When John Creger met his first class of sophomores at American High School in Fremont CA, he had an intuition to give these sophomores what his own high school education had failed to give him: a sense of who he was. That first year John introduced an experiment he calls the Personal Creed Project. For nearly three decades students have described their experience with the Creed Project and John’s course in thought-provoking terms
John’s classroom research has centered on explaining the widespread, continuing enthusiasm for the project from high school and college classrooms across the country. What he has learned has altered his fundamental understanding of the nature of learning. John has come to regard self-knowledge as the missing region of curriculum—and the missing ingredient we all need if we are to engage more deeply in learning.
John has made over 60 presentations at professional gatherings around the country. In 2015, he launched Thriving at the Core Presentations to share his deepened literacy approach with colleagues in their own districts. In his trainings, colleagues have their own encounter with the Personal Creed Project and learn to redesign and teach their own courses to weave students’ self-discovery alongside their academic learning. In recognition of the Personal Creed Project, the National Council of Teachers of English presented John the James Moffett Memorial Award for Teacher Research.
John’s articles have appeared in California English (2002), Urantia Fellowship Herald (2012), NCTE’s Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning (2015) and The Center for Partnership Studies Newsletter(August 2018). His first book is The Personal Creed Project and a New Vision of Learning (Heinemann 2004).
John lives with his wife of 30 years in Berkeley CA. Beyond the classroom and his presentations, he enjoys traveling with his wife and two daughters. He composes on the guitar, performs with his jazz trio, and reads and writes about life and learning. He has no immediate plans to retire and leave his sophomores behind.