Creating Classroom Magic explores the world of teaching through lessons from the life of Walt Disney. Offering insights on how to innovate your classroom experience, the book provides a living blueprint to bring your teaching into the future using real world examples. Whether a first-year teacher or a seasoned veteran, Creating Classroom Magic will make you think differently about how you approach the classroom.
Using Lessons from the Life of Walt Disney to Create an Experimental Prototype Classrom of Tomorrow
What People Are Saying About Creating Classroom Magic
Walt Disney was a pioneer in so many ways. His brilliant belief in the power of play, of storytelling and imagination, has yet to really be fully-tapped in education—until now. Shauna Pollock’s treasure trove of Disney-inspired ideas for re-imagining the classroom is sure to create “Wonderful Worlds” in schools around the world. This is not only a tribute to Disney, but an important continuation of the work he began.
—Peter H. Reynolds Author/Illustrator, The Dot and Ish; Co-Founder, Fablevision
Great teachers dream big and create magic for their students. If you want to leave a legacy and be one of those big dreamers, study this book and implement what you learn.
—Lee Cockerell Former Executive Vice President, Walt Disney World Resort
Using Walt Disney’s journey as an example, students will not only learn how he achieved his dreams and the challenges he overcame along the way, but understand how to leverage them in their daily lives. Shauna uses Walt’s words and stories to educate, inform, entertain, and inspire a new generation of dreamers and doers.
—Lou Mongello Host, WDWRadio.com
Much like her hero, Shauna saw a way to make education better, grabbed it, and ran with it. This book takes the risks of Walt Disney into the education circle with a verve and outlook that would make the Mouse proud.
—Doug Robertson Author, He’s the Weird Teacher and THE Teaching Text (You’re Welcome)
The world is changing faster than any of us can even realize, much less explain. In this book, Shauna Pollock lays out some well-supported principles that should guide all of us in coping with the pace of change. Anyone who wants to stay relevant should read this book.
-Angela Maiers, Educator, Author, Speaker
Shauna has such an impressive and unique approach to teaching. I thoroughly enjoyed that Walt Disney’s philosophy was applied to teaching in general. This book is a great example of what teaching should be about. Focusing on the individual, never making them feel uncomfortable, recognizing each person’s strengths, encouraging them to “color outside the lines” and “follow their own ideas”, no matter how crazy.
-Rolly Crump, former Disney Imagineer
If Walt were alive today, he would be looking at every possibility to use new resources to educate and enlighten. He might even have a copy of this book on his bookshelves to browse at his leisure to help inspire him to look at things a little differently and to make changes. It would be nice to think there might be some other Walts out there, and that incorporating some of the ideas in this book might nurture them during their formative years.
-Jim Korkis, Disney historian