A Master Class with Pixar, Part 1

Pixar is responsible for some of the most creative film making in recent history.  Pixar's co-founder Ed Catmull recently released a book about developing creativity and nurturing creative cultures.  The book has won praise from authorities such as George Lucas and Jim Collins.  Bob Sutton calls it "the best book ever written on what it takes to build a creative organization."

As always, the challenge for arts education PLCs is bringing expert wisdom to the classroom level in a way that impacts student achievement. As Rick DuFour often says, the purpose of school is learning.

On the first page of the introduction, Catmull describes The Steve Jobs Building:

"It has well-thought-out patterns of entry and egress that encourage people to mingle, meet, and       communicate...the unifying idea for this building isn't luxury but community.  Steve wanted the building to support our work by enhancing our ability to communicate" (2014, p. ix).



If Pixar needs collaboration in order to produce a movie, how much more important is it that educators collaborate in order to educate our children?

One of the things that makes Pixar's work effective is the authenticity of the collaboration.  Informal communication is part of the design.  Contrast that with the structure of many PLCs - formal meetings, agendas, mandatory written reflections, reprimands for tardiness to meetings, and so on ad infinitum.

To the extent that we can be more like Pixar and less like a Senate hearing, to that extent we can develop creative solutions to our students' most important learning challenges.

References:
Catmull, E. and Wallace, A. (2014). Creativity, inc.: Overcoming the unseen forces that stand in the way of true inspiration. New York, NY: Random House.