Innovation is a buzz word. Everyone lusts after it. It has replaced “branding” as the mysterious key to growth and success. But, what does it really boil down too? It’s about playing. When we play we give importance to what we’re passionate about. We spend our time messing around with stuff that we’re interested in rather than what we’re supposed to be doing or what we already know how to do. Innovation as a word is intimidating and complex. But, if we look at two companies (Google and 3M) that are reknowned for their innovation what do we find? Choice. Each company allows their people the chance to play. They can spend some of their time each week messing around with something crazy.

Choice based art education uses the same approach. It is a way of building creativity into our education system through allowing the students to play with what interests them. Innovation isn’t about getting everyone in a room to brainstorm as IBM is attempting with their worldwide innovation jam. It’s about giving them the opportunity every day to play with new ideas that interest them rather than requiring them to play at a scheduled time, according to carefully written rules.