About Me.
is the ability to innovatively produce a universally useful product, structure, idea or system that has never existed before in order to solve a need that benefits the masses.
I am a 20 year education veteran, High School Administrator, Creator, TEDx Speaker, Artist, Thought Leader & Motivator. President Obama recognized my work on Project Based Learning as a founding teacher for The Workshop School in Philadelphia. In many academic circles I’m known as "SoloFrankieB the Creative AP," my work has also been highlighted on NPR as well as featured on Education Reimagined and Univison Internacional. My TEDx talk “From Consumer to Creator” is now published on Ted.com and as a seasoned spoken word artist and one of the leading voices in academic creativity, I possess a very unique style and perspective that youth get and adults respect.
For many years education has been my gospel and creativity has now become the avenue for its proselytization. My father’s bout with Alzheimer’s and his eventual passing have led me to a more definitive journey into creativity and its neurological effects on the human brain. In the past I have been praised for my creativity and my ability to spontaneously react in an innovative manner. Often I believed that I did “have the juice” as many have called it and that I possessed an innate special ability that allowed me to think out of the box. Today I know better, CREATIVITY is not a magic potion, it is a learned skill that we can all harness and develop. My five step approach was developed as a multisensory experience to promote a creative mindset regardless of prior experiences, training or atmosphere. In addition it is intended as a vehicle to aid the transitory necessities required to go from consumer to creator.
My personal definition of creativity is two fold. I’ve based it mostly around the studies done by Bruce Weinberg and David Galenson pertaining to the two creative peak opportunities that we all can attain. From a generalized approach, creativity is the ability to innovatively produce a universally useful product, structure, idea or system that has never existed before in order to solve a need that benefits the masses. My secondary definition is best explained through the notion of Vuja De, seeing the same thing again through a different lens, but yet adding and or improving an already existent product, structure, idea or system. My key theorists are Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Teresa Amabile, Brene Brown and David M. Kelley. I believe that creativity is a learned skill that can either be stimulated or discouraged through mindfulness. We can either be made to believe that we can or cannot create, it’s that simple as an initial introductory step. Creativity can also be assessed in a multitude of ways depending on what is being created. It all depends on the need and the desired solvable outcome. Based on the 4 P's of creativity we must always take into consideration, the Person, the Place, the Process and the Product.
