Can you teach creativity? Is it my job?

Well, we're in official week one of our 20% project blogging.  The process of getting the students set up wasn't so bad, I had created an assignment sheet with screen shots and the like.  It took a long time, but hopefully it alleviated the amount of repetitive questions asked.  We are using Blogger as we are a Google Apps for Education district.  It was a bit cumbersome as I don't know the best way to link their blogs to mine, so I just had them all "add me as an author" - so now I have a bajillion blogs instead of just the one.  I'm not sure how I am going to keep track of all of them, as some of them did not follow that step to add me, so I don't even know where their blogs are.  At the same time, I have some that were named things that should really not be associated with their district gmail address... so we're learning.

I assigned an introduction blog as their first assignment.  Quickly I realized that I had to remind the students that you don't in fact include your full address in the first line.  There is a teaching moment in how much you have the student put out there in terms of personal information, especially since this seemed to be brand new information in some cases.  Another teaching moment was when a student asked, "Ms. Staffa, do we have to write formally in this?"  Well, yes... and no.  Formally for a blog I suppose.  This is not a research paper, there aren't really structural parameters, however it's going out to a much more authentic audience than just me.  That made them stop to think.  "Wait, other people are going to read this?"  My response, "Yes.  I had over 100 views after just my first post" I explained. Admittedly, it was probably largely my mom, or my 10th graders just clicking on it to make me feel good.  BUT, you can't control who does and doesn't see it the way that we've set it up.  The tone in the room shifted.  They had to be a bit more conscientious about what they were writing.  It was a great experience that I got to see them actually think twice about what they were doing.

Their second blog had to explain their activity they are working on for our 20% Genius Hour project.  As explained in my first post, they all have something they have to research and learn or create using 20% of the class time for the rest of the semester.  They were to explain what they were trying to accomplish and why they were pursuing said project.

As I sat back and listened to the clicking of the keyboards I could feel the concentration in the room - the students really wanting to write well and publish something worth reading.  And then it happened.  A student sitting across from me says, "Ugh.  I just want to... learn history.  Why are we doing this?!?"
That was a blow to the confidence of this fairly confident teacher.  Here I was thinking I was revolutionary (compared to some of their other experiences) in allowing students to take this time out of MY class to learn about something they are interested in.  It both broke my heart and frustrated me to no end to hear the complaint that they would rather do a poster project on an assigned president than have choice in a creative project that will be beneficial to them.  A good portion of the drive for me to try this was to let the students flex their creative muscles.  They have been prescribed education for so long, I was going to release them to an endeavor where they could explore something truly interesting to them.  Sure, it would require work and thought and individual drive, but in the end the process would be worth it, right?  Then I started thinking about how I was putting aside content assigned by the state standards to allow for this time in class.  What would my principal say when he found out we were doing this - would he approach it like some of the students, "What does this have to do with history?  How does this learning target align to your curricular area? etc. etc"

These are valid questions, that I don't necessarily have the answer to.  I'm doing it because I've seen many a student graduate from our school and years later not know what they want to do with themselves.  Some go to college right away, and major in something they think their parents want them to major in, when really it has nothing to do with how they want to live THEIR lives.  I'm doing it because our students lack the ability to think on their own and creatively solve problems.  I'm doing it because students need to begin exploring things that can be considered their passions.  I'm doing it because students need to have a voice in what they're doing - and this was their chance, right?  I'm doing it because it can be one of those things that students get so involved in that they'll never forget the experience.

But the question I'm wrestling with right now remains, is this my job?  Do I have the right to set aside these curricular hours for something I'm not even sure will work out?  Is it my place to take these risks in the classroom?  I don't actually think the students would rather be lectured at about the French and Indian War than spending time on the 20% project, but what if they would?  Is preparing them for the real world in this way my responsibility?

What do you think?