem solving competition for K-College) and have been since I did it from 5th grade into undergrad. I went to the world finals twice. This is a cut/paste of the items from the email that was sent out.
Anyway, if you get a chance check it out.
If you did not get the chance to see ReCreating America, it will air on OETA on Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at 9pm. Please forward this email to people you believe would be interested. Links to the programs discussed in the film are in this email as well. The film can also be seen at http://creativity.oeta.tv/ after the premiere on October 13.
Recreating America: Creativity And Learning
Premieres Tuesday October 13, 2009 @ 9:00Pm On OETA
InCA Productions and OETA announce the premiere of the first program of ReCreating America, a three-part documentary series on creativity in America. For much of its history, the word "America" has stood for the brightest ideas, the most resourceful solutions and the most provocative insights. Is this still true today? The film explores the importance of creativity in education by highlighting four schools in Oklahoma and assessing how the state's teachers are attempting to teach and promote creativity: Educare Preschool in Tulsa, OK: serving a low-income, at-risk community; Flower Mound Elementary School in Lawton, OK: integrating the arts into the entire curriculum with the A+ Schools initiative; The Odyssey of the Mind creative problem-solving competition at Piedmont Middle School; Santa Fe South Charter High School in Oklahoma City: helping students overcome the challenges of poverty and the high drop-out rate in America’s urban high schools. The program asks teachers, parents and national experts: what appear to be the most effective ways to promote creativity, while still teaching the three Rs, and even improving test scores?
ReCreating America Production Team
Senior Producer and Narrator: David Kennard
Director and Editor: Michael O’Connell
Producer and Director of Research: Elizabeth Kennard
InCA Productions
Independent Communications Associates, better known globally as InCA, is an award-winning television production company with offices in San Francisco, Toulouse (France) and Nairobi (Kenya). For 25 years, productions by InCA and its co-founder and president, David Kennard have won numerous awards, including national and international Emmies, the International Science Film Festival Jury Prize, the Peabody and Dupont Columbia awards, and the National Educational Media Network Trophy. From The Ascent of Man to Cosmos and Connections, from The Heart of Healing to The Promise of Play, each project has been a milestone in its field.
For more information on InCA Productions, please visit: www.incafilms.com (http://www.incafilms.com)
EDUCARE PRESCHOOL – Tulsa, OK
Tulsa Educare is a state-of-the-art early childhood center that provides education and care for 200 children (from birth to age 5) and their families with year round early childhood education, family support services, and ongoing medical care. Tulsa Educare's mission is to help break the cycle of poverty with a flagship program in very early childhood education. The Educare model was developed by the Chicago-based Ounce of Prevention Fund, which seeks to intervene in generational poverty and promote best practices in early childhood education.
WEBSITE LINKS:
Tulsa Educare: www.educaretulsa.org (http://www.educaretulsa.org)
Educare Centers:www.educarecenters.org
Ounce of Prevention Fund: www.ounceofprevention.org/ (http://www.ounceofprevention.org/)
FLOWER MOUND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL – Lawton, OK
Flower Mound Elementary School in Lawton, OK is an A+ school, integrating the arts into the entire curriculum through hands-on experiential lessons and allowing students to learn and express what they know through drawing, music, movement and theatre. Oklahoma A+ Schools® is the state’s only research-based whole school network with a mission of nurturing creativity in every learner. Located on the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma, OK A+ provides schools with ongoing professional development, an intricate network of support, and an active research component conducted by university professors. Spanning the state and growing every year, this network of 60 schools represents every kind of school from early childhood through high school, in urban, suburban and rural Oklahoma.
Tulsa Educare: www.educaretulsa.org
Educare Centers: www.educarecenters.org
Ounce of Prevention Fund: www.ounceofprevention.org/
FLOWER MOUND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL – Lawton, OK
Flower Mound Elementary School in Lawton, OK is an A+ school, integrating the arts into the entire curriculum through hands-on experiential lessons and allowing students to learn and express what they know through drawing, music, movement and theatre. Oklahoma A+ Schools® is the state’s only research-based whole school network with a mission of nurturing creativity in every learner. Located on the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma, OK A+ provides schools with ongoing professional development, an intricate network of support, and an active research component conducted by university professors. Spanning the state and growing every year, this network of 60 schools represents every kind of school from early childhood through high school, in urban, suburban and rural Oklahoma.
WEBSITE LINKS:
A+ Oklahoma Schools: www.aplusok.org (http://www.aplusok.org)
Flower Mound Elementary School: www.flowermound.k12.ok.us/ (http://www.flowermound.k12.ok.us/)
ODYSSEY OF THE MIND – Piedmont, OK
Odyssey of the Mind is an international creative problem-solving competition that teaches students how to work together as a team to come up with creative solutions to complex problems. Team members apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. They then bring their solutions to competition on the local, state, and World level. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and from about 25 other countries participate in the program and gather to compete at the annual Odyssey of the Mind World Finals.
WEBSITE LINKS:
Odyssey of the Mind: http://odysseyofthemind.com
Oklahoma Odyssey of the Mind: http://ok.odysseyofthemind.org
SANTA FE SOUTH HIGH SCHOOL – South Oklahoma City, OK
Santa Fe South High School is a charter school in the largely Hispanic community of South Oklahoma City. With nearly 50% of students in America’s urban high schools failing to graduate on time, the school takes an innovative approach to education by empowering its teachers to experiment with a variety of teaching methods to find the best ways to engage their students. SFS recently joined Oklahoma’s A+ schools network and integrates the arts into teaching every subject.
Santa Fe South High School: http://www.santafesouth.org/
A+ Oklahoma Schools: www.aplusok.org (http://www.aplusok.org)