Have you ever seen Blue Man Group perform? If not, watch Blue Man Group - Part 01 ., a ten-minute video that showcases the group's unique, creative talent.

Something you might not know about the Blue Man Group is that the members have created a school specifically designed to encourage and cultivate the creative spirit in children.

Blue School is an educational environment that applies the principles described by Ken Robinson (and others) to the design and operation of a school. Watch The Blue School ., a short three-minute video that provides an overview of the school and its mission.

Blue School actively supports the learning of 21st-century skills. When carefully examining the instructional experiences that help students learn and apply 21st-century skills, you might realize that culturally relevant pedagogy is often a natural byproduct of such approaches.

This discussion is designed to provide you with further practice in analyzing learning situations to better understand how culturally relevant pedagogy, learning 21st-century skills, and creativity naturally form a triangle of support:

Initial Post: High Tech High is a secondary school committed to facilitating 21st-century skills. Watch High Tech High's Vocational and Academic Model ., which provides an overview of High Tech High and its commitment to facilitating 21st-century skills.

As you carefully examine the information presented about the school, consider how its courses and programs naturally support a culturally relevant approach to instruction that promotes creativity. After viewing the video, discuss the following about the school:

• Addressing cultural competence through reinforcing students' cultural integrity.

• Involving students in the construction of knowledge.

• Building on students' interests and linguistic resources.

• Tapping home and community resources.

• Understanding students' cultural knowledge.

• Using interactive and constructivist teaching strategies.

• Examining the curriculum from multiple perspectives.

• Promoting critical consciousness through opportunities to challenge predominant elements of the students' social norms.

In what way is creativity evident at the school? After viewing the video, explain which of the following characteristics you would recommend to create a school such as this (you can select more than one):

• Nurturing the confidence to try.

• Helping learners find their creative strengths.

• Promoting experiment and inquiry and a willingness to make mistakes.

• Encouraging generative thought, free from immediate criticism.

• Encouraging the expression of personal ideas and feelings.

• Conveying an understanding of phases in creative work and the need for time.

• Developing an awareness of the roles of intuition and aesthetic processes.

• Encouraging students to play with ideas and conjecture about possibilities.

• Facilitating critical evaluation of ideas.

Then, briefly summarize your own viewpoints on the relationship between 21st-century skills, culturally relevant instruction, and creativity.

Siqueira, R. (2009, April 20). Blue Man Group - part 01.

TIME. (2008, November 26). The blue school.