Pat Mora, an award-winning poet and author and a frequent guest speaker in schools, colleges, and libraries, has lead popular workshops on literacy and teacher creativity. Her workshop, Nurturing Creativity: Seven Practices for Educators and Students provided the foundation for this book as a response to numerous requests from teachers who were driven by the need to express themselves creatively and to nurture the creativity of their students. Each practice for nurturing personal creativity has a corollary practice for nurturing student creativity. Throughout the book, Mora reaffirms her conviction that creative teachers are more effective teachers and emphasizes that every child's creative self must be valued—regardless of a child's cultural and linguistic background.
Written in the form of letters to teachers, Zing! Seven Creativity Practices for Educators and Students is a moving and inspirational volume that serves as a reminder to teachers that their work is important and that they are, indeed, community leaders.