Research:
Richard Ings
Writer and consultant Richard Ings was the first expert witness that Ignite! called to contribute to the growing debate about creativity and young people.
In his essay, the Inventive Answer, Dr Ings explores the essential nature and importance of creativity, and looks at what encouraging creativity might mean in the context of young people’s development, what implications that has for our views on learning and originality, and finally what potential impact Ignite!’s own initiative might make in this context.
In a prescient and insightful section, Ings explores the relationship between curiosity and creativity; 'Recognising the value of this curiosity is vital to an understanding of how creativity develops.’
Victor Weisskopf, Professor of Physics at MIT, argues that 'we must always begin by asking questions, not giving answers. In this way we contribute to the joy of insight. For science is the opposite of knowledge. Science is curiosity.'
To read the full text of The Inventive Answer click here. The Inventive Answer - Richard Ings
Richard Ings also contributed a short thought piece, as Ignite! embarked on its work with young people attending Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) or Learning Support Units (LSUs). In The Rage for Creativity Ings argues for more creative interventions;
'Participating in a creative project with someone skilled and sympathetic from the outside world, students learned about the connections between the often messy creative process and their own learning. What surprises many teachers about projects that involve creative professionals is the way in which children assumed not to be ‘intelligent’ or ‘able’ suddenly blossom under a regime where problem solving, making mistakes and teamwork are encouraged. They find a different kind of energy and confidence to set out on the road to becoming responsible for their own learning and for themselves. For those children in PRU’s who have been stigmatised as ‘difficult’ or ‘disaffected’ on the basis of their academic, behavioural or even medical record, the need for this kind of approach is beyond urgent.'