Cyndi Burnett: Hello, and welcome to the Fueling Creativity in Education podcast.

Matthew Worwood: It’s summer here in the US, and that means it’s time for our Listen and Learn series. But this summer, we’re doing something a little different.

Cyndi Burnett: Instead of featuring our past guests and their books, we’re turning the microphones on ourselves.

Cyndi Burnett: After five years and over 200 episodes, Matt and I have written our own book, and this summer series is our chance to share it with you.

Matthew Worwood: Now, this book is called The Future Creative: 10 Actions for Fueling Creativity in Education, and it is directly based on our podcast. Every action came from the incredible researchers, educators, and administrators you’ve heard on the show.

Cyndi Burnett: Each episode in this series focuses on one of the 10 actions, giving you a bite-sized look at the ideas behind the book before it officially launches in September.

Matthew Worwood: And here’s something fun. We are providing a letter in every episode this summer as part of a giveaway challenge. Collect all 10 letters, unscramble them to reveal a secret phrase, and you could win a signed copy of The Future Creative.

Cyndi Burnett: So you’ll want to listen closely because we’re not making it too easy. And when you think you have the phrase, email it to us at ideas@fuelingcreativitypodcast.com, and we’ll announce the winner at the end of the summer.

Matthew Worwood: Now, as scholar practitioners, we see the summer as the perfect time to recharge and reimagine.

Matthew Worwood: So think of this as your summer playlist for the creative classroom, something to listen to on a walk, a road trip, or a quiet morning with your coffee.

Cyndi Burnett: Whether you’re a longtime listener or just finding us for the first time, we’re so glad you’re here. Follow us on your favorite podcast platform so you don’t miss a single episode.

Cyndi Burnett: And get ready because this summer, we’re fueling creativity in a whole new way.

Matthew Worwood: So let’s get to it

Cyndi Burnett: Imagine your school administrator announces that in hopes of raising student wellbeing, they’re going to get a dog in every classroom. What’s your gut reaction? Be honest. Is it, “Oh, that’s interesting. Tell me more.” Or is it, “Yeah, that won’t work because…” Or maybe, “That’s completely ridiculous.” Here’s what I want you to notice.

Cyndi Burnett: Most people in that room would immediately see all of the problems. Who feeds the dog? Who takes care of it? What about allergies? Uh, what about liability? And you’re right, a dog in every classroom would be a lot. But here’s the thing, there was something worth keeping open about in that idea. The administrator wasn’t thinking, “Let’s get a dog just for fun.”

Cyndi Burnett: They were thinking, “What does a dog provide?” Comfort, something to hold onto when things are hard, a non-judgmental presence. That’s real. That’s what they were actually trying to solve for. So what if you stayed open to that core idea instead of shutting down the whole thing? What if instead of a dog, each classroom got a stuffed mascot that students named together?

Cyndi Burnett: Something they could hold onto when they were struggling with a problem, or having a rough day, or just needed a moment. Same comfort, same presence, same wellbeing boost, but now it’s actually workable. That’s the difference between closing an idea down and keeping it open. When you shut the door on a dog in every classroom, you miss the better solution that was hiding inside of it.

Cyndi Burnett: We’re on episode two of this Summer Listen and Learn series, which brings us to the second of the 10 actions in The Future Creative: keep open

Cyndi Burnett: What does keep open actually mean? It is the practice of holding the door open for an idea just a little bit longer than it feels comfortable. Not approving it, not funding it, not even saying you think it’s good. Just not slamming the door the second something unfamiliar or uncomfortable walks through.

Cyndi Burnett: Here’s the brutal part. Most of us are trained to judge ideas instantly. We call it critical thinking. We call it being realistic. Our brains just call it survival, and the second an idea shows up that doesn’t fit the pattern, our job is to shoot it down. Hmm. That used to make sense, but with creativity, creativity needs a few extra seconds of open-mindedness before judgment shows up.

Cyndi Burnett: Here’s what I want you to feel for just a second, not just think about. You have an idea, you’re excited about the idea. You bring it to someone you trust, a colleague, a supervisor, maybe someone you admire, and the first words out of their mouth are, “Yes, but…” Or, ”

Matthew Worwood: Hmm,

Cyndi Burnett: that won’t work because…” Or the absolute worst, the silent pause before they change the subject.

Cyndi Burnett: Ugh. What happens in your body in that moment? Most people describe it as a door closing, a light going out. That little spark of what if just gets snuffed. And here’s the thing. The next time you have an idea, you’re more careful about who you tell. You don’t pitch it with as much energy. You soften it, preemptively shoot it down yourself so you’re not surprised when someone else does it This is what happens when we can’t keep an idea open, even for 30 seconds.

Cyndi Burnett: So here’s your homework assignment. On the first day of any of my classes, I give students a homework assignment that sounds simple, but it changes how they see themselves as thinkers and creative humans. I ask them to monitor their judgment for the week. So for the next week, w- I tell them, “Every idea you hear, notice what you do.

Cyndi Burnett: Do you judge it? Do you say yes or no in your head? Do you add a but? Just notice. Don’t change it yet. Just be aware.” And here’s what every single class discovers by the end of that week: we judge constantly. We’re judgment machines, and we think that’s what thinking is. But here’s where it gets interesting.

Cyndi Burnett: We don’t just judge bad ideas negatively, we also judge good ideas positively. And you know what happens when you land on, “Oh, that’s such a good idea”? You close that down. You stop generating new ideas. You stop playing. You stop asking, “What if we took this a bit further?” Or, “What if we combined it with something else?”

Cyndi Burnett: Positive judgment shuts down creativity just as fast as negative judgment does. Now, in our upcoming book, The Future Creative, we go way deeper into keeping open. We talk about what’s actually happening in your brain when you judge, and more importantly, we give you the actual moves that let you keep an idea open without turning your classroom into chaos.

Cyndi Burnett: There’s a specific protocol in that chapter that changed how I facilitated ideas in my own teaching, and I’m not spoiling it here. You have to read it to get the full picture. So here’s where we land. Next time you hear an idea, any idea, from a student, a colleague, someone at the dinner table, even from your own brain, especially from your own brain, at 2:00 in the morning when you’re half asleep, pause just for a few seconds.

Cyndi Burnett: Don’t judge yet. Hold it open. See what happens. And if you really go deep on this, do what I ask my students to do. Monitor your judgment this week. How many times do you say yes or no, good or bad to ideas before you even give them a chance? That awareness, that’s where everything changes.

Matthew Worwood: We hope you enjoyed this episode of our Summer 2026 Listen and Learn series, and don’t forget your letter for this week. Are you ready? Drum roll. E for Edward.

Cyndi Burnett: You can submit your entry at ideas@fuelingcreativitypodcast.com

Cyndi Burnett: and check out our website at fuelingcreativitypodcast.com/summerreading2026, where you’ll find more information about the book and where to pre-order it.

Matthew Worwood: And don’t forget, we’re still booking guests for season 13 of the podcast, which starts at the beginning of the new academic year. So if you have ideas for researchers, practitioners, or administrators who can talk on the topic of creativity, we’ll love to hear from you.

Matthew Worwood: My name’s Dr. Matthew Worwood.

Cyndi Burnett: And my name is Dr. Cyndi Burnett