Inspiring Words: George Lucas
Thinking Like a Kid
The genius who invented light sabers, X-wing starfighters, and Yoda is ruled by the same imagination he had as a kid. “I love to create things and I’ve always been that way,” says George Lucas, the Academy Award–winning writer and director of the six Star Wars blockbusters. As a child, the Modesto, CA, native was passionate about building models and taking photographs. But he’ll readily admit that he wasn’t a great student in high school—classwork didn’t inspire his creative side. He began to excel after taking cinematic arts courses in college. His heart was in it, and his head followed suit.
Lucas’s academic experiences, along with fatherhood (he raised three adopted children as a single dad), led the filmmaker to establish the George Lucas Educational Foundation in 1991. The organization recognizes and celebrates innovative practices in K-12 public school classrooms. Lucas believes that engaging kids’ curiosity and, in turn, their imaginations is one of the best ways to motivate learning. He says that “thinking outside the box and [trying] things that maybe don’t make sense but doing them anyway and seeing what happens” is essential to growth. “Let kids be curious and imagine their own solutions.”
Many movie fans see Lucas as something of a visionary—both on-screen and off. “I’ve had people come up to me and say that Star Wars changed their life,” he says. But the reality is, Lucas succeeds by letting his mind roam the galaxies. “Imagination allows you to realize the limitless possibilities before you and to bring to life things that don’t even exist,” he says. “It’s one of the more important things that makes us human.”
