Who am I and why am I here?

Hello! My name is Dr. Cyndi Burnett, and I am an Assistant Professor at the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State.

When I started my academic career people would often ask me - politely - what I taught. I think they expected some sort of recognizable answer such as "english", so when I replied “I teach creativity”, their expressions would quickly turn from a friendly smile into glazed look of utter confusion.

“You mean like arts and crafts?”

I had to learn to hide my disappointment at this response.

“No, creativity. You know, coming up with new ideas, and solving problems in different ways” I would say, bringing my smile back to the conversation.

Fortunately, over the last decade, things have improved considerably. Now, in the year 2011, I don’t get the glazed-over look nearly as often. This may be because of the recent press coverage of IBM’s Study that highlighted creativity as the core competency skill for CEO’s, and the Newsweek Creativity Crisis article. However, I believe the reason why creativity is inching its way toward center stage is because of the state of the economy. With great problems comes the need for great solutions. And, great solutions do not come from doing the same thing over and over (unless it worked really well the first time). In addition, President Obama has been tossing the word “innovation” like a pizza pie in Italy, so the general population is at least familiar with the words creativity and innovation.

Despite the increasing familiarity with these terms, a 2009 CBS New Poll stated that only 42% of the population believed that creativity can be taught. And that, my dear readers, is the reason for this blog.

After 12 years of teaching creative thinking to babies, the elderly, and everyone in between, I can assure you that creative thinking CAN be taught and nurtured. And, it all starts with you - the teacher and/or parent who is open to learning how to nurture and foster creative thinking in both you and your kids.

In addition to my professional work in creative thinking, I am also the mom to two wonderful kids, who will sometimes act as the testers of my creative thinking tools, techniques and activities! Some of the activities in this blog will be geared toward toddlers/preschoolers and others will be aimed at older children. Whatever the case, feel free to modify as you see fit.

Enjoy the creative journey!

Feel free to follow me on Twitter (cyndiburnett) to receive updates on what is going on in the field of creativity.