Art is a supply intensive course - no matter what grade level you are teaching. You can get by with nothing more than a text book in some courses, but in art, you need a variety of materials to make the magic happen.
I have not received my supplies for the school year yet. This is a very unusual situation - one that is full of drama and scandal which I can not discuss. If I could, this blog would be so much more interesting, but you would likely think I was making it all up because the scandal is that unfathomable... So, no supplies in the art room. Twice this week I printed out lesson materials and got ready to start the day with a lesson in mind only to stop myself abruptly and realize - I HAVE NO "X" - "X" being the integral part of the supply list for that project. These realizations occurred about 10 minutes before the children arrived for class. Fine timing! Simple things like a lack of glue and colored pencils are causing me to restructure my entire year of lessons. At first this really upset me - the order was good and made a ton of sense to me. My lessons were designed to build from one to the next and to bring the students from a more structured series of activities to a more free set of activities and now the whole thing is flipped. As much as the change is messing with my head, I think the change may end up being beneficial. We are doing some very free lessons at the moment in place of my usual start to the year that contains more tightly structured lessons. The change is interesting because the students are being introduced to art in a very loose manner and their reaction is full of excitement and enthusiasm. I even had one student respond in his artist's statement that he "used to hate art and think it was boring but now I think it can be fun". I am hopeful that this hook of fun art will stick and I'll be able to reel them in to enjoying more structured projects as well. I'll keep you posted as it is always an adventure!
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The official due date for Student Growth Objective proposals is not until the end of October for my district. I submitted my proposal early and have started our pre-assessment activities without formal approval of the plan. I am hopeful this will not come back to bite me. I felt it was important to perform the pre-assessment as early as possible to get a true read on the student's ability levels - especially for the drawing section of the assessment. The drawing prompt is very simple - draw 3 objects / geometric forms from observation assuming the light is coming from the top left of the paper. Each student was given a plastic bag of three wood shapes to draw from observation. I am a bit surprised with the results thus far. The range of understanding of this task is extremely diverse. Several students traced the shapes and called it a day. Other students drew the cubes as transparent forms, implying some knowledge of drawing a 3D shape but not applying that knowledge to an observation drawing task. A number of students added some value to the image but ignored the direction of the light source completely, placing shadows differently for each object. A very small number of students completed the task accurately and demonstrated impressive understanding of geometric form, value and directional light and attention to detail including the wood grain and texture in the drawing. Though the results are a bit frustrating - I envisioned the students existing knowledge was a bit more advanced - I guess the results are good. Less than stellar results allows for a ton of growth during the year. When this task is repeated in June I feel fairly confident the results will improve dramatically. The slide show is a sampling of the results from this pre-assessment drawing. I apologize for the quality of the images. Let's start with middle school.
I have finally seen all of my students and everyone has started on the first "project" - building sketchbooks. The start of school is always so disjointed - shortened class periods, assemblies and student schedule changes make it hard to get all of the classes started and on the same page. Add the day one / day two set up for 7th graders and it is easy to have one class way ahead (or way behind) the rest. For the past 3 or 4 years I have started with the construction of a sketchbook in all grade levels. The 7th graders build a simple 3-hole bound "book" using 11X17 paper and a standard 2-pocket folder. The either graders use a more advanced binding technique with multiple signatures, tapes and hard covers. Both "books" are fairly easy to construct and hold up to the abuse of middle school students relatively well. I use sketchbooks with my students in two different ways depending on the grade level. For 7th graders, the sketchbook is just that - a place to sketch or take notes during class and plan projects. The 8th graders also use the sketchbook for drawing assignments which are graded monthly. I made a new list of sketch prompts this year and I am looking forward to seeing what the students create. During the construction of the 8th grade sketchbooks I was really pleased with the more advanced students willingness to help students who had differing ability levels. One student in particular took on the role of mentor to a classmate and really helped that child to be successful in the construction process. I don't often utilize the students in class who finish early as assistants but I feel that this group of 8th graders is going to change that. They are very kind and patient and I believe the entire class will benefit from a more collaborative learning environment. I set a goal early in the week to get on top of the paperwork situation and for the most part have achieved that goal. I have even completed the Student Growth Objective paperwork and submitted for approval - over a month EARLY! I'm still not sure how this is all going to work out, but I am definitely curious to see the results. My supervisor and building principal are both pleased with what I wrote and even asked to share my plan with some of the art teachers who are having issues with the concept. Also in the paperwork category, I wrote up and distributed my QR code permission slips. I'm pleased with the letter to parents and my principal is on board with the idea but I don't think I sold it as well as I could have to the kids. So far, of the 24 slips I distributed, I got back 3. This could be because kids don't take things home and don't turn things back in without being poked about it repeatedly...or they are not interested and I didn't sell it right. I think I will take the class on a tour on Monday or Tuesday and discuss the QR codes that are near the public art projects in the building. That way, they can experience the "magic" (oh brother...) of these little black and white patterns first hand and get excited. Lastly, the college class... I cannot believe that I filled 4 hours. 4 hours without art making. That is just mind boggling. What is even more mind boggling is that the students were engaged for that whole time. What a difference - teaching a course that is filler to teaching a course that relates to your chosen profession... I could get used to this. When I first created this blog I had big hopes. I saw myself posting daily about events in my classroom and about my life as an art teacher in both middle school and college. This was easy to envision during the summer months when all I had to do was think up big ideas to fill my days and nights. Now school is in, college has started, I still want to find time to paint, and I am already fried.
