Character First

1. Character First Creativity

2. Character Character is the inward motivation to do what is right in every situation even when no one is looking.

3. Creativity Approaching a need, a task, or an idea from a new perspective.

4. Creativity Comes from training the mind to see every situation from more than one perspective, and then equipping the mind with a rich background of usable information.

5. Creativity Bringing a fresh idea to an old problem Expanding your frame of reference Thinking outside the box Pressing beyond the status quo

6. Creativity Since creativity is not so much the making of something new as it is the viewing of something old from a new perspective, it is a quality that can be learned.

7. Creativity A creative person views every task with the mindset that a better, more efficient way to do it always exists.

8. Creativity Creativity requires a “can do” attitude - it can make the difference between an idea and an achievement.

9. Creativity “A strong imagination begetteth opportunity, say the wise men.” Michel de Montaigne “The greatest expression of creativity is giving new life to something devoid of life.” Unknown

10. Creativity “Originality is simply a pair of fresh eyes.” Thomas W. Higginson “ Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen.” Robert Bresson

11. Creativity “Whatever creativity is, it is in part a solution to a problem.” Brian Aldiss “Put your thinking cap on!” Mom

12. I Will: • Use my talents for good. • See things from more than one perspective. • Use principles to solve problems. • Learn all I can. • Look for new ways to be a person of character.

13. Creativity: Key Concepts • Think Positive • When a task looks impossible, creativity has the persistence to keep looking at it from different angles, confident that there is a solution. • Think in Concepts • When facing a problem, define the basic principles at work, and then consider solutions that address those principles. • Clear Your Mind • It takes only a few minutes to clear the mind and prepare to approach a need, task, or idea with a new perspective.

14. Creativity: Key Concepts • Reconsider the Status Quo • Glean from conventional wisdom, but know when to move beyond it. • Think Outside the box • Creativity is not so much coming up with new ideas as it is having a broad spectrum of information to utilize, and finding new applications for ideas not previously used in a particular way.

15. Creativity Ask yourself: “Do my actions demonstrate creativity?”

16. Creativity Example in Nature

17. The Raccoon Raccoons are incredibly curious animals. This insatiable curiosity often motivates their creativity. http://www.loomcom.com/raccoons/gallery/index.html

18. Creative and Curious Creature When the coon smells a treat or sees something glittery, it cannot rest until it figures out how to reach it. http://www.loomcom.com/raccoons/gallery/index.html

19. Creative and Curious Creature Nothing seems to hinder them. Using their dexterous forepaws, raccoons can open door latches, unscrew jar lids, remove corks from bottles, and even turn doorknobs to open doors. http://www.loomcom.com/raccoons/gallery/index.html

20. Creative Memory of the Raccoon One researcher presented a raccoon with a latch puzzle that took the animal 17 minutes to figure out. When re-presented later, the raccoon solved the same puzzle in 4 minutes. Subsequent attempts took only seconds. http://www.loomcom.com/raccoons/gallery/index.html

21. Creative Memory of the Raccoon Other tests taught coons to associate certain balls with food rewards. When the same selections were presented months later, the raccoons remembered and made the right choice again. http://www.loomcom.com/raccoons/gallery/index.html

22. Think Once a raccoon sets its mind on something, even a lock, an airtight container, or a doorknob will rarely keep this creative creature from finding a way to reach its objective. http://www.loomcom.com/raccoons/gallery/index.html

23. Deduce Whether removing the lid of a locked garbage can or foraging for food elsewhere, raccoons deduce ways to overcome the obstacles they encounter. http://www.loomcom.com/raccoons/gallery/index.html

24. Clear Raccoons “wash” their food, removing mud and debris and making dry food easier to swallow - a creative way to compensate for the lack of salivary glands in the raccoon’s mouth. http://www.loomcom.com/raccoons/gallery/index.html

25. Reconsider A raccoon will creatively “trick” its dinner, by dangling its slender fingers at a crayfish or slipping them into the slight opening of a clamshell. The raccoon entices its victim to clamp shut - and dinner is served. http://www.loomcom.com/raccoons/gallery/index.html

26. Adapt When exploring, a raccoon has the amazing ability to find a way into openings as small as three inches in diameter. http://www.loomcom.com/raccoons/gallery/index.html

27. Creativity Creativity in History

28. George Washington Carver http://www.nps.gov/gwca/ Although born into slavery during the Civil War, George Washington Carver overcame great obstacles to earn an education and become a leading scientist in his day.

29. George Washington Carver • When a boll weevil infestation threatened to ruin the cotton crop and the livelihood of many southern farmers, Carver discovered that the peanut plant could withstand the attack and keep the fields green. • He used his talents for good by helping others. www.gale.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/carver_g.htm

30. George Washington Carver • When the bumper crop of peanuts began to rot in the fields for lack of a market, George went to work to discover uses for the tiny peanut. • He demonstrated that he was a person of character by working creatively to benefit others. www.gale.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/carver_g.htm

31. George Washington Carver • Professor Carver worked to separate the peanut into 12 different parts including: fats, acids, sugars, and starches. • By looking at the peanut from more than one perspective, he made 20 different products. www.gale.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/carver_g.htm

32. George Washington Carver • Eventually, he found over 300 uses for the peanut. • By learning all he could about peanuts, he was able to make: paper, butter, soap, ice cream, ink, flour, shaving cream, and candy. • Now the farmers had no trouble selling their peanuts. www.nps.gov/archive/gwca/expanded/gwc.htm

33. Frederick McKinley Jones • Fred Jones became an orphan at age 7, and by the time he was 11 he was on his own, working in a mechanic’s garage. • He became a full mechanic at age 14 and the garage foreman at age 15. • He even designed and built two race cars. http://www.blackinventor.com/pages/fredjones.html

34. Frederick McKinley Jones • With a “can do” attitude, he designed and built a snowmobile using an airplane propeller for thrust, a wireless radio so powerful that the government shut him down for interfering with navy ships, an X-ray machine for a local doctor, and a sound-and-film projector for the neighborhood theater. http://www.blackinventor.com/pages/fredjones.html

35. Frederick McKinley Jones • Fred Jones is probably best known for his successful refrigeration of semitrailers. • He was able to develop an effective system because he thought through and understood the concepts and principles needed. http://www.blackinventor.com/pages/fredjones.html

36. Frederick McKinley Jones • To achieve maximum efficiency, Jones had to look at the inner workings of the various components in his unit and think about what each component actually accomplished. • By the end of his life, he registered more than 60 patents, with 40 of them in the field of refrigeration. http://www.blackinventor.com/pages/fredjones.html

37. Frederick McKinley Jones • Though he had almost no formal ecducation and no capital to build on, he had an eagerness to solve people’s problems and the creative persistence to make a difference. http://www.blackinventor.com/pages/fredjones.html

38. Adapted from: Character First! Series II. Character Training Institute. Oklahoma City, OK: 1998.http://www.characterfirst.com http://www.loomcom.com/raccoons/gallery/index.html www.nps.gov/archive/gwca/expanded/gwc.htm http://www.blackinventor.com/pages/fredjones.html