From the Chair: Missing the Creativity Gene

Welcome to a new school year full of opportunities to express your creativity in your office décor, lesson plans, and programming! Or not. Seeing all the magazine-worthy photos of counselors’ offices, artistic bulletin boards and publication-ready lessons with cute clipart leaves me feeling inadequate. You see, I think the creativity gene skipped a generation or two in my family.

My Granny was a very creative person. She wrote children’s stories, designed and sewed her clothes, created adorable cloth dolls and made beautiful, intricately decorated cakes. She had a nice little side hustle making wedding and birthday cakes and teaching cake decorating at the local college. One summer, she attempted to teach me the fine art of cake decorating. I was “just okay” and not the cake decorator she thought I would be. I was missing the creativity gene evident in all her artistic pursuits.

So often school counselors get hung up on what it means to be creative. We think, “I’m just not very creative,” if we can’t produce the Pinterest-worthy images we see on the internet. I know I’ve thought that way, but creativity is more than what we see online. Creativity is a way of thinking and problem solving; everyday school counselors come up with ideas on the fly and make something out of nothing.

Creativity is coming up with a way to coax a kindergartener from behind their mother’s legs and help a student stop crying so they can stay in class. Creativity is making up a parable to soothe an anxious adolescent, getting defensive students to listen to each other, and calming irate parents and hysterical teens. Creativity is brainstorming with teachers and developing alternative approaches to handling challenging student behaviors. Creativity is taking puppets and making up a story on the spot, using a white board and an erasable marker to help a student share their self-talk, or offering a simple piece of paper and giving a student a way to communicate in pictures when words are too difficult. Creativity is so much more than something you can photograph and post to social media. It is the very essence of being a school counselor. It’s the way we respond to each encounter with our students, parents and school staff. Creativity is thinking on our feet in a moment of uncertainty, challenge, or crisis. And sometimes, it’s saying, “I’m going to have to give this some thought and get back to you.”

Although I would only score a 4 out of 10 when it comes to cake decorating, I am still a creative person. Maybe not in a way you would find on Pinterest, but it IS creativity. The innovative ways I support my school demonstrate that. As I reflect on my past creative moments, I encourage you to do the same. Remember, it’s not about the creative output, but the way we creatively input in the lives of our students.

Embrace your unique creativity and let it shine!

FSCA Governing Board Chair Jeannie Maddox is a middle school counselor in central Florida. Contact her at jmaddox@volusia.k12.fl.us.