C Group Blog Post

Alan Maley, UK

Becoming an active member: The 5 C’s.

I think everyone would agree that there is not much point in belonging to the C Group unless we make an active contribution to it. So I thought it might be helpful to offer a few suggestions of ways we can do this.

1. Connect.

By this I mean connect with the notion of creativity. We can do this by reading articles, books, watching You Tube videos and checking websites which discuss or promote creative ideas. And going to talks and conferences where creativity is foregrounded. This helps us become more aware and better informed about the subject. We can only speak with authority if we are well-informed.

2. Collect.

Create files where you can store material relevant to creativity. These might include files of striking quotations, of texts (stories, poems, etc,) to be used in future classes, pictures, video and video clips, activities you plan to try out, lists of books/articles you plan to read, etc. In this way you will build an information bank which is relatively easy to add new material to as you meet it.

3. Contribute

You can make a contribution by:

• writing reviews of new books for teachers’ magazines and journals. If you have never written for publication before, reviews are a good place to start. Editors are always on the lookout for reviewers.
• write an article about a creative idea you have tried for a teachers’ magazine, or for Twitter or Facebook.
• look out for opportunities to contribute to publications (The recent British Council book on Creativity in the English Language Classroom, is a good example).
• write for the C group blog, and make sure you check it out regularly.
• write a short article for the C Group special slot in HLT Mag. Contact person: chazpugliese@gmail.com
• Write an article for The Teacher Trainer ( https//www.tttjournal.co.uk) Contact person Tessa Woodward (tessanseth@kentpeople.com)
• write some teaching materials to be used in your classes (and perhaps your colleagues’ classes too)
• participate actively in conferences (and online webinars) by running workshops or giving talks.
• organise a small conference or workshop in your locality.
• offer to help the C group in an organising capacity. For example, by taking responsibility for a specific area of its work, or by volunteering to help out with C Group events.

4. Co-operate

Look for opportunities to work with colleagues. Unity is strength. Working in isolation can be a lonely business, so look for like-minded colleagues online or in your locality. You can organise informal discussion groups, reading circles, carry out some classroom experiments, write materials cooperatively, etc.

5. Communicate

Never miss an opportunity to publicise the C group and its work. An obvious way of doing this is always to include a slide on your PPT presentations which highlights the C group and its web address. Likewise, put the C Group on your badge at conferences.

Share what you have found out – books or articles you have read which might be of interest to others, materials you have come across - useful websites, videos, etc.

Keep the group informed of events you think might be of interest. These might be conferences, webinars, special training courses, etc.

Share information about the C Group and what it does with people outside the teaching world: administrators. Ministry officials, publishers’ representatives, exam boards…and parents. You don’t need to be an evangelist – just talking about what we aim to do is enough.

As you can see, most of these suggestions are no big deal. Anyone can do them. Being an active C group member does not mean you have to carry the whole world on your shoulders, or achieve epoch-making discoveries. But it does mean being constantly alert to opportunities to further the aims of the group as set out in the Manifesto (see the website to remind yourself what these are) – and acting upon them.

Good luck!