1906: A case for Imagination

One of the educators I read lots when training as a teacher was the late Ted Wragg. He used to have a column in the TES of the day (which used to weigh about ten pounds when it was peak jobs time)
One of the quotes I still use came from Ted. It's from 2003.

It's worth repeating in full, because I've based my philosophy of teaching on it in many ways:

It is a pity that the notion of "creativity" in education has to be fought for or reclaimed, as it should be a central feature of teaching and learning. It is the crucial element in each generation's renewal and enhancement of itself. Without it society would not even stand still - it would gradually and inevitably roll backwards. Merely repeating approved orthodoxy is bound to lose something along the way, so life becomes more impoverished. Human imagination and spirit are what drive civilisation forward.

No less a figure than Chris Woodhead (and there is no less a figure) once wrote that it was "dangerous" for teachers to think up their own ideas.

Dangerous? 

Setting fire to your own pants, or swallowing a cup of razor blades is what I call dangerous. 

But thinking up fresh ideas is what teachers are paid for.

This article from 1906 isn't necessarily about the notions of creativity and imagination which we think of today, but more about the way that we think about geography, and having some flexibility about the approach to teaching it.

There are some good quotes, and I referred to some of these in the planning of the TM GeographyIcons session that I did in June this year. It considers how Geography is divided as well, into human and physical.

It considers how students should be introduced to geography.

"The fairy tale... should be the first geography lesson, and geography teaching throughout all its course should never quite eliminate the element of imagination. We can hear the practical man protesting as hecalls for "facts" and  not vain imaginings but we remind him that trade is said to follow the flag, and it is the explorer or the missionary, the man of imagination or the man of faith, who carries the flag."

He suggests that every aid should be used to allow children to "rise on the wings of imagination", starting with the "physically nearest".

"The neighbouring river and hill, the native glen and mountain peak should be utilised as food for the imagination..."

"It is one of the evils in edication that the means frequently tend to obscure the end and thereby become a hindrance rather than a help"

"For geography teaching it [the schoolroom map] might almost be regarded as an invention of the evil one, for there is hardly anything in school apparatus to be compared to the map for its soul-destroying power"

"What a poor apology is the usual map for the rich variety colouring the landscape and what a poor substitute a black dot for a busy town."

Reference
Those who subscribe to 'Geography' can read this article here on JSTOR.