Building Creative Capacity: An Interview with Creative Generation's Jeff M. Poulin
Creative Generation is an organization that links the arts to advocacy by cultivating the creative capacities of young people to solve complex global issues. Jeff M. Poulin, the founder of Creative Generation, believes arts educators must be advocates and need to be involved in the processes of creating educational policy at the local, state and federal level.
“We need to be ready to talk about the role of the arts in the education of students with disabilities,” Poulin said. “And to ensure their right to an education that includes the arts is protected.”
For Poulin, educators have a responsibility to consider the larger eco-system of funding and policy. Every Student Succeeds Act, also known as ESSA, was passed in 2015 and is being implemented in classrooms now. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, also known as IDEA, is scheduled for reauthorization debates within the next year.
Poulin’s experience suggests that educators may feel they’re not allowed to be advocates, don’t have the time for policy advocacy or may be daunted by the task of reviewing policy documents. “Education reform happens [in the United States] about every 20 years … either we lend our voices now or we’re stuck with the policy for a long time,” Poulin said. Poulin encourages every educator to get involved. “It’s a professional responsibility,” Poulin said. “If you don’t speak up about arts education for students with disabilities, no one will.” Poulin emphasizes there are many opportunities to share input on educational policy at the local, state and national levels.
Many of the decision-makers in education are not educators, so one of the best and simplest things educators can do to influence policy is to share the work happening in their classrooms. Sharing classroom accomplishments during local school board meetings, participating in the public comment period on state level policy, and engaging in state and federal arts days and competitions are all excellent ways to educate decision-makers on the importance of arts education for students – especially those with disabilities.
Poulin believes that arts educators have a responsibility to share the work they do with those who write policies, but may not have arts education expertise, so lawmakers are better informed about the resources educators need. “We all need to recognize our power as experts to be able to pull up a chair at the table … in order to lend our voice to whatever the problem is that is being discussed,” Poulin said.
Being policy literate can help give educators the agency to create the best opportunities in the arts for their students. Poulin points out that many associations, such as the National Art Education Association, the National Association for Music Education, the National Dance Education Association and the Educational Theater Association, often provide summaries and talking points on policy decisions. Poulin encourages educators to watch for calls for input and action from professional arts education associations when IDEA is scheduled for reauthorization. Poulin also credits research and information, such as the map for research from the Office of VSA and Accessibility at the Kennedy Center, which explores the benefits of the arts for students with disabilities for providing critical guidance in advance of IDEA’s reauthorization.
As founder of Creative Generation, Poulin is employing a new vocabulary to talk about the outcomes of artistic education focused on the potential of the arts to help young people develop the skills to address complex global problems, such as gun violence and climate change. “The outcomes of artistic education and arts and cultural learning with young people today [are] creativity, cultural consciousness, connectivity and … concern for community,” Poulin said. “That vocabulary really does equate to the way we’re seeing young people … [and intergenerational groups] solve these really complex societal challenges.”
Poulin believes arts education needs to extend beyond solely focusing on artistic skills and products. Instead, he suggests arts education should be connected to global issues. Students benefit from arts and culture education that develops creative capacities for problem-solving. In turn, students who understand the value of artistic learning and are adept at complex problem-solving are motivated to be advocates for arts education policy and funding. “If we give these creative capacities to young people, they are actually going to be more effective activists or advocates for whatever causes they care about,” Poulin said. “Providing those skills and building that artistic literacy is really, really important.”
Just as Poulin suggests that sharing the work of educators in the classroom is a vital part of impacting policy, Creative Generation also amplifies the work of individuals and organizations excelling in the field of arts education. He invites artists and educators to share their stories through the Creative Generation website.
Telling the story of the good work that artists and educators are accomplishing in classrooms every day, according to Poulin, leads to connections, the exchange of ideas and better work. And, telling those stories, to local school boards, state school boards, and government representatives will shape the policies that enable quality arts education for all students. “We are working to amplify the work of individuals and organizations through the campaign at Creative Generation,” Poulin said. “Tell the story, write the blog, send us a video … we will absolutely blast it out.”
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the interviewee and author and do not imply endorsement by the Kennedy Center.