Here's my new goal: This month, I will post once a week about school. I will pick both a high point and a low point to share and reflect upon. Reflection is key. I will aim to post on Friday evening - while the week is still fresh in my head. If all goes well and I can get into a groove with school, I will post twice a week during October and try to increase from there. I'm sure no one is going to cry over this change in plans. And I'm sure that all the teachers out there get it - September is tough. There is so much prep to get the year rolling smoothly along the roller coaster's path. And even though this is year 13 for me, it hasn't gott Getting back into any routine is rough. I took a month off from crossfit to travel in July and August was by far the roughest of all months since I started working out. School, and the month of September, is the same - for the teachers and the students!
Our school was off on Thursday for Rosh Hashanah. Such a tease to go in for a half day Wednesday and then be off on Thursday only to follow up with the first full-length school day on FRIDAY. A beautiful second cup of coffee from our band teacher saved me as the mid-day slump hit but the students were not so lucky. One child actually nodded off during the period after lunch. Thanks to the demands facing teachers and students alike, it is hard to allow a gradual start to the year to allow everyone to get back on schedule. I'd love to ease back into teaching with some starter lessons and activities but thanks to our new evaluation system, every day must be focused on the end result. Gone are the days of material experimentation and art-based ice-breakers to start the year, they've been replaced by pre-assessment and data collection. Everyone in the building needs to be 'on' at all times and there is no room for the snooze button. I have no choice but to be ready for this high-intensity year, I just hope the students join me! The kids are here! The kids are here! The kids are suddenly EVERYWHERE!
I decided to break the "first day stuff" into two categories - we will call those categories "paperwork" and "classroom". Today was allotted to the distribution and related discussion of the class syllabus, the grading policy, the homework policy and information regarding our school's use of Artsonia. I created a power point to help me stay on topic and we moved through the information in the 30 minute period provided during an early dismissal day. Having the power point as my guide really helped me to move from topic to topic without getting distracted or traveling down the path of some unrelated tangent. When I see these students next, I will discuss the room and the storage of supplies and projects as well as procedures for entering and clean-up. I am going to make a power point for the discussion of the "classroom stuff" as well so that our next class meeting goes as smoothly and stays on track. Power points - though not new or exciting - may help me to keep myself on task during this school year. During the afternoon - minus the kiddos - we were assigned the task of writing Student Grown Objectives, or Student Learning Objectives - different districts are calling them different things. Basically, these are quantitative assessments designed to demonstrate that students have learned something during the school year - that we as educators are able to teach something to the youth of today. I've spent a great many hours complaining about SGO/SLO because our curriculum is theme based. We are teaching to the big ideas that students gain from the study of art - how art expresses identity, how art impacts community, how art can create a narrative... A quantitative assessment implies (in my mind) a formalistic approach to art - the student's ability to regurgitate facts or vocabulary or specific skills. Today, I figured out a way to ask a big question that should be able to show growth during the year. If approved, the art department will be asking, drum roll please: "what is art?" The answer to this question can be very small - art is a class I have during 8th period; art is painting and sculpture found in a museum - these are the types of answers we are expecting to get in the "pre-assessment". My hope is, and this is a big hope, that during the year I will be able to impress upon the students that art is more than a those small answers - that art is a visual language used by every culture, throughout time, to express values, ideas, and emotions; that art is a tool used by individuals to connect dissimilar individuals and groups; that art can be a visual interpretation of emotions that cross cultural, gender, age, religious, and national differences. Did I mention I teach middle school? Wish me luck - I may need it! I always think that things will be different when we start a new school year... that the technology issues will be solved, that the supplies will arrive on time, that the course offerings will be equal from day to day and the class lists will be balanced from period to period.
I don't know why I think this. I have to accept that I cannot change the system in which I work. I have to accept that I cannot fix the issues that plague a large district. I have to adapt to changing technology that doesn't always work. If I don't do these things, and do them quickly, I am bound to have a miserable year. A few bright notes... My school desk top computer is now functional and connected to the Internet. It is also updated with a version of java that will run PowerSchool - our new "system" for everything pupil related. The PTA fed us a nice lunch. I have all my student handouts, forms, and presentations ready to go for tomorrow. None of the art supplies have been delivered which means that none of the art supplies need to be unpacked and put away... I'm going to make an effort to choose a better attitude for tomorrow and focus my energy on the things I can have an impact on - my students and my |
Lora DurrMiddle School Art Educator. Adjunct Art Education Professor. Non-Profit Arts Organization Board Member. Artist. Arts Advocate. Dog-Mom. CrossFit Enthusiast. Archives
October 2015
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