Action 4
Build Relationships
from The Future Creative: 10 Actions for Fueling Creativity in Education by Matthew Worwood and Cyndi Burnett.
Scanned the QR code from the book? You’re in the right place.
Creativity doesn’t happen in isolation. Build Relationships makes the case that the connections between students, between teachers and students, and across colleagues and administrators aren’t just nice to have, they’re part of the building blocks for creativity. This chapter explores what it actually takes to build them deliberately, navigate the ones that are difficult, and design a classroom where people feel safe enough to take creative risks together..
Episodes referenced in this chapter
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Alyssa Matuchniak & Cathleen Scott
Building a Collaborative Culture and Breaking Down the Silos · Season 8The chapter's opening story — a teacher and principal who trusted each other enough to co-design multidisciplinary projects, and a student who built a video game about addiction because his teacher said yes.
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Jonathan Garra
Why Relationships Matter Most · Season 10Jonathan reframes the three Rs as relationships, relationships, relationships — and shares the 20 Questions activity that once moved him to tears in front of students he'd known for just a few days.
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Emily Jamieson
Creative Teaching Through Writing · Season 11Emily's approach to feedback — coloured pens, themed headbands, and one-to-one editing sessions — shows how the mechanics of feedback can either build or break a relationship.
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Anne Jacoby
Developing Creative Confidence Through Effective Feedback · Season 9Drawing from musical theater, Anne introduces the idea of "note giving" — feedback as a cultural norm, not a criticism, where suggestions for minor modifications help everyone improve.
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Jonathan Plucker
Discussing Excellence Gaps and Creativity · Season 2Long-term creative professionals aren't thick-skinned — they're skilled at finding the right people to give feedback and using it to improve. Jonathan shows how creative articulation and feedback are relationship skills.
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Jonathan Fineberg
Using the Artistic Process to Teach PhD Students · Season 5Students must trust their teachers before they will accept feedback — and once that trust is established, they're willing to leap into things they don't yet understand.
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Howard Gardner
Creativity Special · Season 6Gardner maps the relationship types that shape a creative life — facilitators, mentors, collaborators, protectors, and the tormentor whose presence can quietly shut down risk-taking and experimentation.
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Salome Thomas-EL
Using Chess to Teach Failure and Perseverance · Season 6Principal El believes trust is the engine that drives relationships — and that "I got you" should always mean "I have your back," never "I caught you."
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Juliet Desailly
Reflecting on Standards and the Impact on Teaching for Creativity · Season 1Every new cohort is a little different — Juliet's reminder that finding a unique hook for each group is what keeps relationships from running on assumptions built from last year's class.
